Beach Party Ideas

You can use oversize shells to bring a touch of the seashore -- and a romantic atmosphere -- to an evening at home. We used "lion's paw" shells (Lyropecten nodosus), available inexpensively from online auctions and souvenir shops. Fill a shallow tray with sand, arrange pairs of your prettiest specimens, and place a votive candle at the center of each pair (leaving room for the flames to flicker safely). Set the tray on a low table, and gather your guests for a drink on the patio.

Set a fun, nautical table at your seasonal soiree. These easy-to-make napkin rings are summery and sophisticated at the same time.

A half shell was good enough for Botticelli's "The Birth of Venus." Can humble condiments require more? Four clam or scallop shells make a summery set of salt-and-pepper dishes. First, run four shells per set through a dishwasher, secured in the silverware caddy. For the base, turn two shells top side up, and hot-glue them together at the hinge. Glue together the other two shells; then lay them face up and crosswise over the base, and glue.

No need to dig a pit in the sand! Steam lobsters, clams, mussels, shrimp, corn on the cob, potatoes, and chorizo in beer from the comfort of your kitchen for a casual summer dinner party.

Raw clams, such as these cherrystones and littlenecks, are easiest to open when they've been chilled for a few hours; the cold relaxes the muscle that keeps them clamped shut. Use a thin-bladed clam knife, which, unlike a pointed oyster knife, has a rounded tip and one sharp side. Serve them on a bed of ice with chilled glasses of rose.

What beach party is complete without the finishing touch of perfectly ripe, icy-cold watermelon? Enliven the presentation by serving the fruit in crisp wedges standing tall like little boats (cut a sliver from the rind so it stands level), with jaunty nautical flags made from colored masking tape flying from toothpick masts.

Look out for blue paper fins slicing through icing waves. Some might prefer a sandy beach, so stand a drink parasol in a dune of icing dipped in finely ground graham-cracker crumbs.