Hope everyone has been enjoying their Memorial Day weekend!

I am crossing my fingers hoping that the weather holds out and it doesn’t rain. Why? Because I want to barbecue, of course! What good is a Memorial Day without a grill, burgers, hot dogs, watermelon, etc?  I say “no good.”

For anyone who is leaving everything to the last minute for today’s BBQ endeavors, I decided to throw a post together last minute. The general idea in the post is that planning will make all of these things easier, but it isn’t 100% necessary.

With all of that being said, I hope everyone has a great day!

Personal Update: I just got great news on Friday! I have been told that I am being put up in a hotel in North New Jersey for an on-the-job training. I will be temporarily doing the job that my immediate manager does but in another location. The business had a need and decided to give me the opportunity to meet it. If all goes well, it will probably help out in getting me a promotion! I will be up there for two weeks. I don’t have a laptop so I have asked a few PF bloggers to help me out with some guest posts. I also have some posts drafted. If all goes well you won’t notice a difference in your normal posting schedule! I will still be around enough to reply to comments and e-mails, just won’t have the time to draft posts.

Cheap Ways to Have a Good BBQ

Equipment

When it comes to picnic tables, barbecues, grills, propane tanks, coolers, lawn chairs, and any other equipment your heart may desire, what are some cheap ways to outfit your lawn? Outdoor furniture is expensive, so check out:

• Craigslist.org – Craigslist is an online community that has free classified ads. You can find anything from jobs to houses to local sporting event tickets. You can try and find some of the BBQ equipment on sale for cheap, or even for free.
• Freecycle.org – The Freecycle Network builds upon the small section of Craigslist that has listings for free items. Freecycle is a worldwide network of “gifting groups” with the noble goal of diverting usable goods away from landfills. “Changing the world one gift at a time.”

Food & Beverage

• Plastic dishware, utensils, and cups can be picked up pretty cheaply from your local Dollar Store or Warehouse Club, like Sam’s Club or Costco. You could use all of the dishes you already own, but broken glass isn’t fun and neither is hours of clean up.
• Go potluck on the side dishes. Of course the main items will still need to be cooked on the BBQ the day of (like the burgers and hot dogs), but the side dishes can be done potluck. As a bonus, this will ensure everyone likes at least one thing! You may have to do some coordination so you don’t wind up with 18 potato salads and 1 macaroni salad.
• BYOB. Just like the mantra from above, there is no reason you should go broke getting everyone drunk. As the host, you should definitely provide some alcohol. But, ask people if they can either a) bring some, or b) chip in. If you are expecting a lot of people, kegs are great bargains. Kegs run from $45 for cheap beer to $150 for much better beer, like Sierra Nevada. A keg holds 180 beers, so if people are chipping in, this might be the best idea.
• Buy items on sale. Every so often, the grocery store runs great sales on chicken breast, hot dogs, and frozen burgers. There is no problem buying in bulk and/or ahead of time while their are sales. Don’t sacrifice on quality, though. It is worth it to get a healthier meat that won’t cook poorly. There are some items you should never pay full price for, like chips and soda.
• Stuff your guests with carbs. Serve the pasta and potato salad, baked potatoes, and other carb rich options first. This will fill up guests and will cut down on your meat budget.
• Other good & cheap food ideas: Pizza, lasagna, garlic bread, fresh fruit, popsicles, etc.

Decorations and Events

• Relay races provide an amazingly fun time for groups of all ages. If you are in a group with children, spin everyone around a bunch of times and have them do the race as is. If it is an adult group, spin them around AND turn it into a drinking race.
• Baseball is an All-American past-time and kickball closely mimics it. If you have a lot of property or a field close-by, think about getting two teams together out of your crew.
• Football is the other All-American sport. There isn’t anything better than throwing the pig skin around, so this is also a cheap and fun alternative.
• Tealights are a cheap way to beautify your back yard while offering light for your barbecue. You can put them around the yard in small glass candle holders to give a good ambiance.
• Disposable cameras lying around are a great way to get a few candid shots to remember the fun BBQ. They cost about $8 each (or so?) but can give you a break from snapping all the pics!

Have Fun!

Obviously, as I have already said, all of these things work better if you have some time to plan ahead. But, if you decided to wait until the last minute like the procrastinator you are, hopefully a few of these tips provide useful!

If you take only one thing away from this article, though, SIGN UP FOR FREECYCLE. You can get lots of free items that still have a lot of useful life left.

If you have any other suggestions for throwing an awesome, yet frugal, BBQ, please let the readers and I know in the comments!