The 4th of July is a holiday that always brings my family together. Every year we would have dinner, play games, and end the evening by watching a fireworks display. We have been working hard all spring to renovate our backyard, so this year we wanted to celebrate the 4th of July in our new outdoor living space with a little help from Oriental Trading!
Our central display was a 6-foot table that we covered with a blue plastic tablecloth, and a tiered patriotic fringe table skirt. Adding a festive table skirt is a simple and effective way to bring the patriotic party vibe to your party! I also hung up a blue patriotic garland mingled with shimmering tinsel stars for an eye-catching decoration as the backdrop (aka our fence) to coordinate with our sparkly table skirt.
Every tablescape needs a centerpiece, and ours was this easy-to-assemble cupcake stand! Since it's made of white foam, it's simple for you to dress it up to match your decor with ribbons, felt, etc. I kept it simple by leaving the cupcake stand blank. The bottom two layers were filled with patriotic mini cupcakes and sugar cookies. On the top layer, I filled a gift bag with a patriotic pick with shimmery stars, sprigs of tinsel, and flags.
Now that we've got the treats covered, you can't forget drinks! I filled up a mason jar beverage dispenser with a fruit punch, because it's both delicious AND brings that bright red color to our tablescape! Next to the dispenser, I arranged mason jar glasses and patriotic paper straws for my guests to enjoy their beverages in style!
On the left side of the table, I arranged patriotic gift bags to keep the kids busy until the sun goes down. Each gift bag was filled with treats, a mix of fun patriotic toys, flag bracelets, glow sticks, and you can't forget sparklers and bang snaps/poppers!!
While waiting for our food on the grill or just passing the time until the fireworks show, playing patriotic games and activities is fun for the whole family like this Patriotic Backyard Tic-Tac-Toe Game! All you have to do is arrange the nylon strings and decide whether you want to be X or O.
Bowling is a another party activity that provides hours of family fun! This Glow-in-the-Dark Bowling Set is a great after-dark outdoor game that's perfect for barbecues, 4th of July parties, birthday parties, and more! The set comes with 10 pins, 10 red glow sticks, and two bowling balls.
While this set glows in the dark, that doesn't mean you have to wait for the sun to go down to have some fun! You can set up the pins and roll the balls across the lawn to knock pins down throughout the day.
To make the pins "glow" you'll need to activate the glow sticks by bending at the center until you hear it crack. Shake the glow stick to disperse the "glow" and place it inside the bottom of the bowling pins. Kids love helping with this part!! The holes in the bottom of the pins are a little bigger than a dime, so the glow sticks are easy to remove and replace.
The glow sticks are a one-time use, but they stay lit up for hours!! We had a ton of fun bowling the night away, and it was nice to have some yard games that families of all ages enjoyed playing. Since it's made of lightweight plastic, you can even play indoors! My daughter has been bowling down our hallway for the past few days - hooray for summer break entertainment!!
We are so excited to host our 4th of July celebration in our freshly renovated backyard with family and friends. Grab some patriotic decorations from Oriental Trading to get more party for your money, and have a safe holiday!!
How do you celebrate the 4th of July?
How do you celebrate the 4th of July?
