Description: Ideas for bringing your indoor decorating outdoors.

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Summer is a time for relaxing.  It brings to mind evening barbecues, pool parties, and spending time outdoors.  A simple and enjoyable way to celebrate those warm summer days and pleasant evenings is to bring your indoors, outside!

For instance, tell the kids you are planning a family picnic--right at your own house!  Bring your dinette set outside on your patio.  Take the time to set your table as if you were camping.  Bring out your vinyl tablecloth, paper plates, and plastic utensils.  Put a few candles on the table.  Tell ghost stories and take the time to enjoy your family.  The kids will love it and you will too!

Another suggestion is to plan a festive dinner party.  Bring the dinette set outside, but this time set out your best table linens (including cloth napkins!), good dishes, and a special centerpiece for your table.  Scented candles provide scrumptious fragrances and wonderful lighting.  Yet another idea is to use your white mini holiday lights.  (If you're like me, you usually overestimate at holiday time and probably still have an unopened box!)  String lights around your outside umbrella or use them to trim your back patio.  Mini lights lend a warm atmosphere, perfect for any special occasion.  Another easy and inexpensive way to add interesting lighting is the use of colored light bulbs.  These come in a variety of colors and are readily available in your home improvement stores.  Flicker light bulbs are my personal favorite.  They give the aura of candles and are perfect for permanent fixtures.

Don't forget the music!  No dinner party is complete without background music.  Make sure that you know your guests musical preferences ahead of time and bring out the boom box.

Finally, for that extra added touch you can create place card holders for each of your guests.  These can be as simple as colored poster board, with each guest's name handwritten.  Attach a tiny raffia bow.

Here are some ideas for inexpensive and simple table centerpieces:

Centerpiece Idea #1 - Place 1 or 2 large scented candles in the center or at either end of your table.  The 3-wick candles are my personal favorite, as they are especially bold.  They can be found everywhere from discount stores, to craft stores and often go on sale.  (I usually buy mine immediately after the holiday ends, when you can often find red or green ones at Christmas for at least 50% off the retail price.)  Trim them with clippings from your own summer garden!  Wrap ivy or grapevine around the base of each candle.  Fill in with flowers (fresh or silk).

Centerpiece Idea #2 - Make your own candle arrangement!  If you don't want to buy a 3-wick candle, use a candle of your own.  Take out all of your candles and arrange in a group or cluster to create one unique candle arrangement.  You can place the tall, narrow candles in the center and the shorter, wider candles around them.  Or you may want to try a monochromatic vinette.  Take all candles of the same color and arrange together.  This produces a very dramatic effect.

Whatever outdoor party you choose, take the time to relax and have fun at your party!

Reprinted with permission.

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