Show Up to Every BBQ Like a Hero (No Cooking Required)
Updated: Aug 24
This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases — at no extra cost to you
Let me be honest with you. I am not the one bringing the potato salad. I am not the one who spent Saturday morning prepping anything that required a recipe, a timer, or a dish that needs to be returned. But I will show up to your backyard with something that makes people say "wait, where did you get that" — and I will always leave as a hero. Here's exactly how.
The Secret Nobody Talks About
The best thing you can bring to a BBQ is not food. It is the thing nobody else thought of. It's the game everyone ends up playing for three hours. It's the drink kit that becomes the highlight of the cooler. It's the beautiful thing on the table that looks like someone put real thought into it, because you did, it just didn't involve cooking.
Bring a Game Nobody Has Seen Before
This is your single highest-impact move. Everyone has cornhole. Everyone has ladder toss. Show up with something different and you will immediately become the most popular person at the party.
Outside — the classics with a twist:
I have added the Amazon links to these products, however, both ring toss and snake pit are really inexpensive, really, really inexpensive. For the ring toss I did purchase these rings, however, bottles are a bit more tricky. You can use any bottles of soda you would like, however, often I will modify what I am using based on a particular holiday, or even the age of the players. Bottles of beer are easy for adults with these rings, however, for our 4th of July celebration I used red, white, and blue gatarodes for the kids, and cheap glowstick bracelets for the rings, and this became a game for all ages. For snake pit, this is not a game you purchase, it is pool noodles, use the pool noodles you likely already have, or even worn out or damaged pool noodles, it doesnt matter for this game. If you don't have any you likely know someone who does, or get some at the dollar store - really! If you are using for small children, you cut them in half, so you need half as many! Don't overthink it.
Also, the other games do have Amazon links, but you can also watch for them at craft shows as many of these have become quite popular and people have started making their own, and selling them. For convenience though, the links are provided.
Ring toss with soda bottles — This one is straight out of a church picnic, and it works every single time. Line up bottles of soda, hand out rings, and whoever lands one gets to keep that bottle. Simple, nostalgic, zero setup cost, and everyone remembers it. I brought this once to a neighborhood party and it became a two-hour tournament nobody planned.
Snake Pit — This one is for your competitive friends, and I cannot stress that enough. Pile a bunch of pool noodles in the center of a circle. Everyone holds hands standing around the pile. The goal is simple — be the last person who hasn't touched a noodle, aka a snake. You pull, drag, and maneuver the people next to you trying to force them to step on one. Someone goes down, they're out, the circle gets smaller. With the right group this becomes an elimination tournament that lasts longer than the actual meal. Fair warning — friendships will be tested. If you have a group of kids there, you can have them play their own version, if they are small kids, cut the noodles in half.
Yardzee — Giant outdoor Yahtzee played with oversized wooden dice. You can make the large wooden dice yourself using basic tools and supplies or grab a set that's ready to go. Easy to learn, works for any size group, and looks impressive set up on a lawn.
Kubb — The Viking lawn game almost nobody knows about and everyone immediately loves. Toss your wooden cylinders underhand to knock over your opponents' blocks, then topple their king to win. Usually best played on grass and packs up into a nylon carrying case. Bring this once and people will ask you to bring it every time.
Kan Jam — Fun and competitive in a friendly way, durable, easy to transport, and even easier to set up. Two teams, one flying disc, first to 21 wins. Takes about four minutes to explain and an entire afternoon to stop playing.
If It Rains — Minute to Win It Style
Rain is not a party killer if you're prepared. Clear a little floor space, grab some household supplies, and suddenly you have a tournament that keeps everyone off their phones for the rest of the night. These require almost nothing and deliver maximum chaos.
The Oreo Challenge — Place an Oreo on your forehead. Using only your facial muscles — no hands — work it down your face and into your mouth in 60 seconds. Sounds completely doable. It is not. The cookie almost always falls and watching someone's face contort trying to save it is worth the entire evening. This one goes first every time.
Shake It — Strap an empty tissue box filled with ping pong balls around your waist. Without using your hands, shake until all the balls are out. It is a cardio workout disguised as a party game and it is absolutely impossible to do with any dignity whatsoever. Your neighbors will never let anyone live this one down.
Marshmallow Toss — Partners stand a set distance apart. One tosses mini marshmallows, the other catches them in their mouth. Ten catches in 60 seconds wins. Simple, immediate, works for any group size, and pairs who practice in advance will be immediately accused of cheating.
The Paper Bag Game — Place an open paper bag on the floor. Players squat down, bite the top edge, and pick it up without using their hands or touching the floor. Once standing, tear off the bitten part, set it back down, and go again. It gets progressively harder as the bag gets shorter. No supplies needed beyond a grocery bag and the willingness to look absolutely ridiculous in front of your friends.
Set a timer, keep a scoreboard, and offer a silly prize for the winner. A $5 gift card, a bottle of something, bragging rights — it doesn't matter what it is. What matters is that someone has to earn it in front of everyone. That's the whole point.
Bring Something Beautiful for the Table
You don't cook. Fine. But you can absolutely stop at a nice grocery store or deli and walk in with something that looks like it took effort even when it didn't.
A store-bought charcuterie board arranged on a beautiful wooden board you already own, or if it is for a house-warming or other type of occasion where you would normally purchase a gift for the host, buy a charcuterie (I suggest one with a lid as they get more use for things like outdoor parties), then after the celebration they board stays with them as their gift. A bakery dessert plated on something pretty. A jar of locally made jam with a box of fancy crackers. Flowers from the farmer's market in a mason jar. These things cost what a casserole costs and they photograph better.
The goal is to arrive with something that makes the host feel thought of — and that is entirely achievable without turning on a single burner.
Bring the Drink Situation Nobody Else Thought Of
A cocktail kit is an underrated BBQ bring. A bottle of good vodka, a pretty bottle of elderflower liqueur, some fresh lemonade, and a bag of ice is a complete drink station that costs less than a case of beer and feels infinitely more special.
Or show up with a fun drink dispenser already filled with a batch cocktail — sangria, a big-batch margarita, or a sparkling punch — and set it on the table. Instant hero status. The host doesn't have to play bartender, and everyone feels like they're at a real party. I have a glass dispenser but do regret not buying one like this, 2 Gallon Glass Beverage Dispenser with Stand and Lid, as it is not always convenient to have the dispenser at the edge of a table. Also, if you end up getting one with a handle on the lid, I would not suggest carrying it by the handle.
The Orange Cream Cocktail Nobody Saw Coming
I fell in love with this one recently and I have not stopped thinking about it. It tastes exactly like an orange creamsicle from childhood except it is absolutely for adults only.
The basic version is simple; orange vodka, orange juice, and a splash of cream or half and half over ice. Shake it, pour it, watch people's faces when they take the first sip. Nobody expects it and everyone asks for the recipe.
For a BBQ, make it as a big batch in a drink dispenser the night before, combine your orange vodka, orange juice, and cream, stir well, and refrigerate. Add ice when you're ready to serve and garnish with an orange slice. It travels beautifully, looks gorgeous in a glass dispenser, and costs almost nothing to make.
The upgrade: swap regular vodka for whipped cream vodka and add a splash of orange liqueur like Triple Sec or Grand Marnier. It takes the creamsicle flavor from good to absolutely ridiculous. Here is a link to the My Bartender site with the recipe: Orange Creamsicle Cocktail: A Creamy Citrus Vodka Drink That Tastes Like Dessert
The One Rule
Bring something with a story. The ring toss with soda bottles has a story. The Viking game nobody has heard of has a story. The gorgeous charcuterie board you assembled in the car in the parking lot has a story — even if you keep that part to yourself.
People don't remember what they ate at a BBQ. They remember what they laughed at. Show up with the laugh and you will never need to bring a casserole again.
Want to stay in the loop?
Pop your email in here and I'll send a roundup of what's new on the blog about once a week, plus you'll get access to the free Social Lifeline Ritual Guide, my simple approach to staying close to the people who matter, even when life gets full.
Comments