• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Catholic Review

Catholic Review

Inspiring the Archdiocese of Baltimore

Menu
  • Home
  • News
        • Local News
        • World News
        • Vatican News
        • Obituaries
        • Featured Video
        • En Español
        • Sports News
        • Official Clergy Assignments
        • Schools News
  • Commentary
        • Contributors
          • Question Corner
          • George Weigel
          • Effie Caldarola
          • John Garvey
          • Father Ed Dougherty, M.M.
          • Guest Commentary
        • CR Columnists
          • Archbishop William E. Lori
          • Rita Buettner
          • Christopher Gunty
          • George Matysek Jr.
          • Father Joseph Breighner
          • Father Collin Poston
          • Robyn Barberry
          • Hanael Bianchi
          • Amen Columns
  • Entertainment
        • Events
        • Movie & Television Reviews
        • Arts & Culture
        • Books
        • Recipes
  • About Us
        • Contact Us
        • Our History
        • Meet Our Staff
        • Photos to own
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
        • CR Media platforms
        • Electronic Edition
  • Advertising
  • Shop
        • Purchase Photos
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
        • Magazine Subscriptions
        • Archdiocesan Directory
  • CR Radio
  • News Tips
  • Subscribe

Who’s ready for a summer party?

June 22, 2022
By Rita Buettner
Catholic Review
Filed Under: Blog, Commentary, Open Window

Outdoor parties are one of my favorite things to come out of the pandemic.

The truth is that my main reason for not entertaining more is that you need to clean the house—and who wants to clean the house? But if I can host on our deck and in our yard, I don’t even have to pull out the vacuum or look for the furniture polish. I can just borrow a folding table and a couple of tents from my neighbor Kathy and focus on serving some fun food.

This week, we’re entertaining twice. I invited my work colleagues over for a weekday brunch, and our eighth grader is having a few friends over to celebrate his graduation one evening. Even for someone who loves hosting as I do, two gatherings in three days seems like a bit much. But I decided that my husband would only need to prepare the yard and deck once, and I would only have to set up tables and tents once. That seemed like it might be easier.

Time will tell whether I’m right.

There’s something about welcoming people to your home that feels a little special and maybe even a little vulnerable. It’s this beautiful way of sharing yourself and your space with people. I love going into a party with no expectations on which conversations I might fall into, what activities we might enjoy together, and which dish will be the one everyone is talking about.

I enjoy seeing who is the first to arrive and the last to leave, who brings what to add to the table, and which people seem to fall into conversation together and really connect. I love people—and I particularly enjoy my people—and entertaining offers a chance for me to show them how I care for them. What a gift to get to spend time celebrating our connection and just be together.

There is plenty that I do not do well at parties. I forget to serve drinks, and I always seem to be running to the kitchen for something that should have been on the table. But I have come to realize that guests at outdoor parties tend to be relaxed. They don’t expect me to have everything together. They’re perfectly happy to set up chairs or the badminton game, and everything will be just fine.

That allows me to focus on the aspects of the parties I care more about—the details, like cutting out a photo of every colleague and taping it to a wooden skewer to stick into the cake, or picking out a party favor.

Did we need a favor for a work party? Of course not. But I love a little parting gift, a token to take away to remember the time we spent together. So, I filled a vase with flyswatters—brand-new from the dollar store—and posted a sign encouraging everyone to take one. It made me smile every time someone picked a flyswatter as they said goodbye.

For the eighth graders, we won’t have favors. My rubber chicken idea was shot down, and I have no doubt that was the right call. But I have a watermelon carving in mind—and it has been approved. We have an ice cream cake on order. And our bird cookie cutter might make an inaugural appearance during preparations. Regardless, we are going to have a good time.

As summer kicks into full swing, I hope you’ll have a chance to spend time with some of your favorite people—indoors or out.

Copyright © 2022 Catholic Review Media

Print Print

Primary Sidebar

Rita Buettner

Rita Buettner is a wife, working mother and author of the Catholic Review's Open Window blog. She and her husband adopted their two sons from China, and Rita often writes about topics concerning adoption, family and faith.

Rita also writes The Domestic Church, a featured column in the Catholic Review. Her writing has been honored by the Catholic Press Association, the Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Press Association and the Associated Church Press.

View all posts from this author

| Recent Commentary |

Last week, I got to just be Mom

Farewell and thank you

In June, let your garden honor the hearts of Jesus and Mary

Question Corner: Must I make my confession at the altar, as my pastor asks?

The Beauty of Mass in the Gym

| Recent Local News |

‘God’s Scribe’: Father Breighner retires popular column after more than 50 years

Bishop Victor Galeone, former Archdiocese of Baltimore priest and bishop of St. Augustine, dies at 87

Assault outside Planned Parenthood office leaves pregnancy center employees shaken

RADIO INTERVIEW: The Prosperity Gospel

CEO, authors, NFL coach take part in Catholic college commencements

| Catholic Review Radio |

CatholicReview · Catholic Review Radio

Footer

Our Vision

Real Life. Real Faith. 

Catholic Review Media communicates the Gospel and its impact on people’s lives in the Archdiocese of Baltimore and beyond.

Our Mission

Catholic Review Media provides intergenerational communications that inform, teach, inspire and engage Catholics and all of good will in the mission of Christ through diverse forms of media.

Contact

Catholic Review
320 Cathedral Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
443-524-3150
mail@CatholicReview.org

 

Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Recent

  • Dodgers’ faith night ‘not enough’ to address controversy over LGBTQ+ group, anti-Catholic concerns
  • Last week, I got to just be Mom
  • Nevada’s Catholic governor who campaigned as ‘pro-life’ signs some abortion protections into law
  • Pope names Cardinal Farrell next head of Vatican City high court
  • Senate approves House-passed debt ceiling deal, avoiding default
  • Profit-at-all-costs is not a good business model, pope says
  • Farewell and thank you
  • ‘God’s Scribe’: Father Breighner retires popular column after more than 50 years
  • Expertos esperan avances en salud, discapacidad y ministerio hispano en la reunión de junio de los obispos de EE.UU.

Search

Membership

Catholic Press Association of the United States and Canada

Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association

The Associated Church Press

© 2023 CATHOLIC REVIEW MEDIA, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED