10 Things You Need To Make For the Best Fourth of July Party

The Fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays. The food, the fireworks, and time spent with friends and family are all really important parts of the celebrations. If you’re still looking for some last-minute ideas of how to take your party or picnic up a notch, here’s a quick and easy project I put together as well as links to some of my favorite ideas and inspiration from Pinterest.

1. Ribbon Sparkler Replacement

Little kids are not the greatest at safely using fireworks or sparklers, so I wanted to come up with something less likely to result in trips to the ER for the little ones at our parties. A ribbon streamer seemed like a fun way for kids to enjoy something that wouldn’t burn them. This isn’t necessarily something you can make WITH your munchkins, but they will love playing with it afterwards!

Simply pick up some thin red, white and blue ribbon from the dollar bins at a craft store like Michael’s or Jo-Ann Fabrics and use Tacky Glue to weave or braid it around a ten-inch long dowel rod. Make sure to glue to ends securely and to leave plenty of extra ribbon for shaking and swirling.

2. Firework Painting

This painting project is a great way to get the small humans in your life creative and crafty. I love this tutorial and idea. Kids love it and their masterpieces are adorable. Firework Painting would make a great fourth of July craft, but could also be used to keep your kiddos distracted on a rainy day or when friends are hanging out.

3. DIY Confetti Poppers

Another option to get the kids away from the pyrotechnics, while still giving them something explosively fun to play with are these diy confetti poppers. They are equal parts adorable and easy. Wrap them in holiday themed scrapbook paper, or find a free printable somewhere and pull the pattern from that. If you’ve got a paper shredder, you can let your kids participate in making the confetti you’ll fill these with.

4. Patriotic Photo Booth Props

It seems like every event these days has a photo booth, so why not your July 4th celebration? With these super cute free printables, your party pictures will be the talk of the internet. Just print out two copies of each, trim them with scissors and then glue them together with a straw or dowel rod sandwiched in between.

5. Straw Rockets

If you’re looking for fun things for the kids that don’t involve fireworks, these are fun alternatives. Straw Rockets satisfy the need for things to be flying through the air without having to light anything on fire. It’s also a great way to keep kids busy decorating the rockets. Set up a table at your picnic with red, white and blue markers and let them go to town!

6. Patriotic Tie-dye

I love tie-dye and this is a great activity to do at your holiday celebration or in preparation for it. This would be a really cute shirt to wear to any summer party you might have on your agenda. These patriotic tie-dye shirts aren’t just for kids. In fact, if you pick up some multi-packs of white t-shirts on sale somewhere, this would make an excellent project to do DURING your party while giving guests a wonderful souvenir to take home with them.

7. Firecracker Dogs

Before we sugar up the kids with the other sweets in this post, we should feed them something substantial. Substantial doesn’t have to mean boring! Try these Firecracker Dogs at your Fourth Celebration. Just pick up some canned biscuits and a block of your favorite cheese and these can be whipped up in no time!

8. Pop Rock Cake Bombs

And now begins the process of sugaring them up! These Pop Rock Cake Bombs look so cool! I hope they taste as good as they look. A few sheets of colorful cake (Pillsbury now makes these brighly colored mixes, they are sold in a pouch next to regular cake mixes) and some candy and cookie cutters and these will come together in no time. The kids are going to love these!

9. Kid Friendly Jello Cups

This next one is pretty easy to set up for kids or to adapt for grown-ups with the addition of your favorite rum or vodka. Just layer together red, white and blue jello mixes in little glasses and nestle a maraschino cherry into the top layer. They look like little dynamite toppers and make a perfect tiny dessert for your party. You can whip up these Fourth of July Jell-0 cups a day or two ahead of time.

10. Adult Jello Shots

You’ve spent all day prepping for this party and finding fun, kid-friendly activities for the munchkins, you deserve a treat too. These look so fun! These patriotic jello shots will liven up the grown up party too!

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