How to create a festival in your garden

A white teepee outside, decorated with a large pink balloon arch

Check out more of our easy party food recipes here, from classic nachos to potato wedges and brioche ice cream sandwiches. If you're looking for healthy dishes, make one of our nourishing salads, or check out our easy picnic food ideas for portable summery snacks (we love these fruit-themed party picks for finger food).

Paprika chicken kebabs on a plate, next to grilled pineapple chunks

Hot dogs

Who could say no to gourmet hot dogs? Make entertaining easy by plating up meat or veggie sausages and serve alongside shop-bought buns and toppings – our buffalo dogs, hot dogs with mustard slaw and hot dogs with sesame tzatziki are great examples.

Prep ahead by pre-making your own condiments and serving in hand-labelled bottles and jars: try our homemade BBQ sauce, homemade sriracha, BBQ marinades, easy aïoli and hot pepper jelly (it's also worth investing in reusable glass bottles and jam jars for future hosting events).

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No-bake desserts and sweet traybakes

No-bake desserts make brilliant time-saving treats – whip up a decadent Oreos Baileys fridge cake in 20 minutes, impress your friends with this eton mess cheesecake or go all out with this epic coffee and cream fridge cake – all with no baking required. Traybakes are easy treats to serve too: this retro school cake is simple to make, or serve these Terry’s Chocolate Orange brownies and watch them disappear in minutes.

Oreo Baileys fridge cake, with a large chunk taken out to reveal the layered filling

Jug cocktails

Take your home festival-themed party to the next level with our summer-inspired jug cocktails: our white wine sangria sings summer, while a jug of Jamaican rum punch will really pack a punch. For those who aren't into fruity cocktails there's always the option for beer cocktails, or whip up a mocktail for a summery tipple without the hangover. To serve your cocktails, we love the look of this artisanal pitcher and ceramic gluggle jug, while this pink glass bowl and ladle set is perfect for a bright and fruity punch.

DIY cocktail stand

If mixing drinks in your kitchen sounds like too much bother, set up a DIY cocktail stand and leave your friends to fix up their favourite drink. Simply arrange your spirits, syrups and mixers on a table, with a cocktail shaker (a smoothie maker cup will do), plenty of cocktail glasses and a recipe card for each cocktail. Find our best cocktail recipes here, from espresso martini to margarita and blue lagoon.

Fancy elevating your mixology skills? Check out our guide to the best cocktail accessories, from shakers and strainers to ice buckets and blenders. For glassware, we love this set of spiral cocktail glasses, and this set of coupe cocktail glasses is great value for money. Looking for festival-themed cups? We love the look of these fringed gold party cups, iridescent cactus cups, circus fringe party cups and reusable neon hi-ball glasses.

An amber-coloured cocktail in a tall glass next to a silver cocktail shaker with wedges of lime

Festival decorations and furniture

Transform your garden into a festival-themed paradise with bright and colourful decorations – drape rainbow tassel garlands, paper streamers and solar festoon lights over bushes and fences and cover the ground with funky throws, blankets and outdoor cushions for friends to chill on. A box full of party accessories is perfect for getting friends in the festival spirit – fill with feather crowns, floral party crowns and funky flower glasses.

This macrame wall hanging provides a great backdrop for pictures, or go one step further with an impressive balloon arch. You could also decorate your table with neon dip dye candles and LED glass bottle lights for when the evening creeps in. If you haven't invested in garden furniture, you might want to jazz up your garden with hanging chairs, hammocks, deckchairs and a bistro table set.