Two Cheap Outdoor Party Helpers That Actually Worked for Us
Outdoor graduation parties sound great until you start thinking about two very ordinary problems: keeping cold food cold and keeping bugs off everything.
For parties we held in the park, I bought two simple products that handled those jobs better than I expected.
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One was a Novelty Place inflatable ice serving buffet bar. The other was a set of Simply Genius pop-up mesh food covers.
My short version: both worked as expected. The buffet bar gave us a simple way to keep bowls of food cold, and the mesh covers did a good job keeping flies and other insects away.
How we used the inflatable buffet bar
We used these at graduation parties in the park. You put ice in the inflatable tray, then set bowls of food that need to stay cold down into it.
There was nothing complicated about it, which was the point. It worked well and did what I bought it to do.
The mesh covers were just as practical
The mesh covers were for the same outdoor parties. They went over bowls and serving dishes and did a good job keeping flies and other insects off the food.
For summer parties outside, I consider that close to essential. They are simple, reusable, and not a bad deal for solving a very annoying problem.
Would I use them again?
Yes. Neither product is exciting, but both made outdoor food service easier. Sometimes the things I remember most are the cheap products that quietly prevent a problem.