{"id":81654,"date":"2024-12-09T04:00:34","date_gmt":"2024-12-09T04:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/?p=81654"},"modified":"2024-12-11T13:21:31","modified_gmt":"2024-12-11T13:21:31","slug":"tips-for-an-outdoor-christmas-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/tips-for-an-outdoor-christmas-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Tips for an Outdoor Christmas Celebration"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some of us are lucky, dare we say ‘blessed’, that Christmas falls in the summertime. There\u2019s no snow or bad weather keeping you stuck inside, it\u2019s the perfect time to be outdoors. The sun is shining, and if you\u2019ve got a pool, you can take a dip. An outdoor Christmas is truly a must! We share some tips for hosting the perfect outdoor Christmas celebration.<\/p>\n

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1. Grill your mains and veggies<\/h4>\n

Take advantage of your braai<\/a>! Don\u2019t just grill the meat, grill the vegetables on it too. It will not only have that delicious charry taste, but will also free up some time to prep the sides<\/a> or make cocktails for your guests. It also means you get to socialise with your guests while you cook outdoors, instead of fussing over the hot oven inside the house.<\/p>\n

2. Light it up!<\/h4>\n

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If you’re having a Christmas dinner, lights are essential. They set a tone and mood for the evening, and an outdoor Christmas just wouldn’t be complete without them. The lights you choose can make any gathering feel more special. Use large candles or lanterns as centrepieces; hang a string of fairy\/Christmas lights around or above the table to set the ambience. You can even use fairy lights on the table, depending on how big your table is; have fun decorating and arrange them in a crisscross pattern.<\/p>\n

3. Prepare your sides at room temperature, if possible<\/h4>\n

This is especially helpful if you’re having Christmas lunch instead of dinner. It gets pretty hot in December, so you want to avoid the sides wilting in the sun. Plus, you don\u2019t want your guests thinking you didn\u2019t put enough effort into the sides, they should complement the mains. If you\u2019re stuck on ideas, check out our round-up of fabulous festive sides<\/a>.<\/p>\n

4. Drinks<\/h4>\n

\"Outdoor<\/p>\n

It\u2019s summer, so drinks sitting in the sun will inevitably get hot. Avoid this problem by making sure you have enough ice, ice buckets and coolers, so that your drinks remain chilled. You want to ensure that your guests are kept cool by their drinks, and not be bummed that their Champagne<\/a> is lukewarm.<\/p>\n

5. Take the Tree Outside<\/h4>\n

You want your outdoor Christmas lunch or dinner to feel special, and just because you\u2019re hosting it outside, that doesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t still have the Christmas tree on display. Why leave it inside on the most important day of its life? You can even ask the kiddies to decorate the tree as a fun distraction while the adults mingle.<\/p>\n

6. Use the Real Stuff<\/h4>\n

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Christmas is all about ambience, and using special napkins, plates, silverware and linen will make it feel like the special occasion it is. Sure, outdoor seating might have more of a casual feel, but that doesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t make the setting beautiful. It might be more of an effort to clean up, but it will be so worth it in the end.<\/p>\n

7. Make the Space as Comfortable As Possible<\/h4>\n

We know that overindulging and Christmas are synonymous with each other. Make sure that there\u2019s ample room for everyone to sit back and relax after the meal. Make a little space in the corner with a bunch of pillows and blankets, take out the hammock or finally get that comfy outdoor lounge you\u2019ve been thinking about. Point is, you want your guests to be comfortable and it\u2019s not as hard as you think it is.<\/p>\n

8. Flowers and Foliage<\/h4>\n

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Flowers always add a lovely decorative element to table settings. Buy a bouquet of Proteas, ‘pincussions’, Peonies or your favourite flowers \u2013 they will look beautiful strewn amongst the crockery and festive lights or lanterns. Flowers can be rather expensive, and you’re not planning for a wedding, so you could get crafty and make a couple of these DIY Festive Wreaths<\/a> using any foliage you can find in your garden or the neighbour’s. You could even gather pine cones and spraypaint them in white, red, green and metallic silver or gold.<\/p>\n

Hosting friends and family can be daunting, especially if you want to make a good impression, but remember to have fun and embrace the festive cheer! Check out our best tips for dealing with Christmas stress<\/a><\/em>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Some of us are lucky, dare we say ‘blessed’, that Christmas falls in the summertime. There\u2019s no snow or bad weather keeping you stuck inside, it\u2019s the perfect time to be outdoors. The sun is shining, and if you\u2019ve got a pool, you can take a dip. An outdoor Christmas is truly a must! We share some tips for hosting the perfect outdoor Christmas celebration. 1. Grill your mains and veggies Take advantage of your braai! Don\u2019t just grill the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5861,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4098],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-81654","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"acf":[],"brand_slug":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81654","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5861"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81654"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81654\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":109915,"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81654\/revisions\/109915"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81654"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81654"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}