Labor Day Cookout Guide

The last major holiday of the summer is right around the corner and we know you’ve got cookout plans. We’ve got some tips for throwing an awesome Labor Day Cookout to end your summer with a BANG!

If you are planning on doing a celebratory cookout with just the folks in your household, make it fun by:

• Assigning different tasks to the people in your household. Dad grills, Kids set the table or fill the coolers, Mom preps the sides, etc.
• Bringing out games and activities, whether it be a water balloon toss, corn hole or flag football.
• Getting your neighbors in on it. Maybe you can have a front lawn celebration with the people in your neighborhood. Someone can play music, and everyone can enjoy a good time from a distance.

If you want to go for a bigger celebration with family and friends, here are a few precautions to consider:

• First and foremost, take a look at your guest list. If you’re planning to invite 50 people, but have a 50 square foot backyard, you might want to par down that guest list. Ensure that you have a space large enough to keep enough space between people. The more room, the better!

• Have your guests bring food or supplies. Plates, cutlery and drinks are always easy. If possible, try to secure individually wrapped cutlery or cans of soda as opposed to liters. This will reduce the amount of potential indirect contact between people. If you are preparing food, make sure that you are taking proper precautions to make sure the food is as safe as possible.

• Rather than arranging your yard for one large gathering, think about arranging for several smaller gatherings. Set up a table for each family/household with its own trash bag if possible. Rather than preparing large tubs or trays of food, consider packaging an individual container for each household to serve from. Think of it like Labor Day Cookout Family Style! If possible, have each household/family member bring their own cooler where they can leave a portion of their drinks. Encourage every household to come equipped with their own hand sanitizer as well, which brings us to our next tip…

• Be sure you have enough hand sanitizer!!! This is super important at preventing the spread of germs and ensuring everyone has a fun and safe celebration.

These tips may seem a lot different than the way you’re typically used to planning a summer cookout, but this is just a reality of the times! Think positively about ways to still make the day worthwhile. Whether you’re stringent on celebrating within your own household or want to adventurously invite family and friends, we hope you have a safe and socially distant Labor Day Cookout!