Social distancing and stay-at-home directives have drastically altered everyone’s summer activity plans, including all the celebrations surrounding the Fourth of July. Admittedly, this can be a difficult pill to swallow, especially considering how many family traditions often center around parades, concerts, carnivals, picnics, and fireworks.
While you might not be able to feed the ducks after a festive picnic at Spane Park, you and your family can still enjoy some kid-friendly, indoor memory-making activities to display your patriotism on Independence Day 2020. Here are, naturally, four ideas to safely celebrate the Fourth of July.
Serve up flavored sodas.
The highlight of Fourth of July carnivals, after wandering around the booths and attractions in the heat, is indulging in a refreshing, sticky-sweet snow cone or an icy cold soda. Those favorite treats don’t have to be missed this year, though.
A DIY Patriotic Italian Soda Bar is a fun twist on your favorite beverage to accompany your hot dog lunch. Enhance Sprite or club soda with flavored syrups, half-and-half cream, fresh berries, and whipped cream. Delish!
Host an eating contest.
In the tradition of Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest, host your own feasting frenzy. Since hot dogs are likely already on your Fourth of July lunch menu, plan on prepping a few more dogs and challenge your children to an eating contest.
If you aren’t a big hot dog fan, choose another favorite snack food for a food challenge. You could eat pies, marshmallows, french fries, cupcakes, s’mores, pizza, pickles, donuts, or even (for the adventurous) jalapeno peppers.
Create patriotic crafts.
A day at home with no work or pending plans is a great time to break out all the crafting supplies and get your little ones in the creative mood. Taking inspiration from Old Glory, spend the morning building fun, patriotic decor for your afternoon indoor picnic in the form of buntings, bedazzled candles, paper pinwheels, Mason jar flower vases, and more.
If your family is especially missing the fireworks displays this year, try helping them create their own longer-lasting balloon fireworks instead. Grab a package of long balloons and teach your kids how to safely twist them and create bursts of color resembling bright fireworks to hang throughout your home.
Walk the runway.
Getting all dolled up in our favorite, most patriotic patterns of red, white, and blue is often a favorite highlight of Fourth of July festivities. Flag T-shirts, glittery red and blue hair bows, and even red and white striped shoes seem almost part of the day’s uniform.
While you might not be heading off to a parade in your patriotic finest, you can still pull out all your well-loved, even garish, garb and host a fun, funky family fashion show. Don’t forget to cue up a patriotic playlist and practice that perfect strut.
While 2020’s Independence Day celebrations will look drastically different for everyone this year, there are still a number of fun ways to create indoor fun and memories galore. Celebrate by serving up some delicious refreshments, challenging each other to food fun, crafting patriotic decor, and displaying your favorite red, white, and blue fashions.