Marquee against the house for Christmas dinner

[IamPickleRick]

I’ve seen some people do this and have been looking at hire companies but they seem all singing and all dancing and I don’t want to pay too much I think I’d like to give this a go myself.

We have a quite nice marquee that we use for garden parties, I am just going to back it right up against the patio doors and line it and heat it, then set up the tables out there and decorate etc.

Has anyone ever done this? If so did it go well? Or has anyone ever paid a company?

The bit I am stuck on is how to sort out the gap between the outside wall and the marquee... don’t want to lose heat there. Any ideas welcome!

Not personally as our garden is too uneven but I've heard of peiplenusing their bell tents as dining areas on Christmas day and I think it's a fab idea. Maybe just get some patio heaters for the gap if it's large.

These people seem to have done it like this? I wonder if I just get it really close and lay some tarp around the outside as obviously it doesn’t matter what the outside looks like.

I just like the idea because we can leave all the mess outside and just have inside for presents, games and lounging. I may get some very cheap old rugs for the floor too?

I think it would be too cold - but I live in Scotland.

Surely it will be too cold for this OP?
We went to a February wedding in a Marquee of the same type as you are thinking about and it was freezing despite the hot air fans .

Lots of twinkling lights , everyone dress up cosy .
We don't have proper cold at Christmas really its always depressingly mild .

There was a Heston Blumenthal programme ( Perfect Christmas ? ) he set up a Winter Wonderland in the open air (in a car park but heavily disguised with trees and lights) . Of course it might've been filmed in August

I think you would find it's cold. You need some decent flooring down the make this work too.

I also went to a February wedding in a marquee up against a house and I still remember how cold it was. I suppose this would be different as you wouldn't have it as big, but there were heaters and I was still shivering. You're effectively outside but standing around a patio heater like you would in a pub.

We're doing it for a party at the end of October, having a bbq (outside the marquee!) and telling people to wrap up. It's drinks though, not sure about it being warm enough to do a sit down dinner in.

Sounds lovely op, but the ground could/will be cold. Line in with card, before putting rugs down. Give everyone a hot water bottle and rug, blanket and sheep skins on their chairs to keep the cosy. Be careful op using out door patio heaters in a confined space - can't they be dangerous?!

I was going to use my oil heaters, I have about 6. Line the walls with fleece material from eBay (I buy it to line my blankets). Friends have done it and said it wasn’t cold, we are in London - but I guess it depends on the day. I might try it a few days before, see how it goes and then decide.

Ive used a marquee to extend the space for a drinks party. The main reception room tends to get quite warm with a wood burner alight and the marquee gives somewhere cooler for people to gravitate towards.ours goes from the dining room against double doors that are open but sits on a York stone terrace so flat and ecumenical under foot. We don’t heat it as people generally want to cool off.

It’s not ecumenical at all it’s secure under foot!

My sister did this once and some guests slept out there as well. It was fine (says she who had a cosy bedroom indoors ).

DP has had an amazing idea - we are going to line it with emergency foil heat blankets so it should stay lovely and toasty!

This is a fab idea! We use foil blankets on our tent when we camp to regulate the heat.