Nothing says summer like a beer-fuelled BBQ. Having all your mates crammed into your small back garden, a lack of places to sit, speakers in your living room deafening your next door neighbour (whilst only the thud of the bass reaches your guests in the garden), drunk games of Twister, wine-runs to the off licence every 2 hours, a hoard of ants the next day as you were too squiffy to tidy up… Those were the days…

Having attempted to organise a slightly tamer version of the above last weekend, we had to face up to the fact that no one wants to come to a BBQ where there is even the slightest possibility they might be roped into doing a bum-change after a few cans of Stella. Let’s face it, if you’re single and childless, the prospect of an impromptu gathering + alcohol + burgers + sunshine + kids = politely declining the invitation and going to the pub instead.

Undeterred, we decided to have our own family BBQ instead. Having been given £50 to create an epic BBQ for family (and friends - hmm) by Money Supermarket as part of their #CharcoalChallenge, we had some money in the kitty to make it a fun day for Dexter instead.

So here’s how we spent the dosh:

A crate of Stella £13

Piri Piri pork shoulder joints £4

Minted lamb kebabs £4

Fresh Salad, potatoes and dressing £5

(We had our own condiments)

A reclaimed seesaw for Dexter £20

We found Dexter’s new toy by chance as our local pub was turfing over the children’s play area. They had swings, playhouses, and slides up for grabs and we managed to nab this for a bargain £20! It’s been Dexter’s favorite toy in the pub garden for some time as he loves having daddy send him up skyward (and I think Craig likes using Dexter to work-out).

We also got to try Dexter out on some new food. He’s like his mummy and prefers vegetables but it was great to see him experiment with new flavours (cucumber, tomato and spring onions). He loved the minted lamb kebabs and got on quite well with tomato too (so well in fact, we had to change his shirt by the time he’d finished).

All in all Dexter had a great time with mummy and daddy. Here’s my two boys having a little cuddle before bed time x