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One of the most celebrated summer holidays is only a week away! Not only is the 4th of July a national celebration, but it’s also a time to gather with friends and family to enjoy good food, fun parades, and spectacular firework displays! One thing is for sure – it’s an amazing thing to see your child experience a big summer day and see them enjoying it! Here is a list of foods, activities, and crafts that you and your child can do to celebrate Independence Day! Let’s get started!
Activities & Arts
1. Independence Day No-Bake Playdoh
What you will need:
- Food Decoration
- 1 1/8 C. Salt
- Coconut oil
- 3/4 C. Warm Water
- 3 C. Holy Powder
- 3 plates
- Red, White, & Blue Glitter (Optional)
- Red, White, & Blue Confetti Stars (Optional)
Tips:
- 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. Do not add food coloring to the final dish – it will be your whites.
- Add ½ tsp of melted coconut oil to each bowl.
- Combine 3 cups flour and 1 1/8 cups (1 cup & 2 tbs) salt in a large mixing bowl. Mix well.
- Add 1 cup of flour mixture to each color bowl. Mix with a fork.
- Throw the dough on the table or counter into a ball and put the rest in some playdoh.
- Add glitter and confetti if you want your playdoh.
- Store in an airtight ZipLock bag in the refrigerator for a few hours and that’s it! I love this idea and it will be a sure hit with the kids!
2. Patriotic Slime
What you will need:
- Remove the Elmer’s Glue
- Mixing Bowl
- Dry Water
- Red Fine Glitter
- White Chunky Glitter
- Red & Blue Star Confetti
- Remove Container
Tips:
- Add the glue, glitter, and stars to your mixing bowl and mix together.
- Gradually stir in the liquid starch 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach the desired consistency. The more starch you add, the harder the mud becomes.
- That’s it!! Put your mud in a bucket and let your kids play outside (you’ll thank me later) and enjoy their gooey fun!
3. Toilet Paper Give Firework Art
What you will need:
- 2 Paperless Toilet Paperless
- A piece of paper
- Red and Blue Paint
- Scissors
Tips:
- Cut a strip down the middle of the toilet paper on one side.
- Dip your cut end into your paint and stamp it onto your paper. It will create a fiery display that is sure to make any fridge shine with pride!
4. Flag Ribbon Wand
What you will need:
- 12″ Wooden Dowel or Pencil
- Blue and Red Acrylic Paint and Brush (if desired)
- 1″ satin ribbons: red, white, and blue
- Hot Glue Gun
- Scissors
Tips:
- Mark your dowel or pencil (if you want). It will need to dry before you can do the rest of the work.
- Cut your ribbons into 20″ long strips. Cut 6 white, 6 red, and 6 blue.
- Then fold each ribbon in half and wrap around the end of the wand.
- Secure the ribbon with hot glue to secure it to the wand.
- Once the glue dries, your child is ready to rock their patriotic creation!
5. Fourth of July Shirts (Tie Dye Option)
Because there are many different ways to create this environment, while keeping it simple in terms of what you want and how to create it.
All you need is a clean shirt. Red and Blue Tie Dye powder, gloves, and rubber bands depending on design choice.
You can just make the top half of their shirt red, then leave the middle part blank (it will be your white part) and then the bottom half of the shirt will be painted blue. If you are doing it this way there is no need to use rubber because it will be artificial.
Let it soak on a plate or carton for 12 hours and then wash your shirt making sure to wash the top and bottom of the shirt so the dye doesn’t get into the inside of the white shirt. Let it air dry and that’s it!
There are many way paint build, so choose the one that works for you!
Food Recipes
1. Firework Fruit Kabobs
What you will need:
- Kabob Sticks
- Watermelon
- Blueberries
- Star Cookie Cutter
Tips:
- Cut your watermelon horizontally into thin strips.
- Use a cookie cutter and cut your stars out of the watermelon.
- Once all your stars are cut you can start preparing your kabob.
- Add 6 blueberries to each kabob stick, making sure to leave room for the top of your star.
- Then place your star on top of your stick and there you have it – it’s so sweet!
- My kids love making this especially being a star fan. (This product is best consumed under safety precautions.)
