Editors’ Picks: Best in Outdoor Entertaining Accessories

Our team shares its list of entertaining must-haves for the season’s barbecue parties.

Colour Pop

Pottery Barn’s new collection of Swirl melamine dinnerware ($30 to $42 per set) looks pretty enough for the dining table, but sturdy enough to handle the great outdoors. In a rainbow of shades (fuchsia’s my favourite, of course), each one is designed to look as though it’s a piece of hand-painted and glazed Italian pottery, glamming up the summer barbecue a notch or two.—Anicka Quin, Editor-in-Chief

Tiki Touch

When I attend a backyard barbecue, I’m usually less focused on the grill (I don’t eat meat and I’m irrationally afraid of blowing myself up with a propane tank) and more interested in the cocktails-in-the-sunshine aspect of it all. For this weekend’s outdoor get-togethers, I’m tapping into the current tropical trend with these CB2 Tiki stacking glasses ($6.95)—one sip from the retro-inspired cups and I’m officially on vacation…even if it’s just for the weekend. —Stacey McLachlan, Senior Editor

Grill Master

I’ve never been much for fancy barbecue stuff and it’s totally beyond me why someone would spend more on something that sits outside in the elements all year than on their everyday oven. But my wife is fanatical about me overdoing meat, mostly because I frequently overdo meat. Not no more. This ‘lil fella from Weber ($34.99) sits in your pocket and you can flip it out like James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause. And then you can find out if your lamb chops are done like Tony Shalhoub in Big Night. And then everyone is happy like at the end of It’s a Wonderful Life. —Neal McLennan, Food and Travel Editor

Marble Mix

Now that I’m in my 30s, I’m looking for opportunities to add small touches of sophistication into my decor without going full-adult overnight. Accessories like this cutting board from Chapters (at $38, it’s affordable too) introduce one of the world’s most opulent materials (marble) in a way that’s approachable for all styles—whether you live in a mansion in Shaughnessy or a brick loft in Gastown. And when it comes to barbecue parties and patio entertaining, anything off the grill is going to look food-stylist professional on this bad boy. —Julia Dilworth, Staff Writer