Find Your Summer is the time for parties. All of the best backyard parties start with great friends and end with big smiles. Count your blessings if you’ve been invited to a backyard barbecue because you’re in for good friends, great food, and fun times! One thing is for certain when attending any party, especially a backyard barbecue — you don’t want to come empty handed.
Hostess gifts are usually simple gifts that say “thank you for having me” in a nice way. They can range from a pair of tongs and a “kiss the cook” apron to my personal favorite which is flowers. Fresh flowers are the pretty much the be-all hostess gift for barbecues and backyard parties. If you’re a little leery about bringing along flowers to a food gathering, enjoy this little story:
Last year was my 22nd year to enjoy a lovely summer. Done with college, 8-5 job, no full-time family responsibilities (at the time)…ah. Life was good. My friends know that I love chilling around a grill and especially around a pool. Chlorine must have been seeping from my pores by the end of the summer after attending all the backyard barbecues/pool parties that my friends threw. One barbecue in particular stood out to me.
My best friend lives fifteen minutes from anything. In this part of Arkansas, that’s not uncommon. She doesn’t have a pool but she does have a huge barbecue grill and a great yard for grilling, frisbee, and being far away from any interruptions. She invited me and a few mutual friends to her place for a backyard barbecue. Well, I showed up with a hostess gift because I’m southern. It’s just what we do. Another friend showed up with nothing. We weren’t offended because we didn’t think much of it until we were playing frisbee.
My best friend’s yard is full of wildflowers. Bees love it there. We tried to walk to a more grassy area but it didn’t work for one of us. She went to catch a long pass and stepped a bit short. After she fell and we all stopped laughing through our concern, she leaned over and picked a flower. She put it to her face and sniffed it. It was at that very moment–I kid you not–when a bee flew up and stung her shoulder. That to me was mother nature saying “get your own.”
She’s brought flowers ever since.
What’s your backyard barbecue story? Does it involve flowers? Whether it does or doesn’t, share it below!
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