This year, Fourth of July falls on a Wednesday, but don’t let that deter you from celebrating. Bring the party to your Inspirada home by inviting friends and family over for a low key party. We’ve compiled a few tips to help you craft the perfect Fourth of July get-together at home.
The Invites
Start things off with an easy yet special way to invite your guests — no stamps required. Paperless Post features many Independence Day e-vite designs. Simply input the email address and name of your invited guests and click to send away.
Greet Guests With Something Chilled
As we all know, Fourth of July falls during the heat of mid-summer, so start the party off right by greeting guests with something that will cool them down.
For the adults, consider making an icy treat infused with alcohol, like these spiked popsicles and ice cream floats. If you have kids coming to the party or want to provide an alcohol-free option, opt for a red, white, and blue treat like these popsicles, slushies, or ice cream floats.
Bring in some edible “fireworks” by sprinkling the icy treats with Pop Rocks. Yes, even the watermelon flavor will fit the Independence Day theme — the actual candy is a dark pink, akin to red.
Tip: If you decide to make popsicles, you can make large quantities in advance, even with only one or two sets of popsicle molds. When your popsicles are set, remove them from the mold and place each into a plastic bag or separate by wax paper. Place your popsicles in an air-tight container and keep in the freezer.
Go the extra mile and freeze berries in your ice cubes, they add a colorful touch to any pitcher or glass of water.
Set the Tunes
Having the right music can really set the atmosphere for a party. We plan on playing this Spotify playlist to celebrate the holiday. If you have kids at the party, make sure you play a kid-appropriate playlist.
Festive Menu
Bust out the grill to serve up a meal featuring grilled corn and BBQ grilled chicken. Pair with a refreshing sliced watermelon — we love adding a bit of feta, olive oil, and red pepper flakes to ours — and a quinoa salad with goat cheese, black olives, and asparagus.
While the main entrée is cooking, make sure you have options for guests to nibble on. Make this guacamole with chips and veggies for dipping. You can also easily prepare this berry and yogurt-covered pretzel tray, presented to look like an American flag, or make some red, white, and blue popcorn.
Finish the party off with a festive dessert, like this red velvet fireworks cake or this cake that features a fourth of July surprise revealed after cutting into it. If you want something simple, line the edges of store-bought ice cream sandwiches with blue and red star-shaped sprinkles.
Consider the Kiddos
If you have young guests, you need to think about how to entertain them. A craft table is almost always a hit, just make sure you stick with items that allow for easy cleanup and kids can play with relatively unattended. Little ones will love wearing these firework pipe cleaner crowns as much as they love making them. These paper “fireworks” can also serve as decorations once the kids are done making them.
While a trip to the neighborhood Inspirada park to run through the splash pad is always an option, you can also do a few activities at home to simultaneously entertain and cool down little ones. Consider a game of water limbo, where the running water from your hose is the limbo stick or a game of water balloon dodgeball.
Finish With Fireworks
Get enough sparklers for everyone. Consider setting up a tripod and capturing the fiery trails of guests for a unique memento by setting your camera for a long-exposure shot. Use this tutorial to help.
If you decide to have sprinklers at your party, protect little ones’ hands by first attaching the wire to something else, like used corn cobs. Have a fire extinguisher and pails of water handy, just in case. Make sure little ones are watched when they’re holding the sparklers and don’t allow them to throw the sparklers on the ground.
Or, grab the crew and head to the City of Henderson’s Fourth of July Celebration for a spectacular firework show.
With a little work and the addition of some friends and family, your Inspirada home can be the perfect venue for the best Fourth of July you’ve had yet. Our last bit of advice? Make sure you also have plenty of sunblock, insect spray, and first aid items like bandages.
If you’re in the market for a new home perfect for entertaining, search our currently available homes.