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Sun-drenched days stretching into evenings, lush greenery and florals, and an abundance of fresh, local, in-season ingredients can only mean one thing: it’s time for something more than just a party. It’s time for a summer soirée.
But what makes a perfect summer soirée? Well, for a start, great company, incredible wine and surroundings that enhance the entire experience. We’ve paired up with Avaline, a female-founded line of organically farmed wines, to create the ultimate guide to hosting an easy, enjoyable summer dinner party. So sit back, relax (preferably with a glass of wine) and take notes!
Keep your guest list intimate + choose an invitation that sets the tone
Curating a guest list is like planning a menu—the right balance is essential. While we love the excitement of a huge, Gatsby-style bash, an intimate group of friends leads to richer conversations and a more relaxed atmosphere. Not to mention, it’s far easier for the host to plan! Even for a smaller soirée, sending out an Evite invitation makes planning easier (cheers to free RSVP tracking and text delivery, amirite?) and it doubles as a way to set the vibe for your dinner party. For example:
Wine Night: Fun and fabulous, a party that starts off with canapés and might end in karaoke, and you know some of those photos are going in the Close Friends circle only.
Fresh Fronds: A little dreamy, definitely appropriate for day, evening or night, excellent for a beach or poolside soirée, and refined yet relaxed.
Up Close & Personal: The kind of get-together where people dress up a little, the cheese selection is impeccable, and the conversation flows as smoothly as the wine.
Wine Napkin Doodles: Ultra casual, a board game might make an appearance, tons of reminiscing will occur, and the bottles will be empty by the end.
Pick wines that complement your meal (+ apps) perfectly
Once you’ve decided on the tone of your summer soirée, sent out your invitations, and decided which foods to serve, it’s time to select your wine. Appetizers to main course to dessert to post-dessert, wine is present and can be both the accompaniment and star. We partnered with Avaline for many reasons—their wine is organically farmed, free of unwanted additives, transparently produced, and female-founded by two friends, Cameron Diaz and Katherine Power. We also love that their line offers approachable blends alongside single grape varieties, so no matter where you fall on the sommelier scale, you can select and serve with confidence. Some of their faves to consider serving throughout your soirée:
Avaline Sauvignon Blanc: Made with 100% organic Sauvignon Blanc grapes.
Tastes like: A crisp French white with notes of ripe citrus and rose petals.
Avaline Red: Made with 100% organic French grapes—a blend of Grenache and Syrah.
Tastes like: Light to medium bodied with hints of cherry and the perfect touch of spice.
Avaline White: Made with 100% organic Spanish grapes—a blend of Xarel-lo, Macabeo and
Malvasía. Tastes like: Dry, with a touch of citrus and a crisp, fresh finish.
Avaline Rosé: Made with 100% organic French grapes—a blend of Grenache, Cinsault, Caladoc, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon. Tastes like: Light and fresh, with notes of melon and zest.
Create a beautiful-but-chill atmosphere
When you’re surrounded by great friends and excellent wine, you don’t need to go OTT with everything else! Keep things simple and chill when it comes to the menu, tablescape and music:
The menu: pizza and pasta. Pizza is always a crowd-pleaser and all it takes to bring it to the table is placing a quick order at your yummiest local pizzeria. And a light pasta dish is pure perfection in the summer (especially when it includes fresh, in-season ingredients).
The tablescape & dinnerware: You can never go wrong with neutral dinnerware, simple glassware and wooden serveware. It’s timeless, summery and oh-so-easy to reuse for future parties. A few tall glass vases or ceramic bud vases filled with colorful fresh-cut flowers from the garden (or market!) and some clear candlestick holders with twisted white tapers are all you need to complete the table.
The music: Opt for classic tunes, a little international flair and tons of good vibes. Don’t have time to curate a playlist? We’ve got you covered with our Summer Soirée playlist.
Looking for more #summersoiree inspo? Check out Avaline’s guide to hosting one and Evite’s top dinner party themes to know and love.
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What makes Evite SignUp Sheets different from other signup tools?
Developed hand-in-hand with community organizers, PTA presidents, parents and teachers, Evite's signup sheets are designed to make organizing volunteers a breeze. Here are a few ways SignUp Sheets are different than other signup tools:
- 100% free: SignUp Sheets are free to use.
- Ad-free: No popup ads ever! Our signup sheets remain clutter-free, keeping your volunteers focused on signing up.
- No extra login required: Seamlessly use your Evite account to create and manage your signup sheets, keeping all your events in one convenient location.
- Automatic reminders and notifications: Stay on top of your event with automated reminders and notifications for you and your participants. Perfect for busy parents, teachers and anyone juggling multiple commitments.
- Customization options: Tailor your signup sheets to your specific event, whether it's a school fundraiser, potluck, volunteer opportunity or team activity. Add custom tasks, time slots and requirements for smooth coordination.
