Beach party equals a Low Country Boil for us. Easy to prep and easy to cook. we put a pot on our grill when having a smaller group (fewer then 8).

There are lots of sites with the recipe, here’s one.

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/44033/daves-low-country-boil/

I like the taco idea or maybe even easier would be enchiladas. That way you could have the enchiladas ready to pop in the oven. Either chicken or beef. With that I would do chips and dip (have you done the cream cheese mixed with salsa?) and corn salad. Everything could be made ahead (the salad and dip would need to chill a couple of hours or so) and all that would need to be cooked would be the enchiladas. You could do the same with tacos and just have your meat to do once everyone is there. If you have access to a produce market there you might slice up some tomatoes, cucumbers, melon, etc. That'd work for us 'cause we are casual people too! :)

Sounds like great fun!!

Prep ahead casseroles are so host friendly, and loved by almost all. Yes to chicken enchiladas and corn salad, TinaMarie!! I love sour cream mixed in salsa…must try cream cheese! Oh, and a frosty pitcher of watermelon margueritas!

I love mexican food, so my first thought was tacos or tostados. Then thinking make ahead, I thought lasagna. Even easier, baked mostaccioli.

Make ahead potato or mac salad. Then have deli meats and fixings for sandwiches.

Enchilada casserole is so easy to make ahead and is actually better the second day. A fresh green salad and beans round it out. Beans are also better the next day.

This is summery and easy and a crowd-pleaser. There is lots of chopping but most of it can be made ahead. I usually serve it with hummus as well.

https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/chicken-gyros-with-cucumber-salsa-and-tsatsiki-351874

I made Kaleb's Fresh Herb Pasta Salad last week and it was out of this world. And I'm normally not a pasta salad fan at all. You could easily add diced chicken to it (would need more dressing in that case) or serve it with grilled chicken. Sounds like a fun weekend with people you can chill with.

Edit - I did not have pine nuts so used sprouted pumpkin seeds and they worked great.

What fun! If the party is in the summer, I'd stick with the grill... when my family gathers, we generally do kebobs or a mixed grill. We always do a variety of sausages, chicken, and filet.. but you could do shrimp or lamb or... well, anything you want! Both would pair well with your salads and sides.

My sister just returned from the outbanks and they did a seafood boil that came in a big can (like the potato chip cans of our youth!). I bet you could get something like that locally if it sounds like it will work.. it included lots of seafood, sausage, potatoes and corn. It was a huge hit with their group!

Oooh such good ideas!

Why didn’t I think of kebabs! That’s easy and can do most of the prep ahead. I may do that with a pasta salad and yumm off to look for a watermelon margarita recipe…

Late to the party but I second the kebabs (we call them skewers here) We had a family reunion a couple of years ago, for about 30. I made tenderloin kebabs, chicken breast, chicken thighs, halibut, prawns and then veggie skewers, a bunch of onion and peppers, some mushroom, and some with 1" coins of corn on the cob, zucchini and onion. Rather than marinades, I did a bunch of sauces; chipoltle mayo, tzatziki, sweet chili, honey mustard, cocktail sauce, horseradish... Basically something for everyone. Other family memebers brought salads and desserts and it was fabulous.

Several folks beat me to the suggestion of chicken enchiladas. I've never been let down using this fabulous recipewhich is super easy to assemble then refrigerate and cook whenever you are ready. The homemade sauce is AMAZING.

I usually serve this with yellow rice/veggies (a cup of frozen mixed veggies dumped into the rice cooker 10 minutes before serving), fresh corn and tortilla chips with guac and salsa. Yummy...

I think kebabs are the perfect choice! Or a taco bar. I would not want to have to turn on the oven to heat up food like enchiladas, if it's a hot day.

We also like taco salad as a summer main dish; you can heat up the meat and beans on the stovetop or grill and people can add whatever they wish from a taco bar type arrangement.

Should have mentioned in my post that I have found that a lot of peope are not as happy as we are with Mexican flavours. Therefore, unless I know my audience, I shy away from Mexican flavours. Thats why I find that skewers with plain protein /veggie skewers with a bunch of optional sauces work well for a crowd. Of course if you know the tastes of your guests, Mexican is a great way to go!

Kebobs are great for a casual dinner but not so great at room temp, which may be a concern if people are arriving at different times. i would probably save that for day 2 (still assembling them ahead before everyone arrives) and do a taco salad bar on the first night. Chips for those who make salads and shells / soft tacos for those who want the traditional envelope. And i would plan a great summer comfort food dessert like banana pudding or fruit pie.

Wishing your DH a happy birthday celebration and many returns of the day! 🎈🎂🥳⭐️🍾🥂

We all do like Mexican but I have never made enchiladas and don’t want to ”experiment” for this night. I think kebobs will be great, we are arriving at different times but will wait until everyone is there to eat. I can have everything ready to throw on the grill ahead of time.

The second night we are going on a sunset sail and have dinner reservations at a restaurant on the waterfront.

The following weekend, I have a family celebration planned, including secretly flying middle DS home from across the country. I am definitely winning the Good Wife award in August. We will be doing dinner out, then the next day a city scavenger hunt, lunch, then escape room (DH loves puzzles etc), and the following day brunch at our house with extended family. I wrote out the weekend agenda, took a photo, and turned it into a puzzle with shutterfly. Will give DH the puzzle on his actual bday, which is a couple days before the family weekend…but he still won’t know about DS until he shows up that Fri afternoon.

Side note/question. DS (and GF) is arriving at airport mid afternoon. Originally I had wanted them to just show up at the restaurant for dinner but that’s 4 hours later so I need a new plan. I am thinking I’ll just walk out the door and tell DH I’m going to run some errands…an hour later I’ll come back and ask DH to help me ”carry something heavy in from the car” — he’ll go out to the car to find DS. Any other ideas for ”presenting” this surprise? And no, I’m not going to wrap my 6’3” son in a giant box. 🤣

I think the help with carrying something in from the car is the best idea. If your kid doesn't show up until the restaurant, they miss the 4 hours of time they could be spending together.

All your plans sound like great fun.

I like the idea of arriving before the restaurant. There will be so much else going on that it will be nice for them to have private time at the house.

Yes, you are definitely winning the Good Wife Award! You have planned fun and memorable events - enjoy!!

One question....can I be your husband???

:)

I'd probably do a big casserole like ziti with garlic bread salad and broccoli....or chicken casserole with veggies in a cheese sauce...or a crock pot full of chili with side salad and corn bread.

Annie...on a hot and muggy (potentially) August evening? With the weather lately, I am thinking we should just have ice cream for dinner!

I surprised my DH for his 60th, by flying 3 of his brothers here from across the country. When the first brother arrived - I had to "go to the nursery early because they are having a big sale." When I arrived home with his brother, I shouted up the stairs to him to "come and see what I got - you won't beleive it!" The next two brothers arrived together and my daughters picked them up. DH, Brother #1 and I were sitting in the back yard and they just walked around the corner of the house. Try to get it on video if you can, the several seconds when they can't beleive what they are seeing are great!

Although fish boils are very popular around the lake here, I have yet to get to one, it's on my bucket list. I have done salmon or tuna on the grill, frozen fish would be the best thing I could get where I live right now, and considering how expensive it is, not any particular incentive to serve it for entertaining, although I have.

And I also love enchiladas and baked ziti or any other type of pasta, but in the summer I like to take full advantage of the grill. I did the kebabs two years ago for a porch party and it was easy peasy to prepare ahead of time and marinate, and easy to serve. Also easy for picky eaters to avoid something they didn't like from the selection. I think I did some type of rice pilaf in an insulated serving dish and I think I made it ahead and reheated. Now I have an instapot which I would use as to avoid heating up the kitchen. I can't remember what I did for sides . . . but I made a whole round two layer frosted cake for dessert (chocolate with almond coconut frosting) served up on my crystal cake stand, and almost no one ate a slice . . . I get so frustrated at how all my friends never eat desserts anymore. I mean I get it, I don't either, which is why I always want to make some nice fancy dessert that I never get to eat when I entertain, for special. And then I end up with a ton of it left over . . . A friend brought fruit salad and that was what folks ate, it was good too.

I had a friend over a couple of weeks ago and we just loved noshing on guacamole, hummus and spinach dip on the porch with some store bought sangria. So easy as I bought everything at the deli. But it could also be home made in advance too. Pita and corn chips.

I always make some type of chopped salad in the summer, marinating the veggies a bit ahead of time and then serving them over fresh chopped lettuce. So many great combinations. One of my favorites is home grown tomatoes, crumbled bacon, diced avocados over lettuce with whatever else seems good. Or just the tomatoes and other veggies with a green goddess dressing.

If you want to stick with a bit of a Mexican vibe, yellow rice with peas makes a tasty and colorful entry. In fact, that may have been what I served last time. It's just rice with tumeric added, and whatever seasonings you like . . . peas optional, just for the color constrast. Could use red onions or red peppers too.

Here's an unusual potato salad I like to make in summer for my lighter Mexican meals. I tasted it from the deli at Wegman's once and fell in love with it. I also sometimes make sweet potato salad but find a lot of my friends don't like it even though it looks pretty. If you par boil sweet potatoes they are nice on the grill though.

Latin Red Potato and Corn Salad - Recipe from Wegman's

Edited to add that I forgot to mention another dish that is always well received, a southwestern black bean and corn salad. Here's a link to one recipe. I'm not sure if it is exactly like the one I got from Annie on CF years ago, but very similar if not exactly the same.

https://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/all-purpose-southwestern-corn-black-bean-salad

Nekotish we did something similar for my Mom's 70th birthday. My brother lives in Germany and rarely came home for visits. He had off work and flew home and we planned a surprise birthday dinner for her. Some friends picked him up from the airport in Detroit where they lived, and we arranged for them to come down to visit as a special celebration for Mom's birthday. That didn't seem unusual to her and we didn't tell her about my brother. Well they arrived and got all the huggy greetings from my mom when they walked in the door, and then the wife said, "Oh yeah, I forgot to bring in your gift, let me run out and get it, it's still in the car." And a few seconds later she walked in the door with my brother wearing a big bow on his vest. One of my better life moments. It was pre cell phone days but we have wonderful photos.

And on a completely unrelated note, chocolate chunk ice cream with almonds with Kahlua served over it is a fantastic dessert and you will not feel bad if no once eats it all up and you have to finish off the leftovers. Ask me how I know . . .

Kabobs sound good. Just so you know - enchiladas are easy, peasy! Just fill your tortillas, wrap, pour on the sauce and bake! We generally prefer chicken enchiladas and love black beans and corn added in our filling. Now I am wanting them! Will probably make them next week and I'm going to try @runninginplace's sauce!!