Looking for a New Way to Celebrate the Fourth of July?

Are you tired of doing the same thing every year for the Fourth of July? Neighborhood picnics, an afternoon spent at the beach, going for a boat ride, and ending the day with fireworks are all great ideas, but they’ve been done every year for as long as we can remember. Our Huffines Subaru Corinth team believes it’s time to branch out, try new activities, go to new places, and find fresh ideas to celebrate the Fourth of July. Here are a few of our favorite ideas.

S’mores Bar

Invite your friends and neighbors, and have everyone bring something to put in or on s’mores. Options range from the traditional graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate to shortbread, marshmallows, and peanut butter cups. Gather an assortment of crackers, chocolates, and various marshmallows and set them out for everyone to enjoy mixing and matching around the bonfire. Don’t forget to add roasting sticks so everyone can get the perfect melt on their marshmallows.

If your group is competitive, you could also have everyone submit their favorite s’mores concoction for judging and provide everyone with ballots. The most popular flavor combination could win a prize for their efforts.

Confetti Cannons

Let’s face it; fireworks can be scary for pets and dangerous for small children, so it might be best to leave them alone this year. That doesn’t mean you need to forget about lighting the sky with color, though. Invest in confetti cannons for you and your little ones. You can take turns setting off your cannons one at a time, let them all go at once for a significant bang effect, or develop games that result in the winner sending their confetti flying high.

Test Your Knowledge of America

Get your family and friends together for a friendly competition to see who knows the most about our Founding Fathers, the Fourth of July, and general American history. This party suggestion will take a little planning on the front end, as someone must create the questions and know the answers. That person can be the Alex Trebek of your game and keep the fun moving along as you try to out-answer the other team. Learning more about our history may spark interesting conversations and ignite your desire to discover more.

Of course, with a game that tests your knowledge like this, you’ll need to have a patriotic prize for the winning team. You could reward them with Bomb Pops, homemade medals, or other door prizes you could pick up at your local store. After all, it’s more about bragging rights when winning a contest of knowledge.

Movie Marathon

You could snuggle in for the night with a movie marathon featuring movies with an American theme. Pop some popcorn, grab some theater-style candy, mix the beverage of your choice, and settle in to enjoy movies until the sun rises or you decide to head to bed. Some titles include “Saving Private Ryan,” “Apollo 13,” “The Patriot,” “Independence Day,” “Rocky,” and “Captain America.”

Bicycle Parade

Have the neighborhood kids decorate their bicycles with red, white, and blue streamers to create a spectacle on your street. You can purchase spoke covers, lights, horns, and more to give the kids plenty of options. Half the fun will be watching their creative brains put together a unique creation, while the other half will be watching them ride down the street with a smile. As the kids line up for the parade, parents and neighbors can line the street to clap and cheer as they pedal by.

You could add prizes to amp up the excitement; ensure you have enough so everyone who needs a prize gets one. Ideas include prizes for the most streamers, the most color used, the loudest bicycle, the least decorated, the most mono-color, and more. You don’t have to announce the prize categories before the kids participate. That way, you can match a prize to each bike without leaving anyone out.

Secret Sam

Everyone’s heard of Secret Santas, but you don’t have to wait for Christmas to roll around to treat your neighbors. Secretly gift your neighborhood with a red, white, and blue balloon bouquet tied to mailboxes. Decorate front doors with red, white, and blue streamers from top to bottom. Purchase red, white, and blue candies and place them in baggies to drop at doorsteps. Label each one as a gift from “Secret Sam” and then sit back and listen to the buzz around the neighborhood as everyone tries to figure out who was so generous this Fourth of July.

Write Letters to Military Members

The Fourth of July celebrates our independence, and we couldn’t enjoy that independence without our military members. Contact your local Veterans Affairs or Veterans of Foreign Wars branch to connect with them. Please share your idea and have your friends, family, or neighborhood write personalized letters to active members of our nation’s military and any veterans in the area. Advanced planning is required if you wish the recipients to receive their letters on or before the Fourth of July.

Please write a few words to thank them for their service or to appreciate everything they’ve done to ensure our independence as a military member. This activity is an excellent opportunity to demonstrate gratitude, appreciation, and humility to our younger community members as you discuss how important it is to write these letters to military members. You can also share how to address an envelope properly as you get set to stick the notes in the mail, offering another learning opportunity while having fun.

If you decide to do a s’mores bar before watching traditional fireworks, that’s okay too. Perhaps you’ll also take the bike parade down to the neighbors for their annual cookout or bring confetti cannons on the boat. However you decide to celebrate, our Huffines Subaru Corinth team hopes that you’re safe, have fun, and remember the reason behind the Fourth of July celebrations.