Spring to fall are some gorgeous times of the year. It just makes you want to get outside and enjoy the weather while you can. A fire pit in the backyard is a great place to come together. I really love hosting a fire pit party at my house.
Group of six friends roasting marshmallows in a cookout party
I have several items that I just love to do as a hostess when people come over to enjoy the great outdoors and commune around our fire pit. I hope these will inspire you toward creating a warm environment for friends and family while at the same time keeping some money in your pocket.
Set Up the Fire Pit Area
A few years ago my husband built a back yard fire pit for me. I show you how to build our $60 DIY Fire Pit in my tutorial.
You can watch my husbands how to video at the bottom of this article.
Decide on the Fire Pit Party Drinks
Hot Apple Cider –
I love to hook up my slow cooker early in the afternoon and pour in a gallon of apple cider. At my store this apple cider is around $5.99 per gallon.
If you want an adult version try this Spiked Apple Cider Drink Recipe.
I also purchase these adorable disposable, lidded, insulated coffee cups from the paper products isle. They are around $2.99 per pack. These cups are fantastic because they keep drinks warm, reduce spilling and help keep the bugs out of your cider when your outside. It also takes the chill off the cool autumn evenings!
Seasonal Craft Beer-
When hanging out around the firepit you can provide your guests with a selection of seasonal craft beers depending on the time of year you are hosting the party.
Check out this in-depth article on Beers to Try Every Season.
Seasonal Wines-
Since not all of your guests may be beer drinkers consider serving a wine that pairs well with the season of your fire pit party.
Check out this articles that can help you plan ahead:
Decide on the Fire Pit Party Food
When throwing a fire pit party you want to serve food that can be easily eaten around the fire. This usually involves finger type foods like grilled hot-dogs (which guests could roast themselves) or hamburgers.
I always like the idea of burger or hot dog bars because they are not only thrifty menu options but they are easy to set up. It’s easy to set up a “bar” style approach of toppings.
If you want to go a little more primative, consider doing some campfire style cooking.
Prep the Dessert
There are any number of desserts you can come up with for a fire pit party but I believe a Smore’s Bar or Smore’s Kit is the way to go for nostalgia.
Smore’s Kits
I don’t know about you, but I love making smores. In the past I always struggled because it seems impossible to juggle all the ingredients of smores while sitting outside in the dark.
I came up with a way to package all the smores supplies so each person has their own. At the same time, the materials are a little more manageable. I like these kits because I feel like everyone has their own fresh ingredients! They can keep it all together in their spot and clean up is easy too.
How to make a Smore’s Kit:
- Clear goody bags- These came from the party section at Target for $2.00. When the person is done eating they can also put all their trash in the baggie.
- Fresh Stacks Graham Crackers– I love this new packaging. Each box has 6 little individually wrapped stacks of graham crackers. It’s perfect for a smore kit. Even better, these keep the crackers fresher in storage because I rarely eat a whole stack of graham crackers in the normal boxes and they always get stale.
- Marshmallows I baggie up these up from a large bag. I haven’t found “fresh packs” of these yet.
- Snack Size Hershey Bars- these little things fit on the snack pack grahams perfectly! This way guests can avoid chocolate fingers. I always find that my guests rarely eat a whole candy bar so half the bars go to waste. With snack size bars, they eat as much or as little as they want with no waste.
- Wet Towelettes- I even include a little wet wipe in each person’s kit. You can get a small box of individually packaged wet wipes on the paper goods isle at your local grocer.
If you want to get really creative, you can always allow your guests to BUILD THEIR OWN SMORE KIT by having an array of choices. Here are some ideas of what you could put on your Smore Bar:
- Reece Cups
- Keebler Chocolate Covered Graham Cracker Cookies
- Oreos
- Hershey Kisses to go in the middle of giant marshmallows
Fire Pit Party Environment:
I really wanted a fire pit area that would be comfortable. I took everything I hated about my previous bonfire experiences and created my own perfect zone.
- High back, arm rest chairs- I’ve sat on logs, I’ve sat on the ground, I’ve sat in tailgate chairs and to be honest, nothing beats these seats. $20 each at Target in the springtime.
- Tiki torches- I don’t care for the look of the bamboo torches so I got these tiki lamps that look really nice and are super sturdy. These keep bugs at bay while lighting the area around the fire pit.
- Side tables- These were a big deal. I got one inexpensive plastic brown side-table to go in-between each set of chairs. You have to have a place for your cider and smores supplies! Otherwise you’re gonna get dirt on all your food! I picked these up at Lowes.
- Fire Roasting Sticks- I found my sticks at Target in the “Dollar Spot” section for $1 each. You can get them in the camping section for under $10 at your local mega mart.
I hope you’ve found these ideas for throwing your own fire pit party helpful. It’s a really easy way to get guests talking, eating and sharing in a common space!
Watch the Fire Pit Build Tutorial:
Kim’s is the party planning, cupcake loving, celebration catalyst behind the Thrifty Little Mom Blog. Kim was a pro event planner for over 7 years before she became a full-time blogger. Kim is the author of: Live, Save, Spend, Repeat: The Life You Want with the Money You Have. She’s been featured on Time.com, Money.com, Good Housekeeping, Women’s Day and more! Kim aims to inspire you to create parties, celebrations and gatherings that everyone loves!
jennifer thibodeau says
This is a great post w/good tips for a fire pit party! Thanks for sharing with us. Jenn T (www.backyardfirepitfun.com)
Lindsey S says
LOVE the s’more kits ideas! I hate sticky hands and that is my least favorite thing about making s’mores, so I love that you I included a wet wipe. Cute fire pit set-up too!
Kim Anderson says
Thanks Lindsey- That has always been my biggest hang up about smores by the fire too! I hate having sticky hands!!! Glad you like the set up!
Christy says
Thanks so much for sharing! Having a bonfire birthday party for my 10 yr old son in 2 weeks and these little goody smore bags are going to be perfect! Thanks for being so thorough!
Kim Anderson says
Christy, I hope that work out for you and keep the messes down! Thanks for taking time to comment and tell me what you thought!
Erica says
Love these ideas. I love doing parties on the cheap and on-the-fly. I like your disposable cup idea the dollar store has them too and they’re only a dollar. They come in a pack of six.
Kim Anderson says
WHAT! Those cups are at the dollar store now? Totally going there for the next party! Thanks for the great tip Erica!
Allison Montgomery says
Those individually packaged smores kits are too cute! What a wonderful idea 🙂 well done!
Kim Anderson says
Allison, thanks so much for taking the time to let me know that you liked them! They really do make smore parties WAY easier when everyone is sitting around the fire. It serves as a way to keep it off the ground and then gives everyone a trash bag when they are done which I love!
Gracie says
Hi, I am hosting a bonfire next month but I am having trouble making the invites. The ladies gathering are not my “girlfriends” so I have to be more formal but fun with my invites. Any ideas or suggestions?
Kim Anderson says
Do you like to make your own handmade invites or do you want printable ones?