One of the most festive holidays of the summer is just a week away! Not only is the 4th of July a celebration of our country, but it is also a time to get together with friends and family to enjoy some good food, parade fun, and of course to see the amazing fireworks shows! One thing is for sure--it's truly a wonderful thing to see your child experience this summer's big day and see them have such fun with it! Here's a list of food, activities, and crafts that you and your child can do to celebrate Independence Day! Let's get started!
Activities & Crafts
1. Independence Day No-Bake Playdoh
What you'll need:
- Food Coloring
- 1 1/8 C. Salt
- Coconut Oil
- 3/4 C. Warm Water
- 3 C. White Flour
- 3 bowls
- Red, White, & Blue Glitter (Optional)
- Red, White, & Blue Confetti Stars (Optional)
Instructions:
- Add 1/4 cup of warm water to each bowl.
- Add enough drops (usually 10-15) of red food coloring to your first bowl and blue food coloring to your second bowl. Don't add any food coloring to the last bowl--it will be for your white.
- Add ½ tbs of melted coconut oil to each bowl.
- Combine 3 cups flour and 1 1/8 cup (1 cup & 2 tbs) of salt in a large mixing bowl. Mix well.
- Add 1 cup of flour mix into each color bowl. Mix with a fork.
- Knead dough on table or counter into a ball and apply the rest to the other playdohs.
- Add glitter and confetti if you want to your playdoh.
- Store in an airtight ZipLock bag in the refrigerator for a couple of hours and that's it! I love this idea and it will be a guaranteed hit with the kiddos!
2. Patriotic Slime
What you'll need:
- Clear Elmer’s Glue
- Mixing Bowl
- Liquid Starch
- Red Fine Glitter
- White Chunky Glitter
- Red & Blue Star Confetti
- Clear Container
Instructions:
- Add glue, glitter, and stars in your mixing bowl and mix together.
- Slowly stir in the liquid starch 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach the desired consistency. The more starch you add, the harder the slime will be.
- That's it!! Place your slime in a container and allow your kiddos to play outside (you'll thank me later) and enjoy their fun gooey entertainment!
3. Toilet Paper Roll Firework Art
What you'll need:
- 2 Empty Toilet Paper Rolls
- Piece of Paper
- Red and Blue Paint
- Scissors
Instructions:
- Cut strips halfway up the toilet paper roll on one side.
- Dip your cut-up end into your paints and stamp it onto your piece of paper. It will create an artistic firework display that is sure to make any fridge shine with pride!
4. Flag Ribbon Wand
What you'll need:
- 12" Wooden Dowel or Pencil
- Blue and Red Acrylic Paint and Brush (optional)
- 1" satin ribbons: Red, White, and Blue
- Hot Glue Gun
- Scissors
Instructions:
- Paint your wooden dowel or pencil (if you'd like). It will need to dry before you do the rest of the craft.
- Cut your ribbons into strips 20" long. Cut 6 white, 6 red, and 6 blue.
- Next fold each ribbon in half and loop it around the end of the wand.
- Tighten the ribbon and hot glue to secure it to the wand.
- Once the glue is dry, your child is ready to wave around their patriotic creation!
5. Fourth of July Shirts (Tie Dye Option)
Because there are so many different ways you can do this creation, I will keep it simple as to what you will need and how you can create it.
All you will need is a white shirt. Red and Blue Tie Dye powder, gloves, and rubber bands depending on design choice.
You can simply just do the half upper portion on their shirts red, then the mid section leave blank (will be your white portion of course) then next the bottom part of the shirts will be dyed with blue. If you're doing it this way there's no need to use rubber bands since it will be just a flat lay design.
Let soak on a paper plate or cardboard piece for 12 hours and then wash your shirt making sure you're only washing the top and bottom of the shirt so the dye doesn't leak into the mid white section of the shirt. Let air dry and that's it!
There are so many ways to tie dye, so choose which one works for you!
Food Recipes
1. Firework Fruit Kabobs
What you'll need:
- Kabob Sticks
- Watermelon
- Blueberries
- Star Cookie Cutter
Instructions:
- Cut your watermelon horizontally and into thin strips.
- Use your cookie cutter and to cut out your stars from the watermelon.
- Once your stars are all cut out you can start arranging your kabob.
- Add 6 blueberries onto each kabob stick, making sure to leave room at the top for your star.
- Next place your star at the top of your stick and there you have--it a very tasty firework treat!
- My kids have loved making this one especially being a big fan of the star. (This treat is definitely best eaten sitting down for safety reasons.)
2. Red, White, and Blue Layered Drink
What you'll need:
- Cran-cherry juice (red)
- A kid-friendly piña colada drink (white)
- A blue raspberry drink (blue)
Instructions:
- Start by filling your glass about 1/4-1/3 of the way up with the drink that has the highest sugar content per serving (red in this case).
- Next fill the cup FULL with ice.
- Pour the drink with the next highest sugar content (white in this case) VERY slowly directly over the ice. If you do this too fast the colors in the juices will blend together.
- Repeat with the last juice layer.
- You can add a licorice wand to act as a fun straw and watch your famly enjoy this yummy festive drink!
3. Edible Flag Fruit Pizza
What you'll need:
- Sugar Cookie Dough
- Strawberries
- Blueberries
- Cream Cheese Frosting
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Roll sugar cookie dough out to fit a rectangular cookie sheet. This will be rolled out very thin, if you would like a thicker cookie, use 2 rolls of dough.
- Once dough has been rolled, use a fork to press marks into dough to keep it from rising during baking.
- Bake in oven for 10-12 minutes, being very careful not to burn.
- Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
- Slice strawberries into round slices.
- Once cookie has fully cooled, spread cream cheese frosting evenly over the entire cookie. Place blueberries in the top left hand corner to represent the stars on the flag.
- Next, add strawberries in rows to represent the stripes.
- Repeat a row of strawberries and a row of only the frosting showing until the cookie is full.
- It is ready to be eaten and served! Enjoy!
4. Fourth of July Colored Jell-O Cups
What you'll need:
- Red and Blue Jell-O Mixes
- 1 can of Sweetened Condensed Milk
- Clear Cups
- 2 Envelopes of Unflavored Jell-O
- Whipped Cream or Cool Whip (Optional)
- Cherry or Diced Strawberries (Optional)
Instructions:
- Follow directions on the blue Jell-O mix and fill your cups 1/4 full with liquid blue Jell-O.
- Allow them to set for 1 hour in the refrigerator.
- Combine 2 envelopes of unflavored gelatin and 1 1/2 cups of hot water. Stir to dissolve completely. Mix in sweetened condensed milk and spoon into your glasses until 2/3 full, on top of the blue layer.
- Return to refrigerator for another 60-90 minutes to set.
- Follow the box instructions for making the red Jell-O and fill glasses the rest of the way with the red Jell-O liquid.
- Return to refrigerator.
- You can decorate the top with cut up strawberries, a cherry, whipped cream, Cool Whip, or some festive colored sprinkles that the kids will love adding! Refrigerate until it's time to serve and enjoy!
5. American Flag S'mores Dip
What you'll need:
- 20 Large Marshmallows
- Scissors
- Red, White and Blue Sprinkles
- 9 x 9-inch Square Baking Dish
- Graham Crackers
- 2 Cups of Semi Sweet Chocolate Bar or Chips
- Butter or Crisco
- Toothpicks
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
- Prepare a baking tray lined with wax paper
- Skewer a marshmallow with a toothpick, submerge it totally in water quickly, dab on the paper towel, hold over a bowl and cover completely with blue sprinkles
- Prepare 5 blue sprinkle marshmallows and set aside.
- Next decorate your red and white marshmallows.
- Let dry at least twenty minutes.
- Grease some kitchen scissors with butter or Crisco and cut each marshmallow in half, wiping the blades clean between colors.
- Grease the baking dish with butter or Crisco.
- Pour the chocolate chips evenly in the dish. Top with the marshmallows, cut-side down.
- Arrange 9 blue halves in the top corner. Arrange stripes of red and white, 3 red marshmallow halves, 3 white, 3 red, 6 white, 6 red, and 6 white.
- You should have a couple halves left over.
- Bake in the oven for 7 to 9 minutes, just until the tops of the marshmallows start to lightly brown.
- Now for the delicious part--dip your graham cracker in and enjoy this festive treat!
5 Bonus Ideas:
- Fireworks in a Jar
- Festive Chex Mix
- Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries
- Patriotic Paper Plate Hats
- 4th of July Thumbprint Art
We hope this has given you some fun inspiration on how you can prepare a 4th of July that's fun for your kids! These can allow them not only to enjoy some yummy treats but also allow them to show their creativity!
We hope your family has a fun and safe 4th of July, and be sure to share if you made any of our suggestion ideas from above! Happy Summer!
