Making 4th of July Special

  • Thread starter Thread starter Allegra
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
A

Allegra

Guest
Basically, this is the same thread I proposed at Easter time, but for 4th of July. I’m looking for inspiration. We have always had a big celebration for 4th of July at our home, as it happens to be an ideal location for viewing a parade and the city’s community band concert and fireworks display. We also have a long driveway with plenty of parking, so our extended family has always come over. We haven’t told the kids yet that the parade and concert/fireworks have both been cancelled and they are starting to talk about it. I’m going to need to come up with some awesome replacement activities and soon! What I’ve thought of is berry picking, followed by cobbler and homemade ice cream making. Putting out a slip and slide in the front yard so the neighbor kids can play with them. Maybe some sort of “summer games” like watermelon seed spitting and relay races? Possibly the use of sparklers, although the idea terrifies me. Any suggestions for safer sparkling are welcome! And I’ve got a huge mess of red, white, and blue glow sticks that I thought of doing a “fairy light hunt” in the back yard once it gets dark and hide them in the grass and trees. I’m not sure about the status of the extended family coming over, as most of them are not yet visiting with people. My own parents will probably come over. It’s generally too hot in July for a firepit. Any other suggestions for new traditions or fun?
 
Allegra said:
Any other suggestions for new traditions or fun?
Click to expand...
Everything you propose sound’s festive.

However, emphasize the holiday is Independence Day and not the 4th of July, just as we celebrate Christmas rather than just the 25th of December.

Hope you have fun!
 
Those champaign poppers are fun and messy! Silly String is great if you are not doing it around open flames. Water baloon fight (and if you don’t want rubber shards, simply buy a bunch of cheap - or all your nmatched socks - soak them in water and throw at each other. Water guns are fun, sprinklers.

The safest way to do sparkers is with a wet bin. When sparklers are fizzled, the remaining bit goes straight into the water, or if someone does not LIKE holding the sparkler, it goes in the water not on the ground.

Honestly, the bit of danger in a sparkler is part of the fun, and facing danger builds self esteem.

I’d avoid spitting if you have guests this summer.
 
I think it’s a little extreme to compare Independence Day to the birth of our Savior. We’ve never been able to elevate a patriotic holiday to the same importance as a Holy day like Christmas in our household. We just enjoy having a day where we are all off work and we get to celebrate with our family and community. (Although not as much family and community this year.) The concert include some patriotic music and after the kids go to bed, we sometimes watch 1776, but that’s about it. How do you go about emphasizing the “true meaning” of the 4th of July?
 
We are going to do a children’s bike parade and decorate the kids’ bikes with red, white, and blue decorations. Other than doing fireworks in the driveway, the adults are going to have a social distancing happy hour.
 
Like I said, I try to avoid placing patriotic holiday on the same pedestal as religious holidays. I think it’s a mistake to confuse the two. Those are sacred days and should be kept as such.
 
Fair enough…if you enjoy the 4th of July festivities, you may want to start planning 15th of August, or 12th of September, or 19th of October, or 20th of November celebrations to round out the year!
 
I mean, I know what Independence Day is, but we only get so many days a year where my whole family is off from work and able to be together for the whole day. I don’t really want to spend that day giving a history lesson to a 6yo, 4yo, and 1yo. We talk about history as it comes up, but I’m not planning on any worksheets as part of the celebration.
 
A bike parade sounds fun. I wonder if anyone is putting something like that together in our area?
 
No. I’m asking it literally. What traditions do you have that celebrate 4th of July that you feel honor the “true meaning” of it?
 
Right. That’s why I would not expect to have a celebration on those days. But 4th of July is a federal holiday and not a holy day. So my husband is off from BOTH his jobs and I’m off from mine. So we always want to make the day special.
 
Meh, I’m not really patriotic. I like the day for the BBQs and frisbee. I don’t care to go wave a USA flag around, bad connotation these days.
 
Last edited:
You mean what to do on Traitors Day? 😂🤣😂

Just kidding, they sound like fun games.
 
Why is that sad? Why is it sad for society to select specific days to close up shop and enjoy time together? What do you think people should be doing on those days?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top