Theme/ Concept:
Every once in a while, one of my girlfriends will say, “When are we going to have another girls pool float day?” To which I reply, “Yes please. Let’s do it.” Those days end up being the most fun because they are super bonding and relaxing. We float, have some wine or a spritzer, eat a few nibbles and laugh and talk. Despite the fact its casual and easy, I try to put out a few little touches to make the girls feel welcome and special.
Step 1: Decide if it’s meal or snacks
What do I serve? Dinner or snacks? For a pool party you can really go either way. Are you going to sit and gather at a table at some point for lunch or dinner or just nibble on finger food? Is it an al fresco meal or just small bites?
One way to determine this is by time of day. If my friends are coming over at 2 to swim, I’d just serve small snacks and finger food that they can help themselves to. In this case, they were coming over at 5 for more of an evening swim (it stays light here pretty late and it’s hot), so I opted for a light meal for after the swim and snacks for while we floated.
Step 2: Pick the menu
As always, and especially with outdoor dining, the menu is going to help decide what the table setting looks like. You don’t want to lug more than you need in and out of the house. Also, being poolside, you want to think about what’s going to hold up in the heat, serving ware that’s pool-friendly (non-breakable), and keeps the overall vibe casual and fun. Here’s the menu I came up with for this day. There are so many ways you can go but just to give you an idea.
Drinks & Snacks
- Brie
- Grapes
- White wine & Rose
- Vodka
- Club soda
- Peach-ginger simple syrup (mixer for the vodka)
- Bottled waters
Al fresco dinner
- Pimento cheese & spinach stuffed chicken breasts (I happened to have made some pimento cheese a few days before which made this dish an easy option for me)
- Fresh tomato soup (I had tomatoes from the farmer’s market and planned to make some soup for the week)
- Veggie tea sandwich. (You need something to dunk into the soup and I had some vegetables from the farmer’s market and made a carrot butter, but an herbed cream cheese is good too)
Step 3: Setting the Table
Drinks & Snacks Table
I set out a small table next to the pool with a bucket of cold drinks, brie, and grapes. It was close enough for us to pop out and grab what we wanted and jump back in, or graze while we stuck our toes in the water. A pretty wood serving board for the grapes and brie and a simple bouquet of white flowers added a nice touch to the table. I keep burlap on hand, it goes with everything, and I wrapped a large mason jar with it for the flowers and covered the table with a small burlap runner.
Al Fresco Dinner Table
For the casual ‘dinner’ I decorated the outdoor picnic table with yellow and burlap placemats, white appetizer plates and small bowls for the soup and plastic cups. I used a wooden caddy for the utensils and napkins and fresh planted mint instead of flowers for the table. Also, the mint doubled as a nice aromatic for the vodka drinks, especially with the peach-ginger simple syrup.
Finally, when it came time to sit down at the table, we all enjoyed the tea sandwiches with the soup. And to make it easy to serve and keep it a light meal, I cut the chicken breasts in half. All in all, the perfect girls float day and the best part was the new memories made!
Shopping:
Are you looking for some ideas on table settings and serving ware for an outside pool party or al fresco dinner? I stock up on cute serving ware items whenever I can and love HomeGoods for that purpose. However, if I can’t find what I want or need things in a pinch, I shop around online. Here’s a few that I love:
Cold Beverage Tubs
Utensil Caddies
Placemats
Tableware
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