Whether it’s a neighborhood block party complete with face-painting and a volunteer DJ, or a backyard barbecue with a smaller crowd, summer parties are truly the best. Here are some tips for creating a stress-free, festive and fun outdoor experience for you and your guests:
- Prep. Block out some time for tasks like cleaning outdoor cushions, weeding the patio, replacing bulbs for outdoor lights or stringing lights, setting up extra seating if you need it — or hire a local college student looking for work to get it all done quickly and efficiently.
- Invite. You can let guests know what time you’re serving food, an idea of what to wear, and whether the party will be rain or shine.
- Consider safety. If you’ve got a pool in your backyard, you’re guaranteed an awesome party. Many hosts opt to hire a QuadJobber to lifeguard if there are lots of children in attendance. We have many Red Cross-certified lifeguards available for hire, and they can help in other ways when nobody is in the pool.
- Decorate. A few strung lights hung over a fence, deck, or tree branches will transform your backyard when the sun goes down — add some hurricane candles so guests can see each other.
- Lose the bugs. As a first step, make sure you don’t have any standing water near your party area. You can put out a bowl with bug wipes so that your guests don’t have to sit in a cloud of spray. Lastly, if you can, plug in a few fans — that can be surprisingly effective at keeping mosquitoes at bay.
- Keep the food and drinks flowing. Make a simple plan for drinks and food — prep in advance — and then, during the party, ask a local college student from QuadJobs to check in with your guests and make sure they have everything they need to drink and eat. This is a job we see often on the site. Hiring a college student to do all the last-minute tasks and make sure guests are well-cared for is such a great way to make sure that you get to enjoy your own party. College students are looking for these kinds of short-term, weekend jobs to make extra money. Read reviews from a student’s past employers and hire a student who has helped make other local parties extra fun.
- Keep clean up easy (on yourself). What if, at the end of the night, you DIDN’T have a huge mess to deal with? A local college student can pick up as the night goes on, and help clean up your home and outdoor area after guests have left.
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QuadJobs is an online platform connecting college and graduate students to local jobs. From Saturday night babysitting to moving a couch to helping a local business during a busy time, students find flexible jobs that fit into whatever free time they have. By streamlining the employment connection between campus and community, QuadJobs unlocks jobs particularly well-suited for students’ busy, often changing schedules. The platform tracks every job a student takes and gathers performance reviews. Small jobs matter—they help a student network, earn income, and build a track record of work experience. Local employers can hire with efficiency and confidence.