Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,
Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is to host a porch party. Gathering friends on
Speaker 1: your porch, in your backyard or in a neighborhood park
Speaker 1: is a care free way to enjoy social time and
Speaker 1: make the most of pleasant weather. Lots of people say
Speaker 1: they would like to throw more parties or at least
Speaker 1: get to know neighbors or get together with friends, but
Speaker 1: hosting can feel intimidating. You may feel like you need
Speaker 1: to clean your house, prepare a special menu, and attend
Speaker 1: to every detail. Plus you have lots of demands on
Speaker 1: your time. But hosting doesn't have to be extravagant. You
Speaker 1: can always host a simple porch party and enjoy time
Speaker 1: with friends and neighbors with barely any expense or hassle
Speaker 1: at all. Here's how this works. You decide on a
Speaker 1: date and time and spread the word. I'll be on
Speaker 1: my porch on Saturday afternoon from four to six. I
Speaker 1: hope you'll drop by and say hello. Feel free to
Speaker 1: bring friends, kids, or pets. If you don't have a porch,
Speaker 1: you could do this in your yard or in a neighborhood, park,
Speaker 1: just somewhere that you can reliably be for a few hours.
Speaker 1: Then when the time comes, go out on your porch.
Speaker 1: You could make a picture of lemonade or iced tea
Speaker 1: and set the pitcher and cups on a table on
Speaker 1: your porch, Or you could fill a cooler with ice
Speaker 1: and bottled water or soda or beer. A bag of
Speaker 1: chips and some salsa would be a bonus, or any
Speaker 1: other snack that can be outside for a while. But
Speaker 1: all of that is up to you. No one is
Speaker 1: going to expect a fleet of waiters passing out orders
Speaker 1: on your porch. Then when friends drop by, you can
Speaker 1: simply enjoy being together. There is nothing you need to
Speaker 1: get done and dinner plans to execute. You just connect.
Speaker 1: If you are so inclined, you could have a frisbee
Speaker 1: of football bubbles or sidewalk chalk in case friends of
Speaker 1: any age would enjoy them, but again it's not necessary.
Speaker 1: You may have friends from different parts of your life
Speaker 1: drop by your porch at the same time, and it
Speaker 1: can be fun to introduce them. Neighbors walking their dogs
Speaker 1: may come say hello, even if you didn't officially invite them,
Speaker 1: and that can be an unexpected delight. There may be
Speaker 1: some time when you are on your porch alone between
Speaker 1: shifts of people, and that can be pleasant too. You
Speaker 1: probably can't predict who will be at the porch party
Speaker 1: way or what you'll do, but you can count on
Speaker 1: the time being low key and cool. A porch party
Speaker 1: is low stressed and pleasant for guests as well. You
Speaker 1: don't need to get dressed up since you're outdoors. You
Speaker 1: don't need to get a sitter. If your kids are
Speaker 1: also invited, you could bring food or drink to sheriff.
Speaker 1: That would be fun for you, but there's no expectation
Speaker 1: of that. For such an informal gathering, you don't need
Speaker 1: to arrive at a specific time and you can stay
Speaker 1: as long as you want. You get all the pleasure
Speaker 1: of a party without any of the pressure. So this
Speaker 1: summer and fall, while the weather's nice, consider hosting a
Speaker 1: porch party. And if you do, I would love to
Speaker 1: hear about it. You can reach me at Laura at
Speaker 1: Laura vandercam dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura.
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening and here's to making the most of
Speaker 1: our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.
Speaker 1: You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.
Speaker 1: Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast Pod. That's b the number four then Breakfast pod.
Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: Podcasts at iHeartMedia dot com that before Breakfast is spelled
Speaker 1: out with all the letters. Thanks so much, should I
Speaker 1: look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a
Speaker 1: production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the
Speaker 1: iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your
Speaker 1: favorite shows.