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A lot of people over the age of twenty have a sort of love-hate relationship with birthdays. They love to have a party and be the centre of attention and a lot of fun, but they hate getting older. But I believe that people should celebrate their birthdays. After all, you enjoy going to someone else’s birthday party and so you are morally obliged to put one on for others too.

And birthday parties ought to be a load of fun. It does not have to be a children’s type party, of course, but you could still get dressed up and play games.

You could have a barbecue for all your friends and family and do it cowboy style. Have a barn dance that would make ‘JR’ proud. The food for this is straightforward enough. Start by providing plenty of Texas sized spare ribs, half-pounder hamburgers, T-bone steaks, and jumbo size hot dogs with loads of bread and salad.

For music, it has to be country and everybody has to wear cowboy clothing, although it would probably be better to leave the shootin’ irons at home. Annie Oakley style clothes for the ladies and Buffalo Bill style for the gents. If it is going to be a big party, ask everyone to bring their own favourite dish, in true Southern style. That would be a great way to celebrate an adult’s birthday for the family.

If you do not go much on the macho cowboy idea, you could try a Caribbean style barbecue. Dress in flash short sleeved shirts and vivid colours or swimming costumes. The music could be reggae and calypso and the food would be grilled fish and chicken with salad and plenty of fresh fruit. Provide hot and not so hot chilli dips and barbecue sauces. You could have a go at limbo dancing too, that is always good for a laugh.

Or maybe you would prefer a humorous barbecue party and all dress up like the hillbilly family ‘The Clamperts’! That would be fun. The men could wear old velvet hats and old clothes tied up with string like Jed and Jethro and the women could come as Ellie May or Granny. I think that the original food like possum and bullfrog might be difficult to get hold of in some areas, but you could just provide what you want for this one. Steaks, hamburgers and fried fish; bread and salad with cake to finish.

Another favourite type of barbecue for a birthday do is the Luau. An Hawaiian barbecue is really something else. You will need bright colours and plenty of tropical Hawaiian decorations. You could supply half coconut shells for drinking out of and lots of coconut and pineapple based drinks. You should ask your guests to wear loud Hawaiian shirts and grass skirts, provide plenty of leis and hula music and a ‘loudest Hawaiian shirt’ contest is compulsory.

If none of those takes your fancy, how about a ‘Vicars and Tarts’ barbecue? You can use your own imagination on that one though. More tea and crumpet, vicar?

If your barbecue party is to last into the evening and it might get nippy, you could hire or borrow some patio heaters, just so as to give you a few additional hours in the garden.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with the electric outdoor heater. If you are interested in patio heaters too, please click through to Residential Patio Heaters.

After you have finished buying in your garden patio furniture and you have set it out as you like, it is time to park yourself in one of your new patio chairs with one of your favourite drinks and maybe a pen and paper, and take stock of the situation.

Is your garden patio a little congested or do you have loads of room? Are there other things you would like to have out there? How about plants? Do you have enough plants and bushes – eye candy? Will you be using it only in the daytime or in the evening or even at night too? Will you need lighting, for instance?

This is where your own personal flair can be added to your shop bought furniture to make the patio truly your patio. So, if you live in a house that only has a small garden, you might want to think about things that hang rather than things that must be sited on the ground, which will take up walking space.

If you do not have much room, but you want to grow plants with edible fruit such as strawberries or tomatoes, you could get some hanging baskets. You can hang them from bushes or standard lamps or fix them to a boring wall. In the same way, you could grow herbs or other small plants in a window box which has been fixed to a wall or placed on top of it. Or put shelving up and put boxes and pots on that.

If your patio is too sunny, you could grow sunflowers or put up a trellis or an arbour and grow vines or clematis up it. Bamboo grows quickly too. If it is too shaded, plant plenty of bright yellow and white flowers and maybe paint the walls white or pink, if you are not keen on glare.

If your garden patio is a much larger, you could add garden accessories in order to further your enjoyment. For instance, you could construct a barbecue area out of stone slabs or bricks. You could add a fountain too. A fountain makes the very soothing sound of running and splashing water and fish are a delight to watch.

For the colder months, you could construct a fireplace, if local bylaws permit or get a patio heater. They are very efficient and can keep a fair radius warm, depending on the ambient temperature.

You will probably need some form of lighting too, if you reckon on spending some evenings on your patio. I suggest a few spotlights to highlight your favourite flowers and the fountain and a broader beam light that you can read by. Do not put these lights near where you intend to sit because they will be a magnet for flying insects. However, they make a good distraction from you and will keep all but the blood sucking insects away.

For parasites such as mosquitoes, you should get some form of mosquito light. Some are very good and promise to keep a quarter or even half an acre clear of mosquitoes and other such pests.

For all these extra accessories you will need power points. Therefore, if you plan your garden with pen and paper as I suggested at the beginning of this article, then you will be able to show the electrician where you want the points and what-not in your new garden patio layout.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with commercial patio heaters. If you are interested in patio heaters too, please click through to Residential Patio Heaters.