- User-friendly experience: Our intuitive interface makes creating and sharing signup sheets simple for everyone, regardless of tech experience.
- Real-time updates: Get instant notifications whenever someone signs up or makes a change, so you always know where things stand.
Choose Evite SignUp Sheets for the easiest, most streamlined way to get volunteers and signups for your next event!
What is a SignUp Sheet?
Signup sheets are the perfect way to streamline scheduling, volunteer recruitment, class parties, snack duty, potluck organization, parent-teacher conferences and more! You can think of them as your digital assistant for coordinating events and tasks and ensuring that your event is a success.
Evite SignUp Sheets offers parents, teachers and event planners customizable online forms that organizers and volunteers can access and update effortlessly. Volunteers can choose their preferred time slots, sign up for tasks or indicate what they'll bring to the event. It only takes organizers a few minutes to create a signup sheet and send it out with a shareable link, so they can get the word out via text, email or social media—whichever way they prefer!
Long story short, SignUp Sheets save everyone involved tons of time, avoid scheduling headaches and ensure everything runs smoothly before and during the event.
How do I create a SignUp Sheet?
Creating a signup sheet has never been easier than with Evite! Here’s how to create a sheet that’s sure to make your event an absolute success:
- Go to Evite SignUp Sheets and choose the template that best fits your needs. Evite offers multiple signup sheet templates perfect for every occasion, including:
- Signup sheets for one day events (without different time slots), perfect for when you’re organizing a class party, potluck or end-of-season party.
- Signup sheets for single or multiple day events (with time slots), perfect for when you’re organizing concession stand volunteers, fundraisers, parent-teacher conferences, meal train, post-game snack duty or during appreciation week.
- After selecting your sheet template, create a title for your signup sheet and add the date, the location, the time (if applicable), who the organizer is, the organizer’s phone number or email and an optional note describing the event to your volunteers. You can also change your signup sheet background and title image if you wish!
- Next, create slots for your signup sheet. If you aren’t logged into your account, you will need to do so at this point, but luckily, you can use your existing Evite account (no need to create yet another login!). What you’ll include here will depend on what your event needs, but you can include a list of what’s needed (along with optional descriptions), how many volunteers are needed, and dates and times.
- After creating your slots, you can then add a wish list from any retailer or include supply suggestions from Evite’s retailer partners. These are to help your volunteers find and purchase supplies quickly and easily.
- Finally, review your sheet, copy your shareable link and send it out to everyone on your list! Every time a volunteer signs up for a slot on your signup sheet, Evite will email you. We will also send reminders to you and your volunteers before your event so no one will forget about it, and we’ll even let volunteers know if you remove their slot or cancel your event sheet so you don’t have to!
What information should be included on a SignUp Sheet?
When it comes to signup sheet information, there are some essentials to include regardless of what you’re organizing:
- A title for your signup sheet. Tip: Aim to keep your signup sheet title concise but clear. You want volunteers to read it and have a general understanding of what your event is about, and also make it easy for them to look for later if they need to reference your sheet again. You have the option to include a more descriptive note in a different field about your event, so save the more in-depth details for that!
- When and where the event is taking place.
- The organizer’s name and phone number.
- Slots for volunteers to choose from. Once you choose the SignUp Sheets template that fits the occasion, the slots you’ll need for your sheet will be right there and ready for you to add the relevant info, such as dates, times, items to bring and tasks to complete.
When adding your slot information, clearly define what people are signing up for, especially for a what-to-bring list or role assignments. If you want someone to bring healthy snacks for kids to enjoy after a game, specify that. You want your volunteers to feel confident in what they’re bringing and to make it easy for them to know what’s expected of them. It will save them time and stress (and you, too!). That being said, if you make your ask too specific (for example, asking for a hard-to-source item or something expensive), you may not end up with a volunteer for it. So be clear about what you expect, but also be reasonable!
Aside from providing the basic signup information, you can also add optional descriptions to both your entire signup sheet and individual slots. While not required, they can help guide your volunteers further and provide more information. You can add information about allergies, preferences and general info about the event. You can also add a wish list to make it easier for your volunteers to bring exactly what you need!
What are the benefits of using a SignUp Sheet template?
Signup sheet templates offer a ton of advantages for both organizers and volunteers and with Evite SignUp Sheets, you'll enjoy even more benefits than other digital and paper signup sheets! Some benefits our signup sheet templates offer include:
- A 100% free experience (no subscriptions required!).
- Shareable links for quick and easy sharing.
- No need to create another login—you can use your existing Evite account.
- The option to add a wish list to help your volunteers out.
- Automatic reminders—we’ll remind everyone on your behalf.
- An easy-to-use experience with eye-catching guided templates.
- Clean, modern designs with no pop-up ads.
With Evite SignUp Sheets, you can enjoy organizing and coordinating all your events with ease. Signup sheets streamline the signup process for everyone involved, ensuring that everything will go to plan on the day of your event while saving you precious time in the process.
