Whether your outdoor space extends to lush lawns, a patio, deck or balcony it can be quickly and easily transformed to create the perfect outdoor area for inviting friends and family round to enjoy a day or evening of entertainment.

With these tips and ideas on entertaining outdoors, we hope to inspire you to make the most of your outdoor space this summer and beyond.

Is there anything better than cooking outdoors on a warm summer afternoon or evening and enjoying relaxed time with family and friends? Get your BBQ fired up and enjoy some tasty treats from tangy citrus delights to potato boats and a delicious S’mores dip, the perfect way to round off your feast!

Be sure to grill safely with these top BBQ tips and some extra recipes.

For a break with tradition, a pizza party is not only great fun, but everyone can customise their toppings to get exactly what they want so there is no waste!

Best of all you can get perfect pizzas in 3 minutes with the portable Sahara tabletop pizza oven from Calor, or by adding a pizza stone to your BBQ, so you can even cook your creations outdoors too.

Prepare your dough in advance and set out a selection of pizza toppings for everyone to customise their own pizza, before baking to perfection and settling down to enjoy your Italian feast.

Evening get togethers are always enjoyable but often we don’t consider using our outdoor space for evening gatherings. You can easily extend your time outdoors by adding heat and light to your outdoor space.

Whether you are having drinks and nibbles or plan on serving a meal or takeaway, set the scene with solar powered, battery or plug in lights or lanterns to make your outdoor space look beautiful.

Be creative and think about where else you can include lights to showcase your plants, or create a canopy of lights by hanging them overhead.

To stay cosy, have throws and cushions available and check out the range of outdoor heaters from Calor. They really do have an option for all outdoor spaces with everything from tabletop and free standing patio heaters to flame towers, ensuring you and your guests stay cosy no matter what the weather.

And with their renewable 6kg and 11kg gas tanks, Calor have the perfect fit for your outdoors and are kinder to the planet too.

Once you have your heating and lighting set up, you can be creative with your evening entertainment.

We love hosting cinema nights in the garden with kids, grandparents and neighbours all invited round to watch a family movie under the stars. We have a small projector, which are easy to source from local electrical retailers or online, and we use the side of the house as our screen!

Add in cushions, bean bags or deck chairs, popcorn and treats and you are ready to go! It is a real treat on warm summer nights for kids and adults alike.

No good outdoor gathering would be complete without a round of s’mores! Fire up the BBQ or heater, hand out the skewers, biscuits, chocolates and marshmallows and you are ready to go. Or you could try this tasty s’mores dip.

For the pot luck element of your party, ask guests to bring along a ready prepared dish that everyone can tuck into before cooking your s’mores.

Add a theme to your outdoor get together to get everyone in the party mood!

Ask guests to arrive in outfits/costumes associated with the theme and prepare food, music, decorations and games to tie in with the theme. You’ll find loads of themed party ideas in our party section to get you started.

If you would prefer to keep it simple, have a dance party, all you need is some music and enthusiastic guests!

If you have the space, a homemade obstacle course is a great way to keep kids, teens and adults entertained.

For fun outdoor games that require no equipment or set up, check out how to play everything from Land, Sea, Air to Choose Your Corner!

For smaller spaces, or to simply keep the kids entertained, you could organise a scavenger hunt.

Finally how about an outdoor family board games night? Just make sure you invite the neighbours so the inevitable family arguments don’t keep them awake!

We hope these entertaining ideas inspire you to make the most of your outdoor area and to safely enjoy time with family and friends outdoors at home.