Rev Up Your Memorial Day!

Sunday, May 29th commemorates the 100th anniversary of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race. Since it’s also the day before Memorial Day, you can celebrate both occasions by throwing an Indy 500-themed backyard barbecue for family and friends.

A racing theme leaves plenty of ‘vroom’ for fun. Imagine stacks of tires as a table base, or single tires topped with cushions for sitting. Picnic tables covered with fake brick wallpaper runners. And a bar called, “Pit Row.” Then throw in a few red gasoline cans, bricks, and black and white checkered flags to top off the theme and you’ve got yourself a party. Don’t forget to tell guests to wear bright yellow collared shirts – attire worn by the honored ambassadors to the Indy 500.

Your invitations and place cards are essential to setting a freewheeling mood, so below I’ve outlined how to create and assemble them.

INVITATION

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Standard white notecards with a fold

To create your invitation:

1. Design your notecard with a diagonal tread mark on the outside front cover.

2. In the white space above the tread mark, place text that reads, “Ladies and Gentlemen…”

3. In the white space below the tread mark, place text that reads, “Start Your Engines!”

4. On the inside bottom panel, place invitation text that reads: “Race on over to [NAME’S] house for an Indy 500 Memorial Day Barbecue.” Include the date, time and location information, and party attire – traditional Indy 500 “yellow shirts.”

5. Print up enough to accommodate your guest list.

NAPKIN TREATMENT WITH PLACE CARD

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Red linen napkins

• Small American and checkered flags

• Floral wire

• Key chains

• Car keys

• Card stock tags

To create your napkin treatment / place card:

1. Crisscross an American and checkered flag, twist with floral wire.

2. Twist again around red napkin.

3. Attach key chain at the intersection of the crisscrossed flags with car key hanging below them.

4. Punch hole in card stock tag and place on key ring.

5. Write person’s theme name on front of tag: “Pit Stop Pete, Oil Change Olivia, Revving Reg, etc.”

6. Write fact about the Indy 500 on back of tag: “Over two tanker trucks full of Coca Cola are sold during the Indy 500 (16,000 gallons); The Indy 500 Motor Speedway is the world’s largest spectator sporting facility.”

With a high-performance invitation and napkin treatment /place card for your gathering, you’ll be right on track for a truly memorable Memorial Day celebration!  For more ideas, read Cheryl's blog post: "Rally Around a New Memorial Day Tradition."

Where to access:

• Fake brick wallpaper – www.brickwallpaper.com. Light brick W628BR. $22.95 per roll.

• Linen napkins – www.tableclothsfactory.com. 5/pk. – Red for $2.59.

• Indy 500 Facts – www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com/indy500.

• Floral wire – Michael’s craft stores or www.papermart.com. Approx. $4.75 per spool.

• Flags – www.colorfastflags.com. Checkered are $1.85 per and American are 95 cents per.

• Key chains – www.zazzle.com/race+car+keychains. RPM Gage/Formula I is $3.55 per.

• Car keys – Any hardware store.

• White notecards and card stock tags – Any office supply store.