A 4th of July Clambake! With an outdoor movie night!
By Yajaira Franco, July 4, 2022
I love the 4th of July! Warm weather and longer days what’s not to love. It’s the perfect time to spend with family and friends enjoying summer drinks and great food. This year, I threw a Clambake for a small group of friends along with my family. I love hosting outdoor gatherings. This year I combined my love for a beautiful tablescape with an outdoor movie night to keep the kids busy while the adults indulged in some summery drinks, like margaritas and refreshing pinot grigio wine, which makes a perfect drink for seafood clambake.
Setting up a beautiful table is one of my favorite things! I love mixing patterns when setting a table. I love combining vintage and new pieces. Blue Vintage Libbey goblets add a touch of sophistication, accompanied by blue rim margarita glasses to get my guests excited and ready for a good time. Super cute small red ceramic colanders from Hobby Lobby worked great to dispose of the shells and worked perfectly to hold small wine bottles and crab crackers and of course an added lemon for a nice touch of color. All plates, placemats, and silverware were from HomeGoods. To say that I love HomeGoods is an understatement! Store associates at my local HomeGoods know me on a first-name basis, lol yes, I am that popular what can I say!
I kept the centerpieces simple but perfectly coordinated with the Red, White and Blue color scheme. A combination of White and Blue hydrangeas along with Red Roses and Ranunculus gave the perfect patriotic look and feel. I got the flowers from my favorite place for fresh flowers and great varieties of Trader Joe’s! Yes! Supermarket flowers! You don’t have to break the bank when creating beautiful centerpieces, also a perfect table can’t be complete without candles. I love having an outdoor dinner with tons of candles to set the mood for a relaxing time.
The food! My goal when I host parties at my house is to do the least amount of cooking possible! A Clambake is a one-pot meal so it can’t be any easier than that. Some of my friends were super nice and brought some side dishes. My friend Nic brought her famous coleslaw YUMMY! For drinks! The perfect Pinot Grigio wine and my husband’s most delicious margaritas.
I love taking tons of pictures, so I put together a backdrop with balloons on a pergola that my husband built for me a few years ago. The kids had fun taking silly pictures and we created memories for years to come.
To end the night with a bang, the kids enjoyed an outdoor movie that kept them nice and quiet for a bit lol! The weather was perfect, I wouldn’t ask for a much better day! It was the perfect day with the perfect group of people.
“May we think of freedom, not as the right to do as we please, but as the opportunity to do what is right.” God bless America!
