Fourth of July Celebration
I seriously loved putting all of this together! We normally do not decorate for the Fourth of July, but we had no intentions of going out to celebrate (social distancing life) and my birthday is soon after, so we decided to have an at-home celebration. I pinned a few things here and there and then narrowed the menu down in time for the big day. I didn’t end up making this virgin sangria, but it will definitely be happening this summer. I’m happy to share what we did make as well as how I decorated everything for under $25.
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We started our day with festive Mickey waffles and I’m now excited to do this for many more holidays. For my fellow Disney fans, if you have been considering a Disney waffle maker, just get it. I have wanted one for a while now and, when we found one at HomeGoods, we jumped on it. I found this one that is similar and even this Minnie Mouse one! It was incredibly easy to use and to clean. I added whipped cream, blueberries, and strawberries to keep with our red, white and blue theme.
I got all of the party supplies (except for the confetti) from Dollar Tree and I don’t know why I’d go anywhere else next year. It was inexpensive and everything worked well.
Our little celebration was just the 3 of us (and baby makes 4) so we didn’t need much food. I bought all of our balloons at Dollar Tree and we used our pump to blow them up fairly quickly for this arch. I cannot recommend a balloon pump enough. It has made a previously daunting task so much easier!
I don’t eat beef or pork so we made two different types of hot dogs. I wanted to try something different so I followed the directions for a marinade that I found on Pinterest. Evan has agreed that all future hot dogs should be cooked this way. It was delicious. I actually used ketchup instead of chili sauce because I didn’t have any and it stilled turned out great. It didn’t require any other toppings after that, but I did try them with and without additional condiments, just to see.
I had considered making pink deviled eggs for Elani’s birthday party, but I didn’t end up doing it. I was really looking forward to doing something special for this though. I use my Instant Pot to hard boil eggs. If you have a pressure cooker, I highly recommend followed Natasha’s guide to using it for eggs. They turn out perfectly each time and are incredibly easy to peel. I found a recipe that had guidelines for red, white and blue deviled eggs, but it did require a lot of guesswork because it was not very specific.
I cannot say enough good things about this corn. The recipe enhanced the flavors of the corn so much that we didn’t even consider adding butter or salt. This will definitely become a staple for future summer gatherings.
All of the food turned out delicious and I highly recommend checking out my Pinterest boards for more great recipes.
I am a firm believer in homemade pink lemonade (or regular lemonade) for gatherings. It is so much better than store bought or powdered lemonade and it is not difficult at all to make. I like this old fashioned pink lemonade recipe and basically have it memorized by now. Normally, I would want it to be more pink than red, but I wanted it to be darker because of the color scheme. Adding the strawberries and blueberries made it even more festive and delicious.
I have had my popsicle molds for years and I have never used them. I don’t know what I was waiting for. They were so easy to use and I’m glad I finally brought them out. I wish I could link my exact molds, but I found these molds that people seem to love. If you’re looking for a mold that uses wooden sticks, these cute molds seem to be another great option. These popsicles were healthy, delicious, and toddler-approved. Elani couldn’t get enough of it. I used strawberries, vanilla Greek yogurt, and blueberries, but the possibilities are endless. I did end up adding blue food coloring because the blueberries were a little too purple.
How cute are these?!I did not follow a recipe, but it’s pretty easy to explain how I made them. The bottom layer is pound cake from the bakery section of the grocery store. I just cut it into small pieces. The next layers is Cool Whip topped with strawberries and blueberries. Then, I just did another layer of Cool Whip and topped it with strawberries and blueberries again. I searched online for printable dessert toppers and cut these ones out. Finally, I taped the toppers to a toothpick and added them to the dessert. Super simple and a wonderful little treat.
I couldn’t end the blog without showing off this cute space. Elani’s kitchen was actually the first place that I decorated. Other than the lanterns, the plant, and the letter “E” sign, everything was still from Dollar Tree. Her kitchen has become a fun area to decorate for events and holidays.
I appreciate you checking out this post and I hope that you have found some wonderful recipes or decorating ideas that you want to try.
