We love gathering around the grill, inhaling the mouthwatering aromas of chicken and burgers grilling, savory sweet baked beans cooking, crisp sweet, buttered corn begging for our attention, and chilled fresh fruit wafting through the air at summer cookouts.
But can these fun times in the summer be considered an opportunity to be mindful?
Mindfulness doesn’t just have to be something you keep to yourself, in your own head, or just in your daily practices.
It can be shared with those around you, especially during festive times.
From barbecues to pool parties to afternoons at the beach, I’ve compiled a list of seven ways you too can be mindful while offering an enjoyable time to your loved ones when hosting your own summer barbeque.
Seven Ways to Host a Mindful BBQ
1. Create a Mindful Environment
Consider keeping the grilling area festive and around natural settings such as the lush backyard, a decorated patio, or even on an indoor grill or stovetop inside your kitchen. Colorful helium balloons also offer a feeling of celebration and fun.
Remember to consider those guests who are a bit healthier by offering healthy edible options like a crudité platter, a fresh chilled fruit display, or appetizers on the lighter side.
You could also provide a whiskey barrel or large galvanized tub filled with ice and bottles of chilled water, healthy sodas, and fruit juice.
Additionally, mindful music can help to keep the flow of the gathering relaxed and calm.
Choose several peaceful, enjoyable genres like smooth jazz, soft rock, or other favorites that help to keep the mood of the party enjoyable.
Compiling a playlist a few days ahead of the event to play at the party can save you time and keep last-minute to-do items crossed off your party preparation list.
2. Provide Fun Activities
Feeling included and useful is human. Nature has instilled it in all of us. And besides, it just feels good to be welcomed in as a part of something.
We feel valued and important. And offering a sense of that to your guests won’t just be enjoyable for everyone, but appreciated and memorable as well.
Peruse a list of mindful but short meditations to start the party off right. You can create present moment awareness by doing this. You can use a brief meditation as a party-starter to set the mood of the gathering.
Games with teamwork goals also make guests feel included. Choose mindful options such as TwoDreams.com mindful suggestions, or a few ideas from SoulCharity.org. Get Jupiter.com also provides several mindfulness-based activities everyone can enjoy.
An appreciated and memorable bonus is to offer prizes that are focused around the theme of mindfulness.
Try items like a stress ball, a meditation CD, a yoga mat, or a wind chime just for a few ideas.
3. Remember to Eat Mindfully
Instead of chowing down at a summer gathering like food is going out of style, or as though you’re in a race with your fellow BBQ attendee (I guess there might be such a thing as a baked bean eating contest?) try to savor each bite.
Encourage others to do the same by explaining your experience of the savory flavors, enjoyable textures, and emphasize the importance of eating slower as not to scarf your plate down without even remembering doing so.
4. Make Planning the Gathering Intentional
Include on the invitations a theme of gathering and mindfulness. Let people know there is a purpose of the gathering beyond just getting together for a BBQ.
Inform people it will be a connecting opportunity that will be relaxing and fun to participate in.
5. Create Mindful Participation
Engage guests in the cooking process at the grill or stove. Let guests know the occasion is a connective one where everyone feels part of an entire process.
While preparing the meal, whether it’s baking, grilling or roasting, invite guests to participate. At the grill, at the bar, preparing dessert with provided ingredients, putting the salad together, setting the table.
All of these things can make each person feel useful and encourage a feeling of inclusivity.
Make everyone a part of the gathering. They will leave feeling included and rewarded.
6. Facilitate Meaningful Connective Conversation
Discussing topics that prompt connection as opposed to being gossipy or bantering back and forth about nothingness can bring mindfulness into any conversation.
A creative method for enabling such communication is by writing down mindful topics on strips of festive paper, then dropping those into a decorated jar.
Each person can then take their turn to reach into the jar and pull out a mindful topic for beginning the conversation.
7. Remember to Have Gratitude
Starting your party with mindful meditation or words is a great way to emphasize the flow of the party. But you can also do this at the table or before the gathering departs.
Go around the table of the group of guests and hand them a flag. Call it the “gratitude” flag.
Whoever is holding the “gratitude” flag says out loud what they’re grateful for that they experienced at the party.
An added bonus would be to make or provide each guest with a party favor before they depart accompanied by a paper tag with a mindful quote written on it to leave them with an amazing feeling and memories to last a lifetime!
Hosting a summer BBQ can be quite enjoyable on many levels. Why not incorporate mindfulness into it and share it with those close to you?
I’ve listed seven ways in this post to host a mindful summer BBQ. Mindfulness can transform celebrations into memorable experiences if we let it.
MY MINDFUL REQUEST:
Now go out there and host your own fun, festive BBQ gathering, and let me know how much fun you had!