COVID-19 has made it more difficult to enjoy many indoor activities, but outdoor activities like backyard barbecues are generally considered to be a great alternative. Though it will take a little extra planning, you can safely and successfully have friends and family over for some grilling by following these simple recommendations.

Provide Ample and Distanced Seating

The main thing to consider when hosting a socially distanced barbecue is that you need to provide your guests with enough personal space. If you are inviting different households, then you’ll want to give each separate household their own table or seating area with enough space between different groups.

Plan your seating ahead of time so that you don’t accidentally invite more people than you can comfortably accommodate. When playing with new seating arrangements, make sure that everyone will have adequate shade as well.

Offer Easy Cleaning and Sanitizing Solutions

As your guests arrive, let them know where they can go to wash up. Tidy up your home and make a clear path to the bathroom to ensure they won’t need to touch anything, and consider propping doors open as well. Having plenty of hand sanitizer around is also a good idea so that your guests can apply some periodically or between touching different surfaces.

Request That Guests Bring Their Own Sides

Serving side dishes in big bowls and platters for everyone to help themselves is a popular option for barbecues. Unfortunately, it’s also an easy way to spread disease as it encourages people to congregate and touch the same serving utensils.

Inform your guests ahead of time that they should bring their own sides for the members in their household to enjoy. You can ask guests to bring their own drinks as well, or you can offer individual drink containers rather than shared bottles or pitchers.

Limit the Grill to One Person at a Time

Thankfully, you can still treat your guests to some delicious barbecue as the heat from the grill will effectively kill germs and viruses. Just make sure you limit the grill to one cook at a time and encourage people not to congregate around it. When switching cooks, you should switch utensils as well. It is also best to serve your guests directly off the grill so that the food makes as little contact with other surfaces as possible.

Use Disposable Plates and Utensils

You can limit the number of surfaces you need to touch once the barbecue is over by using disposable plates and utensils. This comes with the added benefit of making your cleanup much quicker as well. Of course, disposable products aren’t the best choice for the environment, so consider recyclable or compostable options if possible.

Enjoy the warm days before fall settles in by making use of your outdoor space and hosting friends and family for a backyard barbecue. By putting some basic social-distancing and sanitary measures in place, you can help ensure everyone has a great time and heads home happy and healthy.