It’s almost time for summer! That means baseball games, beaches and lots of outdoor living.

In the spirit of a sizzling summer, I found a few inexpensive summertime “hacks” for backyard barbecues, parties or just hanging out with the family.

1. Water Balloon Ice Bucket: From Lifehacker.com, this cooler keeps your refreshing drinks cold without the drenching mess. Just fill water balloons, freeze, then arrange them around your bottles and cans. It’s less expensive than bags of ice and you can re-freeze and re-use them.
2. Nutter Butter Flip Flops: This super-easy recipe makes the cutest summer treat! Just dress up some Nutter Butter cookies with frosting for a fun and delicious snack by the pool.
3. Watermelon Keg: Forget the punch bowl! Cut the top off of a watermelon (save it to use as a lid), hollow it out, attach a spigot kit and brew up some fresh punch for your guests.

These “hacks” are simple, inexpensive and won’t wear you out. Which is just perfect for the dog days of summer.

Your “Long Live Summer!” Gift Guru,
Linda

PS: Here’s a fourth tip: buy any 3 sizzling summer items and you’ll get the 4th one free! Just click here.