Fourth of July Party Games!

Having special holiday games to play at this year's 4th of July get together is a great way to keep kids entertained and enthused about the holiday.

One game that works great for the 4th of July holiday is a Balloon Brigade Relay race. This game is best played outdoors. It is also a great game because the only materials required are balloons and a whistle.

The first step is to assemble each team in a single file line with the first player of each line holding a balloon (patriotic colors of course).

When the whistle blows, the game begins. Each lead player passes the balloon between his or her legs to the next person in line. Each receiver passes the balloon on to the next overhead. The pattern continues over and under and when the balloon reaches the last player, they take the balloon with them to the front of the line and start over. The first team to have everyone be the head of the line and complete the relay wins!

Another similar balloon relay game involves passing the balloon tummy to tummy. Players are not allowed to use their hands at all and if the balloon drops at any time, they must start over.

Another balloon relay involves players walking with the balloon between their legs to and from a destination and passing the balloon off to the next player.

An additional Star spangled party game is a Flag Tag Relay.
This game is a patriotic and fun way to celebrate Independence Day. You will need two buckets of sand and enough small American flags for each player.

To set up the race, divide the group into two teams. each team gets a bucket of sand filled with enough small American flags for each teammate.
At the start of the game, the first kid from each team races to the bucket, plucks a flag and marches back to his team as quickly as possible. They must not run while carrying the flag. Then, they tag the next person.

The team that has everyone back with their flags wins. The children may then keep the flags as party favors and decorations for the 4th of July.

Another 4th of July game is a sidewalk chalk mural contest. Children and adults can pair up or work individually on one square of the sidewalk. They must create a mural with a patriotic and festive theme within a certain time frame. There also must be a set of judges to rank the murals. The winners may get their own set of sidewalk chalk or a different prize.

The sidewalk art will decorate the town for a few weeks or until it rains. It is also a great way for children to show off their artistic skills and keep them entertained during the holiday party.

Another fun activity that all the guests of the party will enjoy is making their very own tricolored saltwater taffy.
You will need 1 and 1/2 cups of sugar, 3/4 cup of light corn syrup, 2/3 cup of water, 3/4 tsp of salt, 1tsp of vegetable glycerine, 2 T of butter, 4 drops each of red and blue food coloring and 2tsp of lemon juice.

In a large saucepan, stir together the sugar, corn syrup, waer, salt and glycerine with a wooden spoon. Cook the ingredients over medium heat stirring occasionally. Next, stir in the butter. Divide the mixture into three equal portions. Mix red food coloring into one batch, blue into another and leave one plain. Pour each batch onto a greased flat pan and fold over the edges with a spatula to keep them from getting hard.

Once the candy is cool enough to handle, brush each strip with lemon juice. Then, grease up your hands and the hands of the children helping to make the candy. Stretch the batches into a long rope until elastic. The stretching process typically takes about 5 minutes.

Finally, twist together the ropes, cut them into pieces and wrap individually in waxed paper.

Children will love the fact that they learned to make candy and will enjoy wrapping it up for guests to take home.