My Charcoal Challenge - Money Super Market

Earlier this month I stumbled upon Money Super Market's Charcoal Challenge and I was offered the chance to take part.

I had £50 to throw a BBQ and so...I did.

I picked a weekend right in the middle of the heatwave and so the weather was beyond glorious and perfect for a BBQ.

My garden was looking lovely (thankfully) I hardly had to do anything to it to prepare but it did give me an excuse to have a tidy up, something which I had been putting off for a while.

And once that was done I only had to add a few touches here and there including, of course, bunting. I chose this spotty party bunting from Dot Com Gift Shop specifically.

I knew this bunting would be perfect because I used to have some hanging in my house (before I donated it to a friend). The flags are large sized with durable material making them great for use in the garden, and the length was just right. I love the bright colours, perfect for a summer party.

Then came time to set everything up ready for my guests, there was to be five of us. I kept it small mostly because most of my friends and family aren't local and also this was my first time hosting a BBQ and I decided less people would mean less pressure.

I started with a drinks station which featured homemade peach iced tea. I tried to make use of as many things that I had around the house so that I could save my budget for the food. All my jars and stripey straws came in handy.

 From drinks station to dessert station. I bought some delicious cakes for my guests and piled up some of my china collection ready for people to help themselves to.

And here it was ready for my lovely guests.

My guests arrived in the afternoon and bought more treats for us to enjoy including some yummy Fentimans drinks.

They didn't last long!

And soon enough it was time to light the BBQ. I left most of the cooking to my housemate as I am a BBQ novice but I did choose all the food.

I tried to keep it simple and headed for M&S. They have a deal on for the summer where you can choose three BBQ treats for £10 so I stocked up on Chorizo burgers and all the trimmings, some summer vegetable kebabs and sausages.

Plenty of sausages.

Everyone seemed to enjoy the food, me included. The summer vegetables and halloumi were even better with the M&S pesto mayonnaise that I picked up and the burgers included my favourite chedder - Black bomber, which I bought especially.

Then of course it was pudding time.

And as the warm sun started to set I turned the peach iced tea into something a little stronger and bought out my surprise addition. Tea cup alcoholic jelly. Thankfully I only made two, just as well as they were pretty disgusting. Although they looked very pretty...

And then it got silly..

Really silly..

So, how do I think my Charcoal Challenge went? I think it was successful. By being resourceful and gathering together as much of my own bits and pieces as I could I was able to keep to budget and by keeping my menu simple (but sumptuous) and my guest list small I was able to make sure everyone had a good time, including me.

A big thank you to Money Super Market for letting me take part in this challenge.

♥ Instagram ♥ Pinterest ♥