Whether you're gathering around the pool or the grill, a summer party can last all night if you know how to keep the fun going. You'll be the talk of the town with these great gadgets for the perfect summer party.
No party, indoor or out, is complete without the perfect playlist. The best way to show off your deejay talent is with Ultimate Ears' rugged, portable Bluetooth Boom 2. I've had my Boom for years and I take it along on all my camping trips and pool parties. It's always been the perfect music companion for outdoor activities.It's more than just a rugged outdoor speaker. The Boom 2 has a level of sound quality that is better than any speaker in its class that I've heard so far. It's also got an IPX7 rating, so you can drop it in the water (up to 3 feet) for as long as 30 minutes and it won't ruin it.To keep the party going all night long, turn up the volume with the UE Boom 2. It comes in a wide variety of colors and you can daisy chain up to 50 of them for serious surround sound. Prices range from $110 to $140, depending on the color you choose.
Nothing says "party" like a properly lit room. The cool thing about the $80 Go Light is that it's portable. You can set it up on your picnic table or in your rumpus room (does anyone even have a rumpus room anymore?). It's got all the fun colors of Philips Hue's smart color bulbs, but you don't have to keep it plugged in.You can use one of the Friends of Hue apps, like Hue Fireworks or Hue Disco and really make your party swing.It's got a 300-lumen output, which isn't going to light up your entire room but is going to bring a nice party atmosphere to any occasion.You need the Hue Bridge to take advantage of all the fun smart controls, but it does still work as a standard light if you're too far from your Bridge.
You may think you're an expert on the grill, but you can be sure of perfectly cooked meat at your next cookout with the $85 iGrill thermometer. It's a meat probe that tells you when you're food is done. All you have to do is insert the connected probe into your food after you place it on the grill.The iGrill hub monitors the temperature, which you can see right on your phone. When your chatting with your buddies or swimming with the kids, all you have to do is open the iGrill companion app to see the progress of your delicious meats and veggies.When the food reaches its ideal temperature, you'll hear a beeping sound, letting you know it's time to take it off the grill.Your friends and family will start calling you the grill king once they taste your perfectly cooked summer party dinner.
If you're ready to take your drink making to the next level, you should check out the $100 Perfect Drink Pro. It's a smart scale that helps you measure out your drink levels. You don't need any additional measuring cups.You can just place your shaker on the scale, find your drink in the companion app, and pour straight out of the bottle. The scale will beep when you've poured the right amount.The scale is wireless, so you can take it to any backyard BBQ or camping cookout. The app comes with more than 400 drink recipes, so all you need is the ingredients for the perfect cocktail.
The $50 Cuisinart 1.5-quart ice cream maker is not a smart appliance, but it is a smart appliance to have, especially if you want to make your kids happy this summer. It works fast.You can have soft-serve ice cream within 20 minutes. You can add all the yummy snacks to it about five minutes before the churn cycle ends.There is no need for salt rock or hand cranking. Just pour in your milk or cream and flavoring and you've got homemade ice cream in less than a half-hour!It works with all kinds of ingredients, too. You can make frozen yogurt, sorbet, and even frosty cold margaritas.
After you've started grilling, served up some drinks, and jumped into the pool, you'll probably want to snap a photo of you and your buddies to keep your awesome summer time memories intact forever, so why not take it a step further and pull out your Pocket Prynt?While the Prynt already entertains party guests as an instant mobile printer that allows you to take snapshots with your iPhone and print them in a sticker form immediately, it'll truly astound them when you scan the printed image with your iPhone using the Prynt app and watch it spring to life on screen via AR!Every time you take a picture with the $150 Prynt Pocket, it records a little loop or short 5 second video, so you can relive your ultimate summer party memories over and over again!The coolest parts about the Prynt Pocket? The fact that it can be adusted to fit any iPhone size and the fact that doesn't need any annoying refillable ink cartridges — the ink comes embedded directly in the paper! Plus, the paper/sticker refills aren't even that expensive either: it's only $20 for 40 sheets!
How do you party in the summer?
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Do you have a particular gadget that makes your summer party rock the block? Let us know what it is in the comments.
We're having a party this weekend and love to try new stuff!
Updated June 2018: This article still has the best of the best options.
