Everything You Need to Host 3 Summer Dinner Parties

There is a dream that I have:

Being a lucky New Yorker with access to my apartment's roof, I host a dinner party. I run out of neither wine nor food. I am not stressed—nay, I am even elegant and cool. I glide around, gregarious in a linen caftan. A light breeze blows as the sun sets over Brooklyn.

This is not entirely realistic (I am still in search of a caftan, and I am still dinner party-shy). But it's also not not realistic. Why not? We, you and I, are good cooks. There's an outdoor space somewhere we can descend upon for an impromptu dinner party. And there are plenty of occasions to make it happen. (Some of them barely worth calling "occasions" at all—and all the better for it.)

Everything you need for a summer dinner party is within easy reach. Here's how we're doing it, three ways:

Beach Picnic! Beach Picnic!

For days when: It's too darn hot to be anywhere but the closest body of water.
Don't forget: An arsenal of tools as summer-easy as they are smart and useful. (And small enough to pack in your beach bag.)

Backyard Hangin'

For days when: You want your toes in the grass and a grill nearby.
Don't forget: To buy ice. To plan on lingering late into the evening. And if you have a kiddie pool... We'd be into it.

Less "Dinner," More "Ice Cream"

For days when: The air-conditioning breaks. The power goes out. You just need to eat ice cream for dinner.
Don't forget: Fun stuff. This isn't a late-night spooning-from-the-pint situation—this is a full-on ice cream social.

Dream a summer evening dream: What would be on the menu? Tell us in the comments.