End of Summer Blowout!

With tomorrow officially being the first day of autumn (not that the weather around here has been particularly summer-like for the past month...), I thought that today I would offer you a few end-of-summer entertaining ideas. After all, we are going to have to wait several more months before we can once again break out that barbecue, fudge those sundaes, and suntan those pasty white thighs of yours. So why not enjoy this final day of summer?

• Though it is probably too chilly to do very much swimming, that's no reason not to fill up some balloons with warm tap water and have an end-of-summer water-balloon fight! It's a fun activity that also serves as a preview for this year's snowball fight season. So fill some balloons and start chucking them at your kids, your neighbors, and that old cane-bearing lady that hobbles her way out to the mailbox each afternoon.
  
  
• If you don't feel like standing outside tending a barbecue all afternoon, then forget about the end-of-summer barbecue and host an end-of-summer deep-fry-athon instead. Not only does one of those large outdoor deep-fryers cook your food quickly, but the deep-fried chicken, French fries, Oreos, and ice cream should also help you put on a layer of fat that will keep you warm throughout the winter months.
  
  
• Bonfires are always a summertime pleasure. And since you're probably feeling a little chilly right about now anyway, why not light one up? It's an opportunity to toast s'mores, tell ghost stories, and best of all – since it gets dark out so early now, you can light the fire early in the day and get to bed at a reasonable hour...
  
  
• And finally, it wouldn't be summer without beer. So stock up the fridge, invite some friends over, and start celebrating. Because after all – it's Oktoberfest!