The holidays can be lots of fun, but coming up with plenty of activities to keep the kids entertained can be tricky! Whether your kids prefer crafting, baking, or playing, we’ve got ten fun and easy 4th of July activities for kids that will keep them entertained and help you create some beautiful memories!
Table of Contents
1. Paper Crafts
Paper crafts are great because they’re suitable for a wide age group. If you have younger children, opt for paper craft activities that don’t require scissors, or make sure you’ve done all the cutting necessary before setting them up with the activity!
With the weather set to be scorching, paper fans are a great idea for keeping little hands occupied and useful to keep everyone cool. Paper fans are extremely easy to make by simply folding regular pleats into a rectangular piece of paper or card. Use red, white, and blue card for a topical color scheme. If your children are up to it, they could take requests, personalizing fans with the names of each of your guests! A cute memento of your 4th of July day.
2. Decorate Cookies
For cookie decorating, you’ll need some plain cookies like butter or sugar cookies. You can premake (or pre-buy!) these for speed. Or, for a longer activity, let your children help with the making and baking if they’re old enough. Cut simple shapes like circles or squares and then decorate them in a 4th July theme. Use red, white, and blue colors or stars and stripes shapes.
3. Make Firework Art
Fireworks can be a love/ hate thing for children. Making firework art is a great way to get creative with your children and celebrate the 4th of July without the loud bangs!
Use black paper and colorful chalks to create firework explosions on the paper. You may also want to include glitter or glitter glue pens to add some extra sparkle to their designs!
4. Take a Family Photo
The holidays are the perfect occasion to get a gorgeous family photo. We love a family photo with the whole gang matching; think Jamie Kay matching outfits for boys, girls, and newborns. Just get Mom and Dad in the same colors and capture those big happy smiles!
The 4th of July is a great occasion for a family photo because the weather is usually glorious and you can get some outdoor shots in the sunshine. No need to worry about lighting; the sun will take care of that for you!
5. Smores by the Fire
Everybody loves smores, especially children! All you need is graham crackers, milk chocolate and marshmallows. Let your kids stack their own smores because making them is half the fun!
Place one graham cracker (or half if you’re making mini smores) on the bottom and a piece of chocolate on top. Pop your marshmallows onto skewers and toast over a fire until they’re slightly squishy and have a golden brown color. Then, put the marshmallow onto the chocolate layer, sandwich on the top graham cracker and remove your skewer. For delicious melted chocolate, let the warm marshmallows heat the chocolate for a minute before digging in.
6. Make a Flag
There are plenty of different ways to make a flag, so get as inventive as you like! One of our favorite ways is to get a big sheet of paper or fabric and use your children’s hand prints to make up the different elements of the design. You should use non-toxic paints, safe to apply to their delicate skin. Make your flag in advance or on the morning of the 4th of July so you can make the most of hanging it up for your celebrations!
7. Host a Pool Party
Whether you’ve got a pool in your backyard or a paddling pool in the shed, now’s the time to take a dip! Perfect if you’re spending the day at home, or you can invite your children’s friends over to make it a pool party. Grab their favorite swimwear and dive in!
If you want to take it a step further and make a mini at-home waterpark, turn on the sprinklers and invest in some water guns for a fun water fight. You can also get lawn water slides to take it to the next level.
8. Ice Lollies with a Difference
Make red, white, and blue ice lollies using fruit juice (and perhaps a dash of food coloring!). These are perfect for making in the morning to be enjoyed later in the day when the weather gets warm and your kids need to cool down.
You can even use fresh fruit to make these sweet treats healthier! Add raspberries and strawberries to the red and blueberries to the blue for extra color. Dipping the tips in desiccated coconut adds a great pop of white!
9. Paint Pebbles
This is a really cute idea that you can customize for any holiday or occasion! Set the kids on a hunt for some smooth, palm-sized stones. You can round up as many as you like because they’ll be turning them into holiday mementos!
Paint the pebbles with stars and stripes or any red, white, and blue decoration. You can leave them around the neighborhood for your local community to find to share the love, or make a small area for a rock garden in your backyard.
10. Pop Some Popcorn
Popcorn is our go-to snack for watching anything, including fireworks! This popcorn activity includes a special 4th of July twist. Pop your kernels as you usually would, then split your popcorn into three bowls.
The easiest way to color your popcorn and still get great flavor is to use some food dye to color sugar. Add red and blue food coloring to two separate bowls of sugar, and leave a third bowl white. You’ll only need a small amount of coloring, but make sure it’s stirred thoroughly — this can be a job for little helpers! Then add the popcorn to the colored sugar in the three separate bowls and stir or toss through. Now you can all help yourself to a red, white, and blue snack while you watch the fireworks!
