Celebrating the signing of the Declaration of Independence is a
tradition with most American families. Many celebrate with a picnic,
barbecue, or potluck at the pool, beach or backyard. When it's time to
raise the Red, White and Blue, here are some ways to add a few extra
"fireworks" to your Fourth of July festivities.
Invitations
Declare your Independence Day party with a patriotic "popper"
invitation. Write your party details on small white cards and insert
them into halved paper towel tubes. Add a few candies or a small
American flag. Wrap the tubes with red crepe paper, twist the ends,
and tie them off with blue ribbon. You can hand-deliver to guests or
send them in mailing tubes.
To make the party really interesting, ask guests to wear red, white and
blue or have them dress as figures from American history, such as
Betsy Ross or Paul Revere. If you're hosting a pool party, ask the
guests to bring bathing suits, beach towels, sunglasses and sunscreen.
Decorations
Get the fireworks started with these sparkling tips.
- Use a Balloon Time Helium Balloon Kit to fill the party area with
red, white and blue helium balloons. Decorate them with star
stickers for extra pizzazz, tie them to the tables and chairs, line
them up along the walls and fences, or float them along the
ceiling with red, white and blue dangling ribbons.
- Trim the fence and tables with swags of red, white and blue
bunting or crepe paper for an impressive setting.
- Hang up red, white and blue holiday lights around the room or
backyard. Set out glow sticks for guests to enjoy at nightfall.
- Cover the table with a blue plastic tablecloth, and use red
bandannas as place mats or napkins. Serve the food decorated
with tiny flags on red, white and blue paper products.
- For a pool party, cover the table with colorful beach towels and
use beach toys, such as sand pails, flowerpots or large shells, to
hold the food. Keep the drinks cold in a kiddy swimming pool
filled with ice.
- Play John Philip Sousa marching music and other patriotic hits in
the background for a festive party atmosphere.
Games and Activities
Watching fireworks is a traditional favorite activity. But before they
begin, here are suggestions for games at your gathering.
Water Wars.
Give everyone - adults and kids - a water gun, and have
a water war. Or use double-stick tape and place helium balloons on
top of the fence or a table. Have players try to knock the balloons off
with their squirt guns.
Balloon Blast.
What's the 4th without a little noise?
- Have the players try to pop as many helium balloons as they can
in a given time period. You can make it more challenging by
telling them they can only use their feet to pop the balloons - or
have them pop the balloons blindfolded.
- Fill balloons with small notes suggesting challenges, such as
"Sing 'America the Beautiful'" or "Name the first five presidents."
Have players take turns popping balloons and following the
instructions.
- For added fun, place a bunch of balloons in the kiddy pool filled
with water, and have the players try to pop them when they're
wet (bathing suits are recommended for this one!)!
Old Time Fun.
Set out old favorite family games, such as croquet,
horseshoes and badminton, and let the guests play whatever they like.
The Race is On!
Have relay races on the lawn, such as three-legged
race, sack race, wheelbarrow race, water balloon toss and tug of war.
Have a parade!
Gather the neighbors and host an informal parade.
Hold a float-making and bicycle-decorating session in your driveway
an hour before the big event. Kids and parents can bring their own
tape, streamers and signs, and you can share ideas and lend a hand to
help create some fabulous floats. Then parade around your block or a
park.
To keep your lawn chair spectators happy, consider enlisting some of
the following:
- Families carrying homemade banners pinned across a broomstick
- Pets with red, white and blue ribbons in their leashes or collars
- A parent and kid kazoo band
- In-line skaters wearing red, white and blue T-shirts and helmets
- Bigger kids dribbling red, white and blue basketballs or soccer
balls
- A teenage DJ carrying a boom box playing patriotic songs
- Bikes, strollers, wagons and wheelchairs sporting streamers and
balloons
- A minuteman marching band featuring kids playing oatmeal-container
drums and paper-towel-roll fifes. Band students can
chime in with their trumpets and clarinets, and even moms and
dads can dust off their old instruments and join the fun
- A clown (a parent dressed in costume) tossing penny candy to
the crowd
- Decorate the car, rig speakers to the top and drive around the
neighborhood playing patriotic songs
Refreshments
Keep the food easy and entertaining by having guests bring potluck.
Here are some other suggestions for refreshments.
- Have a barbeque and grill up the classics — hot dogs and
hamburgers — with all the fixings at a condiment bar.
- Cut a watermelon in half and scoop out the inside of the
watermelon with a melon baller. Fill one half-shell with a variety
of diced fruit.
- Fill the other watermelon half-shell with raspberry sherbet, and
smooth it flat so it looks like watermelon fruit. Stick chocolate
chips along two rows to make the "seeds." Keep frozen until
serving time and serve with a scoop.
- Bake a rectangular sponge cake and cover it with whipped
cream. Decorate the top to look like a flag, using sliced
strawberries for stripes and blueberries for stars. Serve with a
side of homemade ice cream.
Prizes, Gifts, Favors
Send the patriotic partiers home with a beach toy or beach towel, an
American flag wind sock or pin, a squirt gun, a glow-in-the-dark stick
or jewelry, or an appropriate video, such as "Yankee Doodle Dandy" or
"John Adams."
Penny Warner has more than 25 years of experience as an author
and party planner. She has published more than 50 books, including 16
specific to parties. Additionally, Warner writes a weekly newspaper
column on family life, penned a column for Sesame Street Parents
magazine and has appeared on several regional and national TV morning
programs. Her latest book, HOW TO HOST A KILLER PARTY, debuted in
February 2010 from NAL/Penguin.
Balloon Time is the leading brand of consumer helium balloon kits
in North America. Balloon Time kits feature a helium-filled tank, latex
or foil balloons and ribbon, and are available at national retail
chains, party goods and grocery stores nationwide.