Fillmore Container

After the winter that lasted forever and the spring that never seemed to take hold (golf shirt weather one day, fleece jackets the next?) we are so ready to gear up for summer, especially summer celebrations.

Well, technically, Memorial Day comes before the official start of summer, but you get the idea. You’ll be thinking of patios and decks and red, white and blue, so we have some suggestions for how to keep your outdoor festivities glassy and green!

We know that even casual home entertaining can be intimidating these days, thanks to people such as Martha Stewart raising the bar. But surely with Martha’s New England roots we might find her sipping from a Handled Mason Jar Mug during an outdoor soiree. The mugs are perfect for weddings and other big events and it’s easy to see why.

The mugs are great drink containers, of course, but roll up your silverware in a colorful napkin and place inside the jar and – there you are – an instant table setting. Dining outdoors doesn’t have to mean plastic knives and forks. It’s OK to use the real thing; yes, you have to wash everything afterward, but it’s an easy way to be green, eliminate waste, and it looks nice, too. TIP: Pick up an extra set of silverware at a yard sale and you’ll be ready to swap plastic for the real thing at every party.

And getting back to drinks, there are easier ways to serve than carrying a pitcher around from guest to guest, or having them dig through a tub full of ice and bottles. We like using a pretty beverage dispenser! It is a great way to have your guests help themselves, without freezing their fingers!

The Lancaster beverage dispenser, appropriately, looks like a big Mason Jar with a spigot in front, and it holds 1.5 gallons. A somewhat more formal version, the Yorkshire, holds two gallons of your favorite drink and sits in a pretty black metal stand that would be at home on the most elegant of garden patios.

Don’t forget to fancy up your drinks with our daisy lids, available in lots of fun colors. Pair them with a stainless steel or  paper straw! There are so many creative ways to dress up your jars with daisy lids and straws, here’s a few of our favorites.

Our new no-fuss single piece Mason jar lids with a straw hole have been a highly requested item, and they just arrived in our warehouse! TIP: These are also perfect for making Mason jar lanterns.

Here’s some yummy drink ideas and our colorful line up of Cuppows.

If you are hosting a patriotic party this year, add our red, white and blue paper straws to your list. Not only will they look great for the Fourth, sales will benefit the Jacksonville, Fla.-based Wounded Warrior Program, which helps returning veterans and their families. We’ll post more on this later.

In the meantime, let’s get ready to celebrate summer!

Looking for more inspiration, here’s our Summer Celebrations Pinterest board.