Ideas for fun group dinners?

Eating outside can be a fantastic excuse for a potluck dinner. Instead of asking your guests to bring entrees or fancy dishes, why not ask them for the sides, while you promise the meat (or veggie burgers). You can encourage everyone to bring their favorite salad, be it potato or garden. Then, ask a few guests to bring a dessert. You should provide drinks, but if you're on a budget you can always ask people to BYOB. All you need after that is enough food to cover a grill, whether you're eating steak or good old-fashioned hot dogs. The dining can be casual, with people sitting wherever they happen to find a chair or a patch of grass. The casual dinner is a lot of fun, but make sure to keep citronella candles or other bug repellents burning. Everybody loves a barbeque, but nobody likes going home with bug bites.