Porch Living, another term for “Let’s have a Porch Party”
Ideas for a porch party. What? Am I thinking of partying all the time? Yes and no. I believe a spell on the porch or patio is special. Whether it is a moment for ourselves, a special afternoon catching up with our spouse, or fun with a group of friends, time on the porch elevates everything. I love the term “spell” as in “come in and sit a spell,” a favorite of my Grandmother’s to say. Part of the wonder of a porch is that we use it during a good spell, Summer. (From the Free Dictionary ~ Spell can mean a period of some particular kind of weather. ie, warm or hot summer weather.) It’s summer, so let’s plan some porch sitting or patio time. I have Alan Jackson’s song, “Where I come from lotta front porch sittin’…” rolling through my head. So I’ll just continue using the term ‘porch’ for both the porch and the patio.
A newer term for it is ‘Porch Living’. Another great idea. Living on the porch while the weather is good. Think about sitting there during a light rain, enjoying some tea, and not getting wet. Then my mind went into a whirl on all the ideas possible for a party on the porch—parties for one or a crowd. So here are the first porch party ideas I came up with – I made myself stop at 20 plus. Otherwise, I would keep thinking and not doing. So I am calling them “The Ultimate”, why not?
My Ultimate Porch Party Ideas:
- “I just baked pie, cupcakes, cookies, coffeecake,…please come over”
- Similarly, “I just purchased from the bakery – a pie, cupcakes, cookies, coffeecake, …come over”
- Cocktail or Mock-tail Happy Hour
- Sunday Potluck Dinner
- Meet your neighbors – new and/or old
- Host your Book Club, Garden Club, Bible Study, or what’s your group?
- Board Game Night
- Plant/Seed Exchange with a friend or a group
- Hold a weekly or monthly ‘Let’s Get Together Because We Can’ coffee hour
- Root Beer Float Night, have everyone bring their favorite root beer
- Listen to the Ballgame on the radio and serve Cracker Jack
- Family Book Night – read a classic like ‘Swiss Family Robinson’
- Use the porch as a Starting & Ending Spot for a Scavenger Hunt
- Music Jam Session or your Instrument Solo
- Watch the Olympics or a weekly TV show
- Host a Macrame/Painting/Knitting/Embroidery party
- Outdoor Movie Night, popcorn, and box candy
- Star/Meteor Watch Night, complete with blankets to lie on the ground
- Old Fashion BBQ: takeout, home-cooked, or food truck
- Corn hole or Horseshoe Game Night
- The Ice Cream Social has everyone bring their favorite ice cream or topping.
- Bonfire & S’mores Night
- It’s Hump Day ~ Wednesday ~ let’s sit on the porch!
- Host an End-of-the-Bike Ride/Hike Get-together
- Celebrate Anything/Everything
In addition, see what you can come up with ~
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Are you ready for some Porch Parties?
Wow! Look at all the ways we can party on the porch. There are plenty of ‘lotta front porch sittin’ ideas. Yes, I am having fun with the puns, but that is the point. We have a spell of fantastic, warm weather. Moreover, it is time for some porch living. Therefore, let’s plan some summer fun. For instance, take a moment alone to listen to a ball game or an audiobook and enjoy an afternoon.
On the other hand, invite someone special to “come over and sit a spell” and catch up on each other’s lives. Furthermore, bake a strawberry rhubarb pie (my family’s favorite) and invite the neighbors over. In short, choose any other idea, you don’t need a reason, to enjoy a moment on the porch. Now, if you want to freshen up your porch before inviting others to join you, I have a couple of blogs that may help. Here is one with plenty of inspirational ideas. And here is one with some Porch/Patio Design 101 information. However, please do not let having a picture-perfect porch stop you from inviting others over. Now, if you liked this list, copy it and use washi tape to put it in your summer-curated life journal. Then, add more ideas as you think of them throughout the summer. Here is a blog post discussing the Summer Journal and how to use it to create lists for summer activities. We also offer a workshop-style course, ‘Guide to Creating a Summer Playbook’, that helps plan your summer fun. If you wish, join the 100 Days of Summer in our Curated Life Membership for more ideas, downloads, and adventure. Or to get our newsletter full of seasonal ideas, sign up here for a download to help you plan all your Summer Fun.
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