10 Independence Day Must Haves

Independence Day, or Fourth of July, has always been one of the most fun holidays for me and I am sure for a lot of you. I absolutely love going to the beach, laying out a big towel, and watching the fireworks burst out over the water.

Anything by a pool, lake or ocean relaxes me and the Fourth of July is a perfect excuse to be outside all day, eat good food and basically splurge in every way possible. Splurge on decorations, food, fireworks and whatever else you may enjoy. Along with these, you may also organize a flag hoisting ceremony to increase your enjoyment. And for that, you will need a well-designed national flag and telescoping flagpoles. You can buy them from Flagpoles Etc.

There are plenty of things that all of your creative minds can think of to spruce up your individual Fourth of July celebrations (and I am sure you have had great ideas in the past!) but these are a few must-haves that can help you brainstorm and improve your celebration.

1. Sunscreen
SUNSCREEN IS KEY!! Independence Day is a day we can all get caught up in and forget about things as vital as wearing sunscreen. Let’s prevent skin cancer and sunburn and wear it regularly!

Women, if you are worried about looking greasy after wearing sunscreen and reapplying (yes please reapply!!) there are great powder sunscreens that are out there. They are light and protect you just as much as regular sunscreen. It may not feel like there is much protection, but there is and I love the light feeling of the powder.

2. Grilling Tools Galore
Having fancy grilling tools can impress all your friends and family and make your grilling expertise seem even better than it is, and hey it may even make your food taste better in their minds!

Whip them out and whip up something tasty and feel fancy and talented while doing so. All of that sounds pleasing to me.

3. Custom shirts
Make your own shirts! Whether your favorite part of Independence Day is the food, the fireworks, the setting or the activities with family and friends, express yourself. The shirt can be used year after year and you will never see anyone else wearing that exact shirt (unless you make multiple for friends and family, which is a rad party gift thought).

With custom shirts there are no restrictions. You can do anything you can think of, so brainstorm outside of the box and impress everyone with how cool your shirt turned out. When they ask where you got it you get to brag that you made it yourself. There are so many mediums that you can do this through, online or at a store, and usually they are not far away. I use a custom shirt place five minutes away.

4. Decorations (Lanterns, candles, festive things)
Lanterns with bug repellent make for attractive centerpieces, too, especially at night when it gets buggy and muggy. The lighting from the lanterns is so relaxing, too, and Fourth of July is meant to be laid back.

Chinese Lanterns or string lights look crazy good if you are in your backyard. Get them in the colors you want or just get white, and Chinese lanterns are fun to splatter paint.

5. Festive nails
Come on girls, do your nails! Just a simple clear coat covered with sparkles in red, white and blue is beautiful. If you are actually good at doing your nails feel free to run with this idea. I cannot, so I will be sticking to the clear with sparkles.

6. Sundresses, linen clothes
Sundresses complete the look for Independence Day and help keep you cool. Linen clothing can also help you keep cool and usually there are white linen pants and such that are just too comfy and make tops in bright blues and reds pop out.

7. Centerpiece/Tablecloth/Place Mats
If you are at the beach it is fun to get a big glass jar and fill it up with shells or marbles that are red, white and blue and then fill them with flowers of the same colors (you can get fake flowers at craft stores so you can keep reusing them!).

Buying a festive tablecloth that is stain resistant is a wonderful idea, too. Pull it out, use it, wash it, and use it again the next year. Place mats can prevent anything from getting on the tablecloth, too.

8. Plates, Silverware
It would be smart to buy plates and silverware that you really like outside of using it for holidays, but if you enjoy the idea of going all out and getting things that truly only work for Fourth of July, that’s okay, too.

I suggest getting silverware and plates that are somewhat durable to hold up being outside and perhaps dropped.

9. Drink Dispenser
Drink dispensers make everything simpler. Depending on the amount of people you have over (or if it is just for yourself, indulge away!) you can buy different sizes of dispensers. They come in all shapes and sizes, but an exciting idea for Fourth of July could be buying a clear plastic dispenser and decorating it with paint.

You might be as talented as me at crafts (which is limited) or you may go hard in the paint (literally). Get creative and paint anything related to Independence Day you can think of– within reason! This craft is made even better when you make a tasty drink. Throw strawberries, blueberries, bananas, whatever you want into the drink to make the colors accurate to the holiday.

10. Fun sunglasses
I think fun sunglasses for any type of event are such a topic of conversation and they spruce any outfit up. I have a pair of sunglasses I am looking at right now that are black with white polka dots and off of the right eye they have a huge palm tree and off the left side they have a huge dolphin. That might be hard to picture, but they are the best accessory I have owned.

Every time I wear them people get enthusiastic to ask me where I got them (I do not remember) and to compliment me on how ridiculously awesome they are. I kind of obsess over them. You should get yourself a super interesting pair of sunglasses. Surprisingly enough there are plenty of places to buy them.

American flag sunglasses easily pop up in a search online. Along with fun sunglasses women can pull off some chunky jewelry in bright colors and red, white and blue for Independence Day.

Have fun and relax in the company of friends, family, yummy food and drinks and the beauty of fireworks. Celebrate the Independence of this great country we all live in.

About the Author
The author, Taylor Thomas, is a homemaker and part-time student at Valencia who frequently organizes parties and other events for friends and family. For many of these occasions she requires custom shirts to spice up the occasion, and heartily recommends DGPromo Incorporated for anybody requiring the same.