How to Have a Fabulous 4th of July Party On A Budget

Everyone seems to be getting “pinched” these days on groceries, so I thought it appropriate to write about how to host a fabulous 4th of July party on a budget. Because, well, 1) who doesn’t love a party; 2) being frugal is “in” right now; and 3) if you are going to have a party, it must be fabulous. Yes, I am a party snob.

Luckily, the typical fare for a 4th of July get-together is hamburgers, hot dogs, and various salads. None of which are cost-prohibitive. And, creating the salads yourself will save you a bunch of money and make your party even more fabulous. Everyone loves homemade salads!

Yes, it will be more work for you, but you’ll forget that while basking in the glow of all the compliments you receive regarding how delicious they are.

Planning Your 4th of July Party

1. Invites – Figure out the number of guests you are having. No need to buy, address, and mail invitations; let technology save you money. A great free app called Evite enables you to send party invitations from your computer. If you are hosting a small group, you can simply text them.
2. Theme – The theme is easy — it is the 4th of July! Everything should be red, white, and blue with American flags strategically placed in your potted plants and scattered in your landscaping. Check your cabinets; you may already have red, white, or blue serving pieces. You can use a solid red, white, or blue twin-fitted sheet as your tablecloth. (won’t blow away). The more color coordinated you can be, the better!
3. Budget – figure out how much money you can afford for the party and stick to it.
4. Menu – sample below
5. Entertainment – Play country music from an app through a wireless speaker, or tune into the local country radio station.
6. Activities – You cannot go wrong with Corn Hole and Horseshoes for the adults. A sidewalk chalk artist competition works excellent for the kids. Keep it simple!

Fabulous 4th of July Menu

I advise you to look at local grocery fliers before determining your menu. You’ll want to select options on sale. Be educated! Make sure you create a list before you go to the store. Below is a sample menu I would use.

• Appetizers: Carrots, Celery Sticks, Red Peppers with ranch dressing
• Deviled eggs (eggs are cheap at Aldi)
• Pretzels (Ditto for snacks, and their Clancy brand is very good)
• Main Meal: Hamburgers & Hot Dogs (multiple stores have rolls on sale for $.99)
• Potato Salad (ShopRite has 5lb bags of potatoes for $.99 on sale)
• Macaroni Salad
• Baked beans (you can add in cut-up hot dogs and maple syrup to jazz them up)
• Pickles
• Dessert: Boxed cake (any flavor) in 9×13″ pan with white icing. Decorate with red, white, and blue sprinkles. Or, try one of these: https://www.womansday.com/food-recipes/food-drinks/g2447/4th-of-july-cake-and-cupcakes/.
• Ice cream sandwiches or Carvel flying saucers (buy on Wednesday when on sale)
• Fruit – sliced strawberries and blueberries with whipped cream (all the right colors)
• Drinks: Cucumber or fruit water
• Homemade Arnold Palmers https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/a29813418/arnold-palmer-drink-recipe/
• Bottled water, soda

You will also need to offer alcoholic drinks. I’ll leave those to you as you know what your guests drink. However, I suggest you have vodka for people to spike their Arnold Palmers if they are inclined.

If you have the room, set up a fixings bar with mustard, ketchup, relish, pickles, sliced tomatoes, and iceberg lettuce slices. Put these in red, white, and blue bowls with tiny spoons from the Dollar Tree. It makes a fabulous presentation! Side note: condiments are cheap at Aldi, plus Dollar Tree had Vlasic relish for $1.25 yesterday. Keep your eyes open for bargains!

The chances are good that friends will offer to bring something. I used to always say. “No, just bring your appetite.” But people genuinely want to bring something, so please decide ahead of time what items guests can bring so you are ready when they ask you. If you let guests bring beer or wine, it would significantly help your budget. Just saying!

Here is the recipe for the Pineapple Cream Cake: https://thebestcakerecipes.com/pineapple-cream-cake/.I made it recently, and it was pretty good!

Finally, if you do not already have the iBotta app, please sign up here: https://ibotta.onelink.me/iUfE/8cc13c64?friend_code=pxldmvx. It provides you cash back on purchases from multiple retailers, including some beer and wine places. Every little bit helps!

Outwitting Life All Over

In conclusion, I hope you find my ideas helpful and that you pull together a fabulous 4th of July party that fits your budget. I love to entertain and thought those days were over for us. It definitely takes more work now than previously when I bought lots of prepared foods and hired servers. However, I think I appreciate hosting more now than before I had breast cancer.

As you can see, outwitting life has become fun for me! There always seems to be a way to figure out what you want to do, no matter your circumstance. Thanks for being on this journey with me.

As usual, if I have said something that resonates with you, kindly leave me a comment below. Or, feel free to leave your best party tips for all of us. Happy 4th of July!