Kid's July 4th Games, Crafts & Activities

Make crafts and play games while waiting for the fireworks.fireