Celebrate Your Right To Party - Fourth Of July Tips!

Each year, I spend the Fourth of July with my family at the beach.  A day of swimming, an afternoon of BBQ'ing and an evening under the stars, watching fireworks.  It's really pretty basic, but for me that is the beauty.  I appreciate on this day especially, my freedom to do it my way.

With this in mind, I use the Fourth of July as an opportunity to instill some good old fashion patriotism in my 3 boys.  A point I try to drive home is that there are men and women fighting each day for our right to party and celebrate freely!  It should never be taken for granted.

So this 4th of July, ROCK the RED, WHITE and BLUE with family and friends and pay tribute to America. 

The Basic Rules:

1. Respect LIFE and spend the day with family and friends - invite those you love to celebrate the Fourth of July.

2. Celebrate LIBERTY and pay tribute to our troops with fun activities.

• Go to a parade and cheer.
• Hang the flag at your house.
• Write letters or send care packages to our troops overseas.
• Take the time to explain what it means to be free and what sacrifices have and continue to be made for us to enjoy it.

3. In the PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS, prepare food ahead of time and enjoy your own party.

• Start with a make-ahead menu that will allow you to prepare food before guests arrive.  Pulled Pork (recipe>)is a great alternative to hamburgers and hot dogs.  It can be made the day before guests arrive in a slow cooker, which means you don’t need to spend hours in the kitchen (recipe for Lazy Man’s Barbecue Pork Sandwiches).  This recipe is a real crowd pleaser, plus it gets you away from the hot grill!

• Keep appetizers simple. Slice up watermelon (cool watermelon appetizer recipe>), make corn bread the day before and put out red, white and blue tortilla chips with salsa.  These keep your guests satisfied and won’t spoil in the sun.

• Happy Birthday America Cupcakes (recipe>) and an Old Fashion Penny Candy Bar is a great way to treat your guests to something special!  You will be surprised how much the adults love this too.  Look for bite-size candy and buy lots to fill jars of varying heights.  Give everyone a small paper bag and them or her pick their favorites.

HOW DO YOU CELEBRATE?