Feeling HOT HOT HOT with the Charcoal Challenge

So I recently had the opportunity host my ultimate BBQ...

MoneySupermarket sponsored some bloggers to write about how we would host a BBQ spending £50. What with this recent heatwave I couldn't wait!

I am a teacher, as is my husband and a few of our best friends are too (we met during our training). Schools have broken up this week for the summer holiday which means the party and BBQ season has started! Now that we have the little man, hosting a party at home is a really good option as he can sleep soundly upstairs while we have fun. When I saw that MoneySupermarket were giving away £50 and challenging bloggers to host a barbeque I was really excited and chuffed to be given the opportunity...

For £50 we bought...

2 disposable barbeques (£2 each!) 18 burgers (great quality Scottish Angus beef), 12 sausages, bread rolls, cheese, different fun sauces and dressings, salad, marshmallows for toasting, a small party keg of lager, coconut liqueur for cocktails, orange juice, cranberry juice, 6 magnum style ice creams, diet coke, birthday cake (a surprise for our friend who's birthday is next week), lots of limes for cocktails and not forgetting olives, crisps and gherkin slices...mmmmmm ( all from Lidl).

I already had bunting, rum (Tesco value), fairy lights, garden furniture, chimnea, logs for burning and great friends... what more could you need?

I set up the garden to look lovely, party-ish and special, using bunting left over from Jacob's birthday and rigging up some fairy lights for when it got dark. I set out the food and chilled the drinks.

The food was pretty much standard barbeque stuff  - but what else do you need? Jacob's dad did an awesome job of cooking it all and threw in a few surprises through the night too!!

 

To make things a little special and different we decided to serve cocktails, the first was a Caipirinha (or our own version of one anyway) you need...

• loads of limes sliced into wedges
• caster sugar or brown sugar might be better
• crushed ice
• rum (value stuff was fine for us)

we just add in all ingredients to taste and mash it down in the glasses with a wooden spoon - not very classy but tastes absolutely YUM!!

second was another of our own concoctions we will call it "That Holiday Feeling" you will need

• ice
• orange juice
• cranberry juice
• vodka
• coconut liqueur

I think this is basically Sex on the Beach but the way we made it with lots of the coconut and cranberry and less vodka and OJ it tasted delicious, the only downside was that I didn't have a jug so we had to use a rather old plastic measuring jug - again, not classy but tasted great!

The boys enjoyed the beer and it was really handy having it so that everyone could just help themselves and it really added a party / holiday vibe.

These drinks along with the "entertainment" (ahem), food,  music, friends, surroundings and WEATHER!! (it was so amazing honestly like being abroad, we were out until about 11pm in just our t-shirts) made it a brilliant night. I was so happy to host it and very grateful to get the chance!

Do you have any tips for the perfect BBQ?