Prepare a 4th of July parade by decorating tricycles, scooters, wagons, etc. Use balloons, crepe paper, streamers. A wagon can be decorated as a float with a child sitting in the back and waving. Have a child at the front of the parade tossing a baton. Kids that play musical instruments can bring them along, kids that don't know a musical instrument can blow on a noisemaker. Play music to march by on a tape recorder.
Take the plastic lids off different favours of yogurt, making sure that you have at least two lids for each flavor. Turn the lids upside-down and let the kids play games of concentration. Have a prize for the child that collects the most lids. Also have smaller prizes for the child who finds the strawberry flavoured lid, the peach flavoured lid, etc. ( (this stop any hard feelings, as everyone wins a prize)
The 4th of July is the perfect time to play such classic games as "three-legged races", "potato sack races", "kick the can", relay races", etc.
Play good old American baseball or football games. Involve the adults in this one (they just might just playing these games :)
Use old newspapers to make torches. Roll them in a large cone shape and paint the cones red, white, and blue. When the torches are dry, make the flame by stuffing the top with red and yellow tissue paper.
This craft can be used for a 4th of July variation on the classic games "hot potato". The torch is passed around to music; when the music stops, whoever is holding the torch is out; however, that person gets a small consolation prize (stickers, eraser, fancy pencil, small chocolate, whatever you can think of). The game then continues until there is a winner (the last child left holding the potato). The winner would receive a bigger prize (how big is up to you)
This is one the most fun games to play for the fourth of July. The idea is for the kids to take turns thinking of things that are red, white, and blue. The first child starts by thinking of something that is red (or contains the work "red"); then the next child thinks of something that is white (or contains the word "white"); then the next child thinks of something that is blue (or contains the word "blue"). The next child would then start over by thinking of something red, then blue, etc.. There's only 5 seconds to think of a word or you're out of the game. The game would continue until there's only one child left. The winner can receive a prize of your choosing.
Red, White, and Blue Tag. This is another one of those fun games. Two kids are designated to be "It." Everyone else holds a coloured chip in their fists (red, white, or blue). The "Its" chase the others and try to tag them. When tagged, they have to give the person that's "It" their chip, then go to a designated person for a new chip. The first "It" to have collected 1 red, 1 white, and 1 blue chip yells "STOP!" The winner receives a prize. The game can resume after 2 more kids are designated "It".
Play one of the following games in your backyard or at a picnic: badminton, volleyball, croquet, horseshoes, or any other games you can think of. Get your parents to join in the games, they just might enjoy themselves.
