The weather this Bank Holiday has been nothing short of sweltering. Brits up and down the country have been making the most of it, with garden parties, barbeques and festivals running through the weekend.

A series of concerning temperature records indicate that this probably won’t be the last weekend of glorious sunshine this year. So, if you’ve got a special event coming up in September, it’s worth taking a few precautions to ensure that everyone’s properly catered for. Let’s run through a few tips.

Keep Everyone Hydrated

Dehydration can be disastrous, particularly if the person suffering has had a few too many. Remember that alcohol is a diuretic – it messes with your hormones and makes you release more water than you otherwise would when you go to the loo. If you’re out in the sun drinking, then this makes things even worse.

Event organisers can get around this by providing complementary tap water – preferably with plenty of ice. Interspersing a few glasses of cold H2O throughout the day can make the difference between plain sailing and a splitting headache.

Provide a place to Cool Down

If all of the people who attend your get-together are forced out into the open, then they’ll become sick of the sunshine after awhile. After all, there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. So, set aside some shady area (if it’s a house party, it might be the kitchen, the conservatory, or a gazebo) and give your guests some respite.

Refrigerate

There’s nothing better on a warm day than a glass of something cold. Bringing the right refrigeration, therefore, is essential. If your party is in the middle of nowhere, then make sure you have the generators necessary to power everything comfortably – you don’t want the PA and the fridges to go down because someone decided to power-on the deep-fat fryer.

Get the Food Right

Standards for food have skyrocketed in recent years, and your guests are going to be increasingly difficult to impress. You’ll need to cater for vegetarians and vegans, and, since this demographic is growing, you’ll need to do so in a way that’s wholehearted. But as tasty as falafel and cous-cous might be, many guests will expect burgers and chips.

Provide some outdoor entertainment

A big outdoor event goes hand-in-hand with some live music. Or, if you’re planning for the party to go on throughout the night, hire a DJ to carry things on. Depending on your audience, you might choose someone who’s going to run through all the usual crowd-pleasers, or someone who’ll take things in a more avant-garde direction.

Provide some indoor entertainment

A photo booth kills two birds with one stone; it gives your guests an excuse to remove themselves from the sunshine, and it’s great fun. On top of that, you’ll get a record the occasion to look back on years down the line.