4th of July Party

A 4th of July party is a great opportunity to bring together kids and adults for a fun celebration. A spacious yard or local park make a great location for a 4th of July Party. If you want to reserve a specific picnic area, do so ahead of time because prime areas will be in high demand. If you can't reserve an area, send a member of your group to the park early to stakeout a good location. Have a rainy day plan just in case.

Party Invitations

Make 4th of July invitations with drawings or cutouts of flags or stars. Include an image of Uncle Sam with an "I want you!" to attend our party message. Or have your children decorate invitations colorful markers and glitter to look like fireworks. Remind guests to wear red, white and blue and to bring jackets if they'll be staying late to watch fireworks. More Invitation Ideas!

Party Decorations

Order a personalized stars & stripes banner that you can use year after year. Decorate with red, white and blue helium balloons, silver mylar star ballons, streamers, and U.S. flags. More Decoration Ideas!

Games & Activities

Fill a large candy jar with red & white peppermint candy and have guests guess how many candies are in the jar. The guest with the closest guess wins the candy-filled jar. Play a trivia quiz, wordsearch, crossword or other game based on U.S. History questions, such as the names of the 13 original colonies.

Have a parade. Ask guests to bring wagons, bikes, scooters, drums and tambourines. Provide balloons, construction paper, streamers and small flags for decorating the parade "floats". Parade around block or park while playing patriotic music on boom box.

Play relay races, sack races, or 3 legged races for old-fashioned 4th of July fun. Have a stomp rocket or water balloon challenge. Set up a free play area with bubble wands and soap, hoola hoops, jump ropes, frisbees, and yo-yos.

Have children put on a sparkler show (establish safety rules ahead of time) or go see nearby fireworks display. More Games & Activities!

Arts & Crafts

Encourage guests to create flags, firework designs, and patriotic greetings in chalk on your sidewalk or driveway. Print patriotic coloring pages and set-out boxes of crayons or markers for young children to color. Make red, white and blue tie-dye or spin art. Decorate bikes and wagons for a parade around the block. More Arts & Crafts Ideas!

Fun Food

Serve American favorites like hot dogs, hamburgers, baked beans, corn on the cob, potato chips and watermelon. Make refreshing rootbeer floats (don't forget the straws). For dessert serve white cupcakes decorated with strawberry slices and blueberries or a white rectangular cake decorated with strawberry "stripes" and blue berry "stars" to look like a flag and sparklers for extra effect. Make homemade ice-cream with kids taking turns doing the cranking. More Fun Food Ideas!

Party Favors

Give guests small flags, sparklers, party poppers or snap & pops, sidwalk chalk, paddle balls, punching balloons, blowing bubbles, or ball & jack sets. More Party Favor ideas!

Special Resources

Visit the Kids' Party Fun Directory for party places, entertainment, and rentals in your area.

Similar party themes include Block Party, Labor Day, Picnic, Barbecue, Pool Party, Water Fun. More Party Themes!