Festive Fourth of July Playdate {Party}

I love America, food, friends, and fireworks, which naturally means that the Fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays. One thing I really appreciate about this holiday is that it’s easy. Celebrating usually means a low-key BBQ followed by time with family and friends. . . . no heavy meal to prepare, or loads of decorating to accomplish like some other Fall and Winter holidays (ahem . . . . I’m talking about you, Thanksgiving and Christmas!). The Fourth of July is just a reason for a carefree summer party to celebrate the good ol’ U S of A!

Now that I have a little one, I try to gather friends for a playdate around special holidays, and Fourth of July is no different. Although here in Phoenix, a playdate in July means indoors, which can sometimes turn into chaos! This year I’m planning a get together and challenged myself with a healthy, patriotic, kid-friendly snack table for under $20 (not including food). So I took myself down to The Dollar Tree and this is what I came up with for less than $20:

• Red White and Blue Decorative Fans (3 packages – $3)
• Paper Flag Napkins (1 package – $1)
• Rectangular Plastic Pots ( 2 pots – $2)
• Floral Styrofoam (2 blocks – $2)
• Paper Confetti Filler (1 bag – $1)
• Red White and Blue Tinsel Garland (1 strand – $1)
• Red White and Blue Cupcake Liners with Flag Toppers (1 package – $1)
• Flag Cups (1 package – $1)
• Star Platters (3 platters – $3)
• Duct Tape (1 roll – $1)
• Water Bottles (6 bottles – $1)
• Red Firework Balloon Weights (2 weights – $2)

For food, I chose easy healthy snacks, with a cupcake for each kiddo as a special treat. . . . I mean, come on, you can’t have a party without a little something sweet, right?

I wrapped the red, white and blue duct tape around the water bottles for a festive feel. The red height box they are sitting on is a diaper box–of all things–wrapped in paper I had on hand. I baked simple boxed cupcakes and used the flag toppers that came with the paper liners. The flag cups were filled with fresh popcorn. For the cute star platters, I took whole wheat crackers and topped them with a tomato, and cheese I cut into stars, and filled the other two platters with star shaped  watermelon and ripe red strawberries. I made blueberry firework skewers (a tutorial for the DIY firework skewers is here). The plastic, rectangular pots from the Dollar Tree were stuffed with floral Styrofoam and paper confetti filler to simply stick the skewers down into. Lastly, I laid the flag napkins over a piece of twine to create a garland for the front of the table.

I love the way this inexpensive, patriotic party turned out, and hope it inspires you to throw your own Fourth of July Party! For more party inspiration and DIY projects, check me out here.

Party On!

Mindy