You probably remember summer barbecue parties from your childhood.  The burgers and hot dogs sizzling on the grill, friends and relatives gathering around, and chatting. Most people have fond memories of those weekend parties. Well, the ideal barbecue party doesn’t just happen. For a truly successful party, you’ll need to plan everything out, making sure that everything is in place, and that everything is ready when it needs to be.

First of all, you’ll need to plan a date for the party. Choose a day when people will be able to come over. You’ll also want to make sure that the weather will be appropriate for a barbecue party. If the e weather in your area is unpredictible, you may want a contingency plan. You’ll need to make out your guest list. Decide who you want to invite to the party. Check with the guests, and make sure that the date and time for the party work for them. It would also be a good idea to make sure you know of any dietary restrictions any of the guests may have. If one of the guests is lactose intolerant, you certainly wouldn’t want to serve them a triple cheesburger. So, make sure that you know what restrictions there will be as far as food.

When you plan the menu, be sure to take dietary restrictions into account. There are two ways to do this. You can plan a menu that everyone can have, or you can plan to have some substitutes for those with restrictions. The menu for a barbecue party can be something simple, like hamburgers and hot dogs, or you can plan on something more fancy, like beer can chicken or ribs. When it comes to sides, the traditional sides for barbecue parties are potato salad, baked beans, corn on the cob, and coleslaw. But you certainly aren’t restricted to these sides. You’ll probably want to plan on at least two or three sides, to give people some variety. You may also want to open up a couple of bags of chips, so that people will have something to munch on while waiting for their dinner.

Once you know what you’re going to serve, you’ll need to plan the meal preparation. Burgers and hot dogs don’t need much preparation, but if you’re planning something more fancy, you’ll want to give yourself plenty of time to prepare the food. The meat will need time to thaw. If you plan to marinate the meat, you’ll also need to give yourself plenty of time for that. Steaks and chicken breasts will marinate in just a couple of hours, but if you’re using a larger cut of meat, like a whole chicken, or a roast, you’ll want to marinate it overnight. While your meats are thawing and marinating, you can start preparing the sides and any condiments that you’ll be setting out.

On the day of the party, you should start setting things up. Get all of the necessary tables and chairs set up. Just before people start arriving, you can arrange any snacks and condiments on the table. Plan your cooking time accordingly. If you’re serving something quick cooking, like burgers and dogs, you’ll just need to preheat the grill, and thrown them on for a few minutes. If you’re cooking a whole chicken, you’ll want to get it started an hour or two before the party.

Proper planning and preparation will make all the difference between a successful party, and a disaster. So take the time to plan things out, and give yourself plenty of time to have things in place.