Outdoor Entertaining In Kent: The Best Ideas For Your Garden In 2025

 

Outdoor Entertaining In Kent: The Best Ideas For Your Garden In 2025

As warm weather and a dry spring settle in Kent, your Sittingbourne estate agent, Quealy & Co, offers fantastic suggestions for outdoor entertaining preparations! 

When the warmer months arrive, many of us are eager to make the most of our beautiful outdoor spaces. Entertaining outside is a wonderful option for the warmer evenings that spring and summer welcome. It allows you to enjoy wonderful times with your family and friends, and the preparation work makes your home look absolutely stunning too!

The Quealy & Co team love entertaining outdoors, so we thought we would share our best outdoor entertaining tips with you while we keep our fingers crossed for a long and hot summer in Kent!

---

1. Arrange A Relaxed Seating Area    Garden furniture does not need to be arranged in the same formality as you would inside.

Outdoor entertaining should be relaxed and informal, so spread your seating around to reflect this. Add plenty of cushions to your seats to soften the area and encourage your guests to relax.

Benches work really well, especially if you are entertaining a large number. It encourages people to mingle and can work especially well when laying out food for your guests to enjoy.

A very popular trend for 2025 seems to be the hanging chair! Doesn’t it just scream reading nook? 

---

2. Create A Mobile Drinks Station  

Creating a mobile drinks station outside reduces the risk of muddy shoes being dragged through your home and allows guests to help themselves throughout the evening.

A small table on wheels works perfectly as a mobile drinks station. 

Include glasses, cups, and straws, as well as drinks stirrers and napkins. Then simply add a selection of wine, spirits and mixers, and your guests can help themselves. You can also easily create a cool box using a plastic bucket filled with ice, which is excellent for storing beers and keeping them cold all afternoon.

As a great way to make children feel involved, add a smaller drinks cart for them to use. Fill the trolley with soft drinks and fun straws to keep the children entertained.

Just be sure to keep the trolley in the shade and keep the bottle opener nearby! 

If you really want to splash out on the drinks zone, we absolutely LOVE this Rowlinson Garden Mini Bar on wheels!

---

3. Let the Weather Guide You  

Unfortunately, perfect weather cannot be guaranteed even in the height of our UK summer. So, it is always recommended to hope for the best, but plan for the worst!

Large parasols can work well as sun blockers and help protect from the rain should an afternoon shower occur. Additionally, keep some blankets handy as the sun begins to set and the cold evening chill encroaches on your guests. Providing everyone is comfortable, there is no reason that a change in the weather should spoil your gathering.  

---

4. Consider a Fire Pit  

Fire pits are an excellent investment for your garden. As the sun sets and a chill appears in the air, a fire pit is a lovely way to keep your guests warm and entertained.

There is a vast array of options when considering a fire pit. Some homeowners opt for a permanent fixture in the ground, whereas others favour a temporary solution. If you don’t have a huge outside space, the portable version can be great for pulling out when visitors arrive.

A fire pit is amazing for warming up your garden as the weather turns and provides the perfect place to toast marshmallows!

---

5. Consider a Picnic Area  

If you have more guests than outdoor seats, consider setting up a chic picnic area.

Use a variety of blankets and pillows to create a stunning picnic space for your guests to enjoy. Bunting is one of the easiest ways to create a party mood. Drape it over a nearby tree, decant a cocktail into a colourful pitcher and pick patterned picnicware for a celebratory picnic vibe! We adore this delightful fabric bunting from Talking Tables for a gentle summer garden ambience.

This style helps embody the laid-back, relaxed atmosphere most families want to emulate when entertaining outside. 

---

6. Pre-Prepare Food  

When hosting a dinner party inside, your guests will generally gather around the kitchen as you add the finishing touches to the meal. This can be a terrific time to spend with your guests whilst enjoying a drink.

However, cooking for a garden party can isolate you from your guests and make it difficult to be the best host!

Choosing light bites that can be pre-prepared beforehand allows you to spend the most amount of time entertaining your guests outdoors.

Think charcuterie! Who doesn't love those divine little slices of cold cuts and manchego? A charcuterie board offers a fun, effortless way to entertain that’s very inclusive. Typically, no cooking is required — you have enough on your plate as a host. They can also be customised endlessly to accommodate various dietary preferences. Set up a grazing board, and soon guests will be snacking and mingling in one shared space. It's an instant way to kick off the garden party!

If you are feeling super lazy, how about ordering a grazing table or charcuterie board from Kent-based business Delicario?

---

7. Create Soft Lighting  

Building the perfect ambience when entertaining in the evening can be particularly tricky.

Bigger, brighter bulbs can make the lighting harsh and uneven, especially if you have a large outdoor space. Opting for a range of softer outdoor lights with smaller bulbs will illuminate the garden. A mixture of small bulbs and fairy lights will be sure to set the right tone for your evening.

The exciting trend for your 2025 garden is vibrant smart lights! Unlike traditional lighting, which often features plain cool whites and warm oranges, smart lights allow you to play around with an amazing range of colors. This means you can create stunning, stylish lighting that evolves from day to day and hour to hour, ensuring you never have to settle for the same look all year long. The team at Quealy & Co truly loves these smart LED white and colour festoon lights from John Lewis. Just a heads-up; you might find yourself distracted while arranging your ideal lighting setup!

Where alcohol, children or even pets are involved, it is always best to steer clear of candles. While giving an incredible glow, they often offer more danger than reward.

---

Looking for a new home with the perfect outdoor space in Kent?

If you are looking for a new home to buy or rent in Sittingbourne and the surrounding Kent area then you can browse our properties for sale and to let here. 

For no-obligation advice on buying or selling a home in Sittingbourne, Sheerness, Minster, Faversham, Canterbury, Rainham, Gillingham, Chatham, Rochester and Maidstone, get in touch with Quealy & Co. 

Quealy & Co Estate Agents are your local property experts for the Sittingbourne area. Call us on 01795 429836 or email hello@quealy.co.uk to chat with a member of our friendly and experienced team.

Alternatively, use our instant online valuation tool for an estimation of your home’s value.