Hosting a BBQ is a great way to gather together your family in a celebration of the warm weather and provide a setting in which they can catch up on each others’ lives.

To make your family BBQ one to remember, integrate some fun and uncommon features into the gathering. These simple additions can give your potentially bland event a kick of pizazz:

Picture Cup Labels

Many BBQ hosts save cash and help the environment by labeling cups so that guests can keep track of, and use, their beverage holders. Spice up your standard cup labeling process by trading the permanent marker for pictures of your party guests. Before your party, obtain images of each guest’s face. Size these images to fit on a standard plastic cup. Before guests show up on party day, create loops of duct tape and place them on the back of each image to attach them to your cups. While duct tape is not the most aesthetically pleasing tape, if you make your loop small enough, it will not be visible. This strong tape stands up well to moisture. Place your pre-labeled cups out next to your beverages, and ask your guests to use them.

Personalized Place Mats

Make your BBQ place settings informative. To prepare these place mats, gather information about the guests who will be attending your event. Type out these tidbits of information, omitting the name of the family member that the information is about. Print out your collected info sheets, and attach them to paper place mats. Use stickers or your artistic skill to decorate each mat. Either leave the name of the individual that each mat describes off the mat entirely, asking guests to come to you when they think they know who their mats describe, or place the name on the reverse of each mat, allowing guests to use these mats to quiz themselves.

Hamburger Creation Bar

Add some variety to your BBQ menu without breaking the bank by preparing a hamburger creation bar. Next to your grill or in the bug-free kitchen, lay out an assortment of hamburger toppings for your guests. Include the ordinary, such as cheese, lettuce and tomato, as well as the uncommon, such as pineapple rings, jalapenos and avocado wedges.

Side Dish Competition

Engage your family members in a side dish competition. When you send your BBQ party invitations out, include an attachment asking each family to bring a side dish to the gathering. Promise guests a reward if their prepared dish beats out the competition. Before your event, prepare numbers to label the dishes with so that guests are not influenced by their knowledge of who made what. At the conclusion of the event, ask each guest to vote on which dish they most enjoyed. Award the ribbons in accordance with the voting.

Do you have any ideas for fun ways to spice up a BBQ? Share them in the comment section!