With the 4th of July right around the corner, you may be wondering what is the best way to celebrate without spending a fortune. With some planning and creativity, you can have a fun and relaxing day with family and friends.
Food
Don’t worry about trying to impress everyone with a fancy menu. Cooking steaks for a crowd is expensive. Keep it simple and stick with burgers and hot dogs.
Another idea is to throw a potluck party and ask each of your friends to bring something. This way everyone shares the expenses. Not only do most people not mind contributing to a party, most people enjoy doing so. It also adds variety to your party.
Drinks
No need to spend a lot of money on drinks. The 4th of July is a casual holiday so lemonade and iced tea are just fine.
Dessert
No need to spend a lot of money on fancy desserts. Make a fruit salad.
Decorations
You can purchase American-themed decorations from dollar stores. Red, white and balloons are cheap and fun.
Entertainment
For entertainment, bring out the balls and frisbees. Entertain kids with squirt guns and water balloon fights.
No 4th of July celebration is complete without fireworks. Putting on your own fireworks show can be expensive and dangerous. Instead, after your barbecue, load up the cars and go to see a public fireworks show in your area.
Hosting a fabulous 4th of July party doesn’t need to break your budget. Remember, the important thing is spending a relaxing day with family and friends.
One comment
Comment by Jonathan Gedeon on June 27, 2012 at 3:16 pm
These are great tips on how to have a good fourth of July celebration without breaking the bank.
I actually wrote an article about budgeting that lends to what you’re saying here. After all spending more money doesn’t necessarily lead to having more fun. Here is a link to my article if you’d like to take a look:
http://www.clearpointcreditcounselingsolutions.org/blog/budgeting/budget-is-not-a-bad-word/