Early July is so magical and chock full with barbecues, United States flags, parades, iced tea, fireworks, friends, family, and all those you love and care to spend time with. Oh and don’t forget the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating competition! While many families choose to go out for the weekend (especially considering the Fourth is on a Friday this year) on camping trips, a stay at a cabin by the lake, or a variety of other holiday destinations, some just want to hunker in and enjoy having all those people out of the area. For those of us who feel this way, why not throw a fun Fourth of July party yourself? Here is a quick startup walk-through for you DIY’ers out there.
Getting started: the venue
Alright so we have this idea to throw a party. Where should you have it? Knee-jerk reaction says to have it in your backyard. Not all of us have backyards, so what do we do then? Most of the public parks are probably chock full of people with the same idea so, just to blindly throw some darts here, some ideas for a venue include: an impromptu picnic area with a nice view, the rooftop of an apartment complex or building that you have access to, on top of a nearby hill with a vantage point overlooking the town (great for firework watching also) or day-use areas with picnic tables. Check out the pic we have here: clean, nice, but also casual and easy-to-do. Collaborate with friends and family about the specifics, but you’ll think of something!
Cutting into the meat of the party
We’ve got the idea and the place, what next? Figure out the main course dish you want to serve. Fourth of July is easy because if you supply the main dish for guests, you can suggest that attendees of the party bring a side dish, salad, dessert, or drinks. And there is your objective: to figure out a main dish to serve. I can hear generic DIY’ers all over American chanting, “Hot dogs, hamburgers, fried chicken!” While there is certainly nothing wrong with those dishes and there is even a bit of expectance of these when it comes to this time of year, why not try a little different angle to celebrate this great country’s birthday? Here are some options that might get your creative juices flowing:
– Artichoke chicken bake
–Chicken enchilada zucchini boats
–Southwest turkey stuffed bell peppers
–Turkey Swedish meatballs
While I understand that these are a little off the wall, work with me a little bit. Get creative with your party and offer something unique that guests will remember. I can’t count how many times baked beans, fruit salad, burgers, and fries were offered at any given warm weather party.
Active activities
Before the food is ready, or after everyone has eaten and has allowed food to settle, giving people a little something to do besides sit and wait for the fireworks to start will mix up your party even further. One of my favorite pastimes is playing Bocce ball or Croquet with friends and family. You can find an affordable Bocce ball set on Amazon or your local sporting goods store for relatively inexpensive. Heck, you can make it into a hobby if you enjoy it enough. The rules are simple and don’t require other than an open area to play. Washers, Horseshoes, and Lawn Darts are a few other possible game ideas. It’ll be an absolute blast.
Fun Tablewares
By the way, don’t forget your disposable party supplies; cutlery, red Solo cups (I fill you up!), plates, napkins, and throw away tablecloths shouldn’t go on the back-burner. Obviously red, white, and blue are the go-to colors for this day and I generally like to stick with those for patriotic purposes.
If you’ve got other ideas to speak to or have any creative juices to inject into mine, I’m all ears!
Guest contributor
Sophie Miller is a DIY extraordinaire. She loves thinking of creative ways to throw barbecues, birthday parties, weddings, and everything in between. She’s big into fantasy non-fiction books and currently finds herself reading through the Harry Potter series for a 7th time. She’s not crazy, she swears.
Featured Photo credit: Here
Thanks so much for the post Jo-Anne! If anyone has other ideas (not just a 4th of July party) but perhaps a Labor Day or any other summer party, post it here! 🙂
4th of July is a wonderful celebration for friends and family over here, thanks for the ideas!
awesome party ideas I am going to be doing my sons party 🙂 we are gonna theme with minecraft 🙂
The Minecraft theme is a great idea! Please share the pictures, I have a feeling it will be cute, cute, CUTE! 🙂
I love the patriotic party style. That’s pretty awesome. That would be great for a 4th of July bash.
We used to have a family gathering every Independence Day but ever since my BIL died, it kind of wind down..
I love the table with the classic American hotdogs! This is one of the occasions that I eat hotdog in a bun.
Great idea for a very special occasion. Pwede rin yan sa Indepence Day natin.
This post ha it all. Decor, Food, Entertainment!! Those recipe’s sound delicious.
These are really great suggestions. I love the star-spangled paper plates though! Genius! 🙂
I have never seen so creative and fun 4th of July party like this. Thanks for these ideas, something to do for the next 4th of July.
Planning a party truly challenges one’s creativity. Thanks for these party ideas.. although we don’t celebrate 4th of July, we could always use them for other important occasions!
I like your party ideas, the food choices and the idea about getting active during the party. These are the kinds of things that make a party fun.
This a great idea for 4th of July! More DIY party ideas please 🙂