PLANNING YOUR 4TH OF JULY PARTY: CELEBRATE INDEPENDENCE IN STYLE
We all know the basic ingredients required to create a successful party. Good food and drinks. Good music. Good people who are happy, healthy and relaxed. So, if you find yourself with these ingredients and thinking that you might want to try your hand at throwing a 4th of July party this year, here are some quick and easy ways to make your party shine as bright as the fireworks in your town.
DON’T OVEREXERT YOURSELF: ENLIST THE HELP OF FRIENDS AND FAMILY
If you’re the one who’s throwing a 4th of July party, chances are that your guests are going to be grateful. Don’t feel like you also have to be the one who buys and prepares every last thing at your summer get-together. This country was built on people coming together in the pursuit of a common cause. A party in celebration of our independence should apply this same ethos. The trick is to let people know what they ought to be bringing with plenty of advance notice so that they’re not running to the grocery store on the way to your party to pick up an uninspired bag of chips or bottle of soda.
Make an online spreadsheet a week or two in advance of the 4th with food and drink sign up slots for people to fill in, and send out this list to your guests with your invitations. If the invitations have already gone out, send out the signup sheet a couple of days before the holiday to have food and drink slots filled and to remind your guests that your party is coming up.
As far as the specifics of the signup sheet go, there’s a couple of different routes that you can take. If you’re the sort of host who knows what exact food and drink options make for an optimal party, consider filling in what you need and then have your guests sign up next to one or two things that you’ve decided would be good to have at the party. Be sure to leave a couple of blank slots for those guests who never like being told what to do under any circumstance. (It is Independence Day, after all.) Or, if you’re more of a go-with-the-flow, let-everybody-make-and-bring-what-they-want-to sort of host, look into using an entirely blank template. Just be sure to remind your guests to look over the signup sheet before writing in what they’ll be bringing. It’s always a sad sight to see six pasta salads on the food table with not a single fruit salad in sight.
TAKING CARE OF CHAIRS, COOLERS, AND TABLES
Most Americans own or have access to at least as many folding chairs as the number of people they have in their households, but most don’t have enough to supply an entire party with seating options. Use this to your advantage. Be sure to mention to your friends and family (early and often) that your party is BYOC: Bring Your Own Chair. It’ll save you the money and headache of having to try renting chairs on one of the busiest rental days of the year.
Trying to wrangle enough coolers to fit all of the drinks you and your guests will be drinking — as well as the tables to fit all of the food they’ll be bringing — can also be a bit of a headache. Thankfully, this headache can be avoided with a bit of simple outreach. It’s almost a law of nature that there are coolers and folding tables sitting in a corner of every garage going untouched. Make a separate section of your signup sheet specifically for people to bring these coolers and tables. Tell them that you’ll provide the ice if they bring the cooler. Save the ice purchase until the day of the party so ice doesn’t melt in the summer heat.
To reiterate: tables are essential at any 4th of July party. No one should have to question whether or not they should give Aunt Jenny’s famous potato salad a try because it’s been sitting in the grass all day. Each dish should get an equal opportunity for the many different dietary preferences at your party. You can make this happen by providing enough table space for salads, desserts, and everything in between.
COVER UP YOUR FOOD (AND YOUR GUESTS)
It’s not enough to just have the food on the table at your 4th of July party. Those food tables ought to be covered. We can all think back to a summertime party we’ve been to where perishable food was all-but-destroyed by sitting in the sun. Just like your soon-to-be-sunburnt guests, your food shouldn’t have been out in the sun at all! Why not put your food tables underneath a large leafy tree? That idea’s good in theory, but in practice, it means you’re going to have to move the tables and all of the food multiple times in order to follow the shade.
There’s an easy solution to your food-and-shade woes. Getting an instant canopy (also known as a pop-up tent) from a trusted tent manufacturer is a great way to supply shade wherever and whenever you need it. As the USA’s premier supplier of high-quality event tents, our team here at Extreme Canopy proudly offer tents in a myriad of shapes and sizes to fulfill your party needs. Whether you’re planning a small gathering with one food table, a couple of sparklers, and a few close friends — or a shut-down-the-entire-block sort of shindig — our canopy’s got you covered. From our tried-and-true pavilion and pinnacle event tents for your smaller 4th of July parties to our larger, completely walled-off crest tents to keep the bugs, squirrels, and sun away for your Independence Day blowout, we have the solutions you need to keep your stuff in the shade during Independence Day.
HAVE A FIREWORKS PLAN
For better or for worse, 4th of July brings out the pyromania in many people. If you have guests who love lighting off fireworks, you should be sure to also invite a few who love practicing proper fire safety. The trick to a successful fireworks show is to have both of these types of guests work together. Let the pyromaniacs be in charge of buying and lighting off the fireworks, and promote your rule-following friends to party fire marshals. These safety-first guests will do a much more thorough job looking after the firework safety for your party than even you, since you’re the host of the event and will likely have quite a few things on your plate throughout the evening.
And remember, always check with your local authorities to see which fireworks are allowed in your area, and be sure send the information out to your guests so they know which types of fireworks they can bring and which types they can’t.
BEAT THE HEAT
Most 4th of July party veterans know that a good party on the 4th should be approached as a marathon and not a sprint to the final fireworks display. This marathon is split into two central components: the day and the night. More often than not, the recipe for a memorable night revolves around a well-planned fireworks’ display and a well-paced, not-too-exhausting daytime party.
Early July is one of the hottest times of the year. Some of us are lucky enough to have access to bodies of water where we can throw our parties, but others of us are not so lucky and must brave the hot weather without the promise of a cool dip in a pool, ocean, or lake. Water or no water, sun is bound to be a major guest at your 4th of July party, so having proper coverings to shade yourself and your guests from the scorching summer sun is a great idea for any conscientious party planner. (It’s also a good idea to have water of the bottled variety, even if you’re celebrating far from a swimmable body of water.)
For shade-creating shelter, look no further than the wide selection of instant canopies and canopy accessories from our trusted manufacturers at Extreme Canopy. Stay cool on the hottest of holidays to ensure that your party marathon extends well into the night.
STAND OUT WITH FESTIVE DECORATIONS
Are you having your 4th of July festivities at a popular local park? Maybe on a city block where some of your neighbors are also throwing their own separate shindigs? With so many 4th of July parties all going on at the same time on the same day, it can be tough to make sure that your party stands out from the rest.
Standing out on the 4th of July isn’t just about having the largest fireworks or the loudest music — it’s also about having that personal touch and that little bit of flair that the Joneses may not be bringing to their annual 4th of July parties. Fireworks fade, food and beer get consumed and soon forgotten, but having your own customized message, written in bold, in any color and pattern that you want, displayed proudly above your party is great way to build patriotic ambiance and leave a lasting impression on everyone in attendance. Extreme Canopy has your solution. Extreme Canopy offers a wide variety of custom canopy tent options — as well as custom banners and flags — for you to get your message across to family, friends, and neighbors on the 4th of July.
LEARN MORE ABOUT 4TH OF JULY SUMMER PARTY PLANNING AND GET EQUIPPED WITH EXTREME CANOPY
Want to learn more about 4th of July party planning? Our event experts at Extreme Canopy are here to help. Contact us to speak with a member of our team for product recommendations and event-related advice. Ready to order your very own custom canopy, banner, or flag for your 4th of July party? Follow the links above to check out our industry-leading products, and shop directly from our trusted manufacturers here at Extreme Canopy today!