July 4th undoubtedly signals the height of summer, as we commemorate the nation’s birthday with cookouts, fireworks, family fun, and more.
If you’re looking for something new to help enhance your holiday festivities this year, here are some enjoyable ways to celebrate the 4th of July with your family!
Write a letter to those who are serving our country in the military.
There are scores of soldiers who are serving their country abroad and won’t be home in order to celebrate our nation’s big day. Take some time, as a family and write thank you notes to them for their service, or simply just to say hi! You can send letters to our service men and women who are serving overseas via A Million Thanks. This is something that will unquestionably put a smile on someone’s face more than you know.
Host a movie night.
Whether you plan it for just your family or a neighborhood fun fest, host a patriotic movie night. Choose a few kid-friendly movies such as Captain America, The Music Man, An American Tail, Glory, Buffalo Soldiers, Men of Honor, A Soldier’s Story, The Tuskegee Airmen, Miracle at St. Anna, among others. Set up an outdoor projector, make sure to have plenty of snacks on hand, and enjoy! This is the perfect activity make a precursor to watching the fireworks together later on in the night.
Get creative.
Break out the arts and crafts supplies and get creative. Younger children can create a patriotic sensory bin — while older ones can go even further creating things more complicated. Make sure that their crafts are all stars and strips related!
Have a cookout.
The holidays are always a great time to have a cookout with family and friends. To add an extra twist for the fourth, you might try assigning each person an holiday-centric recipe or come up something completely unique to you or your family. Kids will love getting in the kitchen to help mom and dad cook and create something special to eat. And this is where you can show off some of their creative July 4 works of art by using it as table decoration!
Camp out under the stars.
Set up a backyard campsite complete with tents, blankets, and cozy sleeping bags to ensure the whole family is comfortable. Bring out the S’mores, share ghost stories, play games, and more. And of course, get ready to take in the grand finale of the evening, fireworks! If fireworks aren’t visible from your own backyard, no worries – you can catch them on TV! Make sure to check out your local stations so that you don’t miss them.
If you are legally able to set of fireworks at home, make sure to celebrate safely. If you need a refresher on firework safety, click here!
Happy Fourth of July! Although it is in the middle of the week this year, we hope that you do indeed enjoy the holiday.
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