Independence Day Party Ideas and Themes

Party Ideas

The backyard barbecue is truly a 4th of July favourite and one of the most popular ways to celebrate Independence Day.

Start off with plenty of picnic tables, chairs and benches. Make sure you have plenty of food in and a cooler full of beer and wine. Some pitchers of iced water and juice always go down well too.

Using paper plates and plastic cutlery is always a good idea to save on the washing up, just be sure to provide a bin outside or it will end up strewn about the yard.

If you've got children coming it might be a good idea to arrange a paddling pool for them to play in while the food is prepared and the adults get chance to chat.

Dinner parties are a great way to show off your culinary skills and enjoy a sophisticated evening with friends and family.

Give your table an eye-grabbing centre piece to act as an ice breaker if some of your guests don't know each other, stock up on wine and serve it in beautiful glasses that will really impress your friends.

If you're not much good at cooking, or would prefer not to be slaving over a hot stove, why not all chip in and hire a chef for the night?

For a more family orientated Independence Day party, why not opt for a pizza party?

You could get the orders in advance and order in for when they all arrive, or even buy all your own ingredients and create a pizza-making station in the backyard! A few bowls of fries would probably go down well and plenty of condiments like ketchup, salt and vinegar.

Kids love pizza, but it could get a little messy so get plenty of paper towels and plates ready and place a bin nearby. It's also a good idea to have some chilled drinks like coke and beer in a cooler nearby (these go great with pizza).

Turn your living room into a cinema for the night, with popcorn, candy, hotdogs and nachos on offer for the guests and tons of giant bean bags for them to relax on.

An obvious movie choice would be Independence Day, but you could ask around to find out people's favourites and choose a good selection accordingly.

A projector and giant screen would make your movie night feel truly authentic and they make a good investment as you can use them for screening sports games, series finales etc for all your friends.

If the weather's good you could even set the whole thing up in your backyard, but be sure to invite your neighbours!

Party Themes

Apply any of the following themes to your party idea and you're set for a surefire success.

Go for an all out patriotic theme this 4th of July and show your true American spirit!

This works well with any of the party ideas as you can simply adorn every available space with flags, banners, posters and balloons in red, white and blue.

You can also encourage guests to wear at least one item of clothing in red, white or blue to get the patriotic vibe in full swing

This theme goes particularly well with the pizza party idea and could be a great option for the backyard barbecue party too!

Transform your backyard into a fairground complete with bouncy castle, swings, cotton candy and popcorn machines, face painting and even clowns and performers on stilts!

Your imagination is the limit with this party theme and kids will love you forever more for doing it.

Fancy dress adds a fun element to any party and gets your guests in the party spirit before they even get there!

You could encourage everyone to dress as a famous American or make it even more specific and get them to come as American presidents.

Try to get in touch with your guests in advance to find out who's coming as who and make sure there aren't too many duplicates. You could even write a suggestion list and get your guests to write their names next to the people they plan to dress as if you see them often enough.

Celebrate the first black president by getting Barack Obama masks for all your guests and enjoy the hilarity of seeing Obama heads bobbing about everywhere you look!

Entertainment

Keep your guests entertained by appealing to their competitive sides and creating (or buying) an Independence Day Trivia quiz!

Encourage mixed teams amongst adult guests or family teams in a family-oriented party, but give prizes to everyone so the losing teams don't feel disheartened.

If you don't like the thought of executing your own entertainment ideas, why not hire some performers?

This can work really well if there are children present, but don't just think of clowns and magicians!

Performers can be used as entertainment even at dinner parties! Think of illusionists, piano players and singers, but be prepared to fork out the dollars for the top-end acts.

Finish your 4th July party with a bang by putting on your own fireworks display.

Everyone loves being astounded by fireworks so go all out, or even ask your guests to chip in to make it an occasion to remember.