Propane Cylinder Exchange: Plan For Your Big Back to School Bash

And just as quickly as it arrived, summer is starting to wind down. As August approaches, parents all across the country will start to plan for their kids to head back to school. Tossing the baseball in the backyard and taking trips to the local swimming pool will soon be replaced with shopping for back to school clothes and looking through textbooks.

For kids, the end of summer can feel like a disaster as living the carefree life of sleeping in and hanging out with friends turns into homework and schedules. For parents, back to school season is often met with a sigh of relief. Either way, there’s some truly great news–there’s still plenty of time to keep the grill fired up and the delicious food on the table.

Now is a great time to start putting together a back to school bash. With the end of July in sight, it’s your time to figure out how to make the most of the rest of this summer. If your family is anything like ours, you’ll want to maximize your time on the grill and keep cranking out burgers, brats, and steaks for as long as you can before you transition to cooking in the crockpot as colder weather starts to roll in.

We Have A Few Tips

It doesn’t matter if you plan to throw one last hurrah of a party for everyone in the neighborhood or you’re planning a simple celebration specifically tailored towards making your kids happy where you cook their favorite foods and enjoy an intimate family get together in the backyard. So what can you do to make your bash the best it can be? Well, luckily for you, the team at Mighty Flame has been down this road a few times before, so we’ve prepared a few tips to make sure your event is a success.

Step one: find a propane cylinder exchange location near you and make sure you have plenty of propane to finish this summer out in style. First and foremost, you will want to maximize your grilling time while you can, so be sure this step is taken care of so you can make some incredible food while it’s still warm enough to be outside! Here are a few other things you can do:

Have Different Types of Food

One kid likes burgers and the other loves brats, so make it a point to do both. You don’t have to go overboard (but you certainly can if you would prefer to), but it is important to make sure that the kids you’re celebrating at the end of the summer are sent off towards the school year with fond memories of grilling with their folks in the back yard and their bellies full of their favorite foods.

You should also make it a point to have a number of different foods available. Whether you opt for classic potato chips (which you could make on the grill if you were so inclined, customizing the flavors to your heart’s content) or something else, it’s completely up to you.

Of course we’d like to suggest making something unique–our spicy grilled pickles or grilled chicken and garlic quesadillas make the perfect appetizer. Or you could try your hand at some dessert on the grill. This grilled ice cream cone recipe that we wrote is a great way to get your kids involved as well and it allows them to customize their dessert in such a way that they’ll end the night on the right note.

Focus On Your Kids

It can be tempting to spend your entire evening in front of the grill, focusing on making some delicious food and serving it up, that it becomes difficult to spend time with your kids before they head back to school. This night should focus specifically on them in everything from what food is on the menu to what music is playing over the speakers to whether or not there is a theme.

It’s also a good idea to get your kids interested in grilling, so take the time to show them what you’re doing and teach them recipes if they show interest. After all, they might just return the favor and make you a delicious meal when your birthday rolls around!

End on a High Note

Depending on how receptive your kids are to the idea (and how much you enjoy sleeping on the ground), you could host a campout in the backyard to cap things off. Whether you roast s’mores around the fire pit or sit on the patio furniture sharing stories about your favorite moments this summer, it’s a great idea to bond with your kids as the night winds down.

Setting up a tent is a great way to end the evening. You can opt to sleep outside with them, or simply allow them the freedom of enjoying a night spent looking at the stars with their friends. Either way, it sounds like a win to us.