8 mistakes you’re probably making when planning your outdoor activities

Any drink you serve in summer should be cold. If served too hot, white and rosé wines, for example, lose their freshness and can begin to feel heavy on the palate, so it is important to keep the bottles well refrigerated. That’s where a cooler comes in: With a 52-quart capacity and lightweight design, there’s plenty of room for wine (and more). Just remember to fill it with ice, as a room temperature cooler won’t do.

During our testing, this cooler maintained a temperature of 32°F on a hot day and kept ice frozen, too. Even after 24 hours, our drinks stayed cold—a testament to its superior insulation. RTIC recently released a wheeled version, which adds extra portability if you plan to transport it beyond your backyard.

Besides temperature, another key element to proper wine service is having the right glasses. But if you don’t like carrying delicate glasses outside, consider this set from German glassware maker Schott Zwiesel. Made from the brand’s Tritan glass, they’re resistant to breakage, scratches, and chips, making them some of the strongest and lightest glasses we’ve tested.

The subtle striations on the sides of the glass are elegant without being distracting. With these stemless glasses, wine drinkers can enjoy the aromas and flavors of their red, white, rosé or bubbly as if they were drinking from a traditional glass, but you can pop them in the dishwasher at the end of the night for easier cleanup. .

No matter how nice the weather is, mosquitoes will bring the party indoors. To keep these pests away, this editor-favorite Thermocell E-Series device creates a 20-foot zone of protection using an odorless repellent. We like that it’s odorless, as a strong fragrance could affect the taste of the food, especially if your guests are sensitive to odors.

It is battery operated and each repellent cartridge lasts up to 12 hours; Plus, spare parts are easy to reorder. You can purchase multiple units to cover larger areas and each device is rechargeable, providing up to 5.5 hours of protection with each charge.

While it’s possible to alleviate an ice shortage by purchasing extra bags of ice, having specialty ice ready for cocktails and mocktails adds a special touch to your outdoor soiree. These molds from Williams Sonoma make 2-inch ice spheres—a solid, substantial ice ball with the ideal shape to keep drinks cold without diluting them. Its two-piece design is easy to use, and in our tests, this mold held up against more expensive versions. The silicone is flexible, so you can remove frozen spheres easily, and it’s top-rack dishwasher safe for easy cleanup.

A chilled saison or any other canned drink is a must when temperatures are high, but your drink can start to lose its freshness once it leaves the refrigerator. Avoid hot beer with this insulated can cooler from BrüMate, a rigid container designed to fit standard 12- and 16-ounce cans. Its insulation features double-wall stainless steel plus a layer of copper and includes a freezable ice pack that fits under 12-ounce cans for added cooling.

But this koozie isn’t a one-trick pony. It also comes with a flip-top lid that turns it into a tumbler so you can use it for just about any drink that needs to maintain its temperature. Available in 30 colors, you can get them in a variety of shades to distinguish your drink from someone else’s. When testing it, we found that its insulation is impressive even in the summer, as it can keep a drink cool for hours in the direct sun.

Taking your regular dishes outside may seem like a great idea, until a plate breaks and you find yourself searching for loose shards. Instead, invest in unbreakable melamine plates. One of our favorite outdoor dinnerware sets, this Moroccan-inspired collection from Pottery Barn will add style to a simple table. The set comes with four dinner plates, salad plates, and bowls, and is affordable enough that you can invest in several sets to supply a party. We love the weight of these plates as they give you the feeling of dining on nicer tableware, but they are much more durable and hold up well after repeated use.

If you want your outdoor dining to continue after sunset, you’ll need lighting. A favorite of our General Culinary Director, Justin Chapple, this cordless LED lantern is sleeker than your typical outdoor lantern and safer than candles. It comes in six finishes to match any outdoor setting and is dimmable to suit the ambiance you’re trying to create. The lamp is just under 15 inches tall and weighs about two pounds. Place it on the table for dinner or invest in a pair to accentuate the lighting around the pool. Provides lighting for nine hours on charged batteries.

Aside from rain, nothing can put a quicker damper on an outdoor gathering than an unexpected chill. Enter this patio heater from Arlmont & Co., a propane-powered model that heats up quickly and is easy to use once assembled. We love the sleek look and sturdiness of this tower, and we appreciate the addition of safety features like its tip-over safety shut-off switch. It’s easy to move thanks to its wheeled base, and it even held up well on a windy day during our testing. That’s why we stand by its stability. Made of iron and available in four finishes, it’ll look great in any backyard.