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Summer will be over before you know it, and what used to be a fun season of cookouts and fun summer hangouts has turned to waving to your neighbor from across the lawn. If you are looking for a fun way to celebrate the end of summer, you can still have a fun end of summer cookout, safely. Here are some tips to help host a social distancing end of summer cookout.
Keep things clean and sanitized
If you are going to have a cookout where you will be sharing items and touching surfaces, you want to make sure that you are keeping things clean! The main reason for social distancing is to reduce the number of germs being passed around, so ensure that you are keeping your areas clean and sanitized often. Have sanitizing wipes readily accessible, and don’t forget to wash your hands often.
Seat in sections and grab food in rotations
If you are serving food, make sure that you spread out seating and implement food rotation areas. This should help prevent contact between others and still allow you to talk to one another without shouting! Try to avoid sitting too close to each other and take advantage of your full yard or block if you live on a less busy street. It may not be the best option for every situation, but you can still have a decent celebration this way!
Bring your own food and supplies
If you want to avoid cross-contamination, bring your own supplies. This includes food, drinks, and whatever else you will need. While it’s not as fun to have everyone bring their own supplies, this can keep people from getting sick from contacting another person’s stuff. Having everyone bring their own things could end up being the best option if you’re feeding a lot of people. Just make sure that you still keep your distance from each other, even if everyone brings their food and supplies.
Get single-serve materials for serving, drinking, and more!
Single-serve options are not usually an excellent idea for the environment. In this case, they could be lifesaving! Encourage people to use canned sodas instead of a 2 liter and avoid contact hot spots. Encourage the use of disposable products and single-serve items that don’t require you to wash afterward.
Move to the front yard
Normally cookouts take place in the backyard huddled by the grill, but instead, bring your cookout to the front yard! Have all your neighbors sit in their yards and enjoy cookouts together! Each person can make their own dish, and you can still be near each other even if you can’t sit right next to them. You can also play fun games that don’t require you to be near each other or play contact games.
While nothing can replace the fun of standing next to your neighbors and friends to celebrate the end of summer, hopefully, this will help ease the pain of not being able to hug your loved ones from afar!
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An outdoor cookout and gathering sounds good as summer is here!! Stay safe and pratise social distancing.
I agree with bringing yur own food and supplies 🙂 Chairs and all.
It helps to be really smart during such a time.
Thanks for the tips.
These are great tips and sounds like a good idea. It’s been hard social distancing and staying away from everyone but a small get together could really help!
I dont have a yard but te idea is super good. I can try this with my friends!
We actually did this last weekend! We had a blast.
This seems like a really nice idea so I’m glad you shared these tips with us, thank you!
This is great summer season ender. I will try to follow your ideas the next time we have an occassion.
These are all wonderful tips! I definitely encourage no dipping by making individual cups of quest and salsa instead of a big bowl like in years past as this was no one is dipping into the same containers and there are no worries of double dipping…LOL. I am pinning as this is a fabulous resource for our upcoming Labor Day celebration!
What a nice idea, especially on the manner of getting food so other guests will not be contaminated. This the best season ender.
This definitely sounds very interesting and amazing one..glad you shared the ideas with us..these are really very helpful one too..great work though…
I love this article! Bringing your own food and supplies and eating in shifts has been key with our extended family these days.
Hi
that it’s good advise indeed… Last weekend we had a “social distancing wedding” in our private garden/park… it was very interesting to watch ppl talking to each other 6 feet away but “needs must, right”?
With good precautions in place, there is no reason why we shouldn’t enjoy a cookout. These are great tips indeed. Thank you for sharing them!
As long as we follow the guidelines, we’ll be all right. And to mindful at all times not to get in contact with each other as much as possible. Better safe than sorry.
I actually love this idea, we have to try to find ways to keep our sanity.
Cute! I think the idea of using the front lawn and having everyone do their own cookout is awesome. It would definitely be a cookout to remember. Plus, you only have to clean up your family’s stuff and not everyone else’s! I think it’s the most safe option.
I love the idea of having it outdoor and in minimal guests only. Maybe we will host one soon and still check Victoria’s restriction guidelines. Thanks for this!
This sounds like such a great thing to do to celebrate the end of summer. We might just have to give it a go!
Louise x
You can’t be to careful nowadays – the virus is having the 2nd wave here so we need to be careful 🙂
These are awesome tips and make me wish I actually have a yard so I can hold a cookout with neighbors in their own front yards. Unfortunately, living in an apartment is limiting and I yearn for a proper cookout.
Wow! These are great tips! I will recommend and try this. Thanks for sharing.
I think the hardest thing is seating in sections. But I do think these are all great ideas and you do what you can. Definitely having more spread out seating is a good thing.
These were amazing tips. Love you we’re able to incorporate cookout with what is currently going on now. The key is to be safe. Great post!!!🤗
If i had a yard, i would do this !
Cookout sounds really good right now. Stay safe
I was thinking about hosting a social distancing cookout and this post has given useful tips to follow. Thank you for that.
I totally agree with this! We just did an outdoor BBQ in a big garden with tables 2 meters away and 4 chairs max per table with distance as well.
This is a great post! I found it so interesting! Thank you for sharing!
In Wales we are still not meant to meet up with anyone else except one other “bubble” family – usually grandparents but even then we could have a tiny bbq get together (with the grandparents) and still want to keep it as safe as possible so these are some good tips
Laura x
In truth, we haven’t done anything more than our immediate family (the 5 of us). My husband still leaves for work + comes home, but he has limited (if any) contact with anyone else. Other days he works from home. The kids and I have been spending a lot of time in our backyard, but nowhere public. My kids haven’t even been in a building/business since March! 🙁 But we have had my aunts over for a backyard social distancing cookout. We stayed far from each other. They are also retired, and don’t go anywhere except for groceries. 🙁
Given the way the virus is spreading and some research reports showing airborne potential, I would keep a summer cookout to the immediate family until the pandemic is contained. Social distancing is not as easy as it sounds when people gather.
these ideas and ways are definitely so helpful and useful one..glad you shared them with us..found it so interesting and amazing one..great work though,…