After not having guests over our house for many months (I think the last time I had people over we were drinking eggnog and talking around a Christmas tree), I was so ready for a summer party. Summer is the best time to have guests over, you don’t even need an occasion! The weather is beautiful and you can finally be outside all day and night after a long cold winter- that’s reason enough to celebrate!
Planning a summer get together (or any party for that matter) doesn’t need to be daunting. Thinking of what to eat, how to decorate, what to drink… don’t be worried, all of these things should be fun! You just need to know where to begin. I always think that the foundation of any great summer party begins with the summer cocktail.
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Planning 4 Simple Summer Cocktails
Two great rules to follow with summer drinks is that they should be light and cold. To tackle the first “rule”, you want to think of drinks that may not have as many calories or be super filling (ruling out that Christmas eggnog I mentioned for sure!). Heavy drinks like dark beers or cream based cocktails will weigh your guests down in the summer heat and make them not want to eat, not want to move and probably not want to stay and party too long. So opt for something a little more delicate, maybe something fruity or sparkling.
It should be pretty obvious but I’ll talk about it anyway- summer cocktails should be cold! You know that hot summer sun? No one wants to be drinking a piping hot beverage while standing in 90 degree heat. Kept the drinks cold! Ice cold, maybe even frozen. This will keep your guests happy, cool and feeling refreshed!
My summer cocktail “rules” are pretty simple so now let’s move on to planning that perfect drink menu for your party. Here are my absolute favorite top 4 summer drinks that I recently served at my summer soiree.
Skinny Summer Cocktail
This drink has it all! Sparkling mineral water, loaded with fruit and its sweetened with a natural (not artificial) sweetener. What more could you want! Your vodka will go down smooth when you are sipping on this delicious drink. Have all of your fruit set out in bowls and try pre-squeezing the lemon juice into a bowl as well.
This way, you will be able to make the drinks quickly for your guests or you can simply set all of the ingredients out in a pretty display on the bar for people to help themselves. Have a little recipe card in a frame next to the set up to tell your guests how to make this amazing skinny summer cocktail!
Click HERE for the full recipe
Summertime Spiked Lemonade
A great spiked lemonade basically screams summer so this drink is a must have at your next party. This recipe is also wonderful because you can make it ahead of time (even a few days ahead!) and keep it in the fridge until it’s party time. If you do plan on making the spiked lemonade ahead of time, you can easily mix everything together except keep the club soda out for now. Add the club soda right before you serve the lemonade to make sure it has that nice fizzy carbonation in full force.
Click HERE for the full recipe
Skinny Summer Sangria
Not only is sangria such a great summer staple but this specific recipe uses refreshing, bubbly Prosecco rather than boring flat wine. Soaking the peaches and raspberries in the vodka overnight gives this cocktail so much flavor that they will be almost too easy to drink. Peaches, raspberries, lime, mint….I am starting to crave one of these right now! How can you not think this sounds perfect for a hot summer night?!
Click HERE for the full recipe
Berry Skinny Wine Cooler
So simple yet so elegant and tasty, this easy berry wine cooler will have your guests saying “why have I never thought of that”. Freeze the berries the night before (or earlier) and choose fruit that will compliment your wine (try reading the back label of the wine bottle and using the fruit that is mentioned there). An even mix of wine and sparkling water makes this wine cooler a great combination of invigorating alcohol and thirst quenching water. This is an instant crowd pleaser!
Click HERE for the full recipe
So there you have it! Four perfect summer cocktails that will all be a hit at your next party. Now the only question left is which one will you drink first??
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