The best way to honor the spirit of Labor Day with the days of summer winding down, is to have a relaxing, no stress, no fuss party that requires as little work as possible for everyone. A relaxing backyard picnic, pool party or nicely air conditioned open house all fit the bill especially this summer while we need to practice social distancing due to COVID-19.
Here are 8 Labor Day party ideas and tips for safely celebrating this year.
Host outdoors or virtually
This seems like a no brainer, but it really is the most essential part of preventing the spread of COVID-19 and celebrating safely. When you host an outdoor party, you can make sure there is physical distancing among guests, easily set up tables and chairs with a 6 foot space in between, and try to eliminate as much close contact as possible.
If you’re not comfortable with a ‘real’ party this summer, you can always host your Labor Day party virtually! With a virtual party, you can invite more guests, and even see friends and family from all over the country and world.
Outline safety guidelines beforehand
As always, you should check local and federal government regulations before hosting a party. From these guidelines, you can see how many guests you can invite as well as determine any necessary precautions you may need to take in advance.
For yourself, guests, and any vendors involved, it is best to decide ahead of time whether or not face masks will be required or strongly recommended. When setting up tables and seating, you can also
Set up Sanitizing Stations
To help everyone in attendance feel and remain safe, you can set up small sanitizing stations throughout the party. All you need to do is have some hand sanitizer, cleansing wipes, and even a few masks available in strategic locations like the entrance, near the food and drinks, and near any party games.
Pick a Theme
You can always go with a traditional red, white, and blue theme, but it’s more fun to kick it up a notch this year with something new. Some fun summer themes that will be good for a Labor Day soiree include a nautical, tropical, or coastal social theme.
Grill it
When it comes to a summer party, grilling is the obvious choice. However, a lot of people are a little burned out on hot dogs and hamburgers by this point of the year. While traditional Labor Day recipes will always be a hit, you can always try something new on the grill like grilled caesar salad or grilled pizza.
Craft custom cocktails
When keeping safety top of mind, it’s easy to have canned and single serving beverages (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) available. If you are looking to spice it up, you can come up with a signature cocktail. We personally love a good summer sangria, classic margarita, or a fresh mojito.
Hire entertainment
As it may not feel like your normal Labor Day party, adding entertainment is a fun way to make the party feel just as exciting as it typically would. If you hire entertainment, someone is going to have to work. But entertainers aren't like the rest of us, they aren't happy unless they're working!
Consider something that evokes the easy, no-work attitude you're trying to achieve like a Steel Drum, Reggae or a Caribbean band. If you have a lot of little ones attending, you can also consider one of these kid friendly entertainers.
Set up outdoor party games
Along with any hired entertainment, party games are always a must at an outdoor event. Standard summer favorites like corn hole and bocce ball will have guests mingling and maybe even a little competitive. If it’s going to be hot this Labor Day, you can fill up some water balloons for the younger crowd.
Relax and enjoy
Summer is winding down, and since it’s been a less than typical year so far, you want to make sure as the party host you can enjoy yourself—that is the point of Labor Day after all!
