Family Fun on the Fourth

Independence Day is the biggest holiday of the summer, and it’s one that kids love to celebrate. Fireworks, picnics, and barbecues are staple activities, but there are some more unique family activities out there that can make your Fourth of July fun. How about a Fourth of July makeover or a neighborhood parade? Maybe your kids would enjoy making some special kid-friendly Fourth of July recipes, or learning about the history of Independence Day in a fun way. Here are the outlines for some great ideas to help make your Fourth a special family fun day.

• Fourth of July makeovers. Kids will love this idea for showing their patriotism by getting decked out in red, white and blue. Purchase some red and blue spray-on temporary hair color, Fourth of July themed temporary tattoos, and some red, white and blue nail polish. You can see where this is going, I’m sure: they can spend the day with red and blue stripes in their hair, flag and firework tattoos, and red, white and blue finger and toe nails. What better way to show off their Independence Day spirit?
• Neighborhood Independence Day parade. Get together with some other families on your street and plan an Independence Day parade. Gather some Fourth of July themed party supplies like flags, garlands, banners and balloons. Let the kids decorate their bikes, wagons, scooters or other ride ons with their supplies. Designate someone to walk at the head of the parade route with a portable CD player playing patriotic music, and lead the kids down the street in their own Independence Day parade. Just be sure you have enough adults to supervise all of the kids on the route.
• Fourth of July Fruit Sparklers. Kids of all ages can enjoy making this simple, colorful Fourth of July treat. Set out bowls of strawberries, blueberries, honeydew melon cut into 1 inch cubes or balls, and brownies cut into one inch cubes. The kids can alternate the strawberries, blueberries, melon, and brownies on skewers.
• Learn the History. In the days leading up to the Fourth of July, visit your local library and check out some kiddie books on the history of Independence Day. On the Fourth, your kids can demonstrate what they’ve learned by drawing a timeline of the events leading up to the signing of the Declaration of independence and the writing of the Constitution, or if they’re theatrically inclined, they can act it out!
• Sing it. What kid doesn’t love to sing? Teach yours some patriotic songs for the occasion, such as “This Land is Your Land,” “I’m a Yankee Doodle Dandy,” “You’re a Grand Old Flag,” “My Country ‘Tis of Thee,” and of course, “America the Beautiful” and “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Get out the camcorder and preserve their patriotic musical show for posterity.

As you can see, there are plenty of fun things you can do for Independence Day to keep the whole family busy until it’s time for the fireworks show at night.