ParentingSpot.com ~ 4th of July Celebration Ideas

4th of July Celebration Ideas

July 4th has always been one of my favorite holidays, both because summer has always been my favorite time of year (until I moved to Arizona, that is! ha ha), and because I LOVE fireworks. Growing up in DC suburbs, we'd head into DC for the day and picnic at the Mall by the wading pool between the Jefferson and Washington Monuments. There are bands and booths and vendors all over the place all day long. It's quite a day. And if we stayed long enough, the fireworks are just spectacular. As an adult, the 4th of July has become kind of a two- celebration day - one in the daytime and one at night to see the fireworks.

If you're planning on going to a large public event in your city for your daytime 4th of July celebration, be sure to pack a cooler full of drinks and easily portable picnic fare like wraps, pita sandwiches, bottled water and juices, raw veggies, hard fruits. Try to avoid stuff with mayo, unless you are going to eat it as soon as you get there. Also try to avoid regular bread, as it seems to get soggy even in airtight packages (not to mention smushed)! With the heat, having lots of liquids are the most important, and waters and juices hydrate the best.

If you are planning a 4th of July celebration in your back yard, here are some tips to make it great!

Late afternoon or early evening is a good time to have a 4th of July barbeque style party - early enough to have some fun in the sun, but late enough to incorporate going to see fireworks into your celebration. If you're lucky, you can see some from your home, but most of us have to go somewhere to see them. To me, an evening barbeque at home and then finishing the party off with fireworks at a local school or park is a wonderful day!

Invitations

Of course, anything that looks like the American flag, or using the colors red, white, and blue. You could send a small flag with an invitation attached, or rolled up in the small flag. You could also make a flyer with a flag border and the party details in the center. If you want to make your own, you can get some clip art and fonts on the Party Invitation page. Or, you can look at preprinted or fill-in-the-blank invitations on that page too (search on "patriotic" or "flag" on one of the invitation sites).

Costumes

Encourage your guests to wear red, white and blue to the party. If you want, you and your guests can go a little snazzier and wear flag shirts, hats, headbands, buttons and more. If you really want to go crazy, you and your guests can wear patriotic costumes like Uncle Sam, Lady Liberty, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, etc. Get more ideas on the Costumes page on the site.

Favors

The glow in the dark favors are cool for a 4th of July celebration. Other ideas include candles (star shaped, or with a flag imprint), flags, small liberty bells, buttons, ribbons, flag bandanas, hats, tshirts, etc.

Decorations

A 4th of July party will obviously have a red, white and blue color scheme. You can also focus on stars, flags, or firecrackers if you want, or have a little of all of them (which is what I would do!). Here are some general ideas for decorating:

Hang a large American flag on a wall - or get one that lights up to hang on the wall.
Put bunches of red, white and blue helium-filled balloons (in odd numbers) around the party area. Tie them to chairs, tables, etc.
Display stars around the party area, including star shaped balloons.
Use red, white and blue tableware - either patterned with flags, stars, or other patriotic colors, or use solid colors.
Put flag bag luminaries along the walk to your front door.
A star-shaped candle or one of the centerpieces here would be great on each table.
Have lots of red, white, and blue skimmers (Styrofoam hats) around to put snacks in (pretzels, M&Ms, etc.) and for your guests to wear.
Hang red, white and blue decorative lights around the party area, along with red, white and blue streamers.

Get more decoration ideas on the Party Decorations section of the website.

Food

One great thing about a 4th of July celebration is the food. Whether you're doing a picnic or a barbeque, you can enjoy typical party fare along with barbeque ideas. Have hot dogs, hamburgers, pasta salads, green salads, chips, baked beans, corn on the cob, watermelon, and apple pie for dessert. If you have a cheese, cold cut, and/or fruit tray, be sure to have flag toothpicks to give the platter a festive touch. Recipes and ideas are on the Party Food page on the site.

Drinks

Don't forget drinks! At the least, serve lemonade, iced tea, sodas, and wine and beer, if you want it.

Cake

A flag or star cake would be excellent for this party. You can also decorate a sheet cake with red, white, and blue piping along with sparkler "candles" or a fireworks design. Get more great cake recipes and ideas on the cake decorating page on the website.

Games

With an outdoor party, a sports game seems to be in order. A baseball game would be especially fitting for a patriotic theme, but volleyball, soccer, or even basketball is fine too. Other ideas: patriotic trivial pursuit (or a contest to see who can win with American history trivia), having guests talk about their favorite places in the US, or talking about "20 Years Ago in America" (or 50 years ago...).

Entertainment

Big band and marching band songs are appropriate today (you could even have a small parade if you have a lot of kids at your celebration). If you're into it, a Barbershop Quartet or similar type group would be neat. If not, get your patriotic music at one of the resources listed on the Party Music page.

Once your party is in full swing, just relax, enjoy the great weather and have a great party!

In 2003, Cheryl Levey had Halloween party and had so much fun that she started a Party Planning website at http://party.cherylsweb.com. Sign up for her Party Tips newsletter at the site or by emailing mailto:partytips@bizonlineinc.com.