House by the Shore loves entertaining and we feel the 4th of July is a great occasion to celebrate with family & friends.  Many of you will be entertaining outdoors so we wanted to share some tips for your outdoor gathering. 

A Buffet is a versatile way to serve a small or large crowd, it requires that guests serve themselves in a logical sequence. Each dish should have a serving utensil next to it and portions should be pre-cut for individual servings, foods that require a knife should only be served at a seated buffet. Avoid foods that run or melt to avoid a messy plate. Always serve beverages in a separate area from the food and have separate sections for alcoholic & non-alcoholic beverages. If you are low on serving containers try using these for dips & sauces: hollowed out bread, eggplant, red or green bell peppers and squash, serves for an easy clean up too. Some simple garnish ideas are broccoli florets, dill, cilantro and parsley sprigs, lemon, lime and orange wedges, notched cucumber rounds and basil leaves. For Desserts we opt to do cupcakes, pies or cakes that are colorfully decorated.

DECORATIONS
Decorations set the mood for an occasion and we feel it should be reflected throughout the house too. Flowers, balloons, party favors, ribbons and flags add flair to a party. For the buffet table we like the idea of rolling the utensils in a napkin tied with a red & blue ribbon and place them in a basket towards the end of the buffet. A beautiful and festive centerpiece would be a large vase or bucket filled with flags & white flowers. Visit our pinterest boards for more ideas and recipes.
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