2. Red, White, and Blue Drinks
What you will need:
- Cran-Cherry Juice (red)
- Kid-friendly piña colada (white)
- Blue raspberry drink (blue)
Tips:
- Start by filling your glass about 1/4-1/3 of the way up with a drink that has the most sugar per serving (red in this case).
- Then fill a cup FULL of ice.
- Sprinkle the drink with the following amount of sugar (white in this case) A LOT slowly towards the surface of the ice. If you do this quickly the colors of the juices will mix.
- Repeat with the last layer of water.
- You can add a licorice stick for a fun straw and watch your family enjoy this delicious drink!
3. Flag Fruit Pizza
What you will need:
- Cookie Sauce
- Strawberries
- Blueberries
- Cream Cheese Frosting
Tips:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Roll out the sugar cookie dough to fit the rectangular cookie sheet. This will be rolled out very thin, if you want a thicker cookie, use two rolls of dough.
- Once the dough is rolled out, use a fork to make marks in the dough so it doesn’t rise while cooking.
- Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes, being very careful not to burn.
- Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
- Cut the strawberries into round slices.
- Once the cake is completely cooled, spread the sour cream cheese evenly over the entire cookie. Place the blue berries in the top left corner to represent the star on the flag.
- Next, add strawberries in rows to represent stripes.
- Repeat the strawberry row and frosting row until the cookie is filled.
- It is ready to eat and serve! Have fun!
4. Fourth of July Colored Jell-O Cups
What you will need:
- Red and Blue Jell-O Ingredients
- 1 can of sweetened condensed milk
- Remove the Cups
- 2 Unpleasant Jell-O Envelopes
- Whipped Cream or Whipped Cream (Optional)
- Cherries or Diced Strawberries (if desired)
Tips:
- Follow the directions for the blue Jell-O and fill your cups 1/4 full with liquid Jell-O.
- Let them set for 1 hour in the refrigerator.
- Combine two envelopes of unflavored gelatin with 1 1/2 cups of hot water. Make sure to melt completely. Spoon the sweetened condensed milk into your glasses until 2/3 full, on top of the blue layer.
- Return to refrigerator for 60-90 minutes to set.
- Follow the instructions on the box for making the red Jell-O and fill the glasses all the way with the red Jell-O liquid.
- Return to freezer.
- You can decorate the top with sliced strawberries, cherries, whipped cream, Whipped Cream, or any other festive toppings the kids will love to add! Refrigerate until serving time and enjoy!
5. American Flag S’mores Dip
What you will need:
- 20 large marshmallows
- Scissors
- Red, White and Blue Paint
- 9 x 9-inch Square Baking Dish
- Graham Crackers
- 2 cups of Semi Sweet Chocolate Bars or Chips
- Butter or Crisco
- Toothpicks
Tips:
- Preheat the oven to 450 F.
- Prepare a baking tray lined with wax paper
- Skewer the marshmallow with a toothpick, dip it in water quickly, wipe it on paper, grab a plate and cover it completely with blue sprinkles.
- Prepare 5 blue sprinkled marshmallows and set aside.
- Then decorate the red and white marshmallows.
- Let it dry for at least twenty minutes.
- Grease a kitchen knife with butter or Crisco and cut the marshmallow in half, smoothing the leaves between the colors.
- Grease a baking dish with oil or Crisco.
- Pour the chocolate chips evenly into the bowl. Top with marshmallows, cut-side.
- Arrange 9 blue squares in the upper corner. Arrange red and white stripes, 3 red marshmallows, 3 white, 3 red, 6 white, 6 red, and 6 white.
- You should have two parts left.
- Bake in the oven for 7 to 9 minutes, until the tops of the marshmallows start to brown.
- Now for the sweet part – pop in the graham cracker and enjoy the festivities!
5 Bonus Ideas:
We hope this has given you some fun inspiration on how to plan a fun 4th of July for your kids! This will allow them to not only enjoy the healthy treats but also allow them to show off their creativity!
We hope your family has a fun and safe 4th of July, and be sure to share if you’ve made any of our ideas from above! Happy summer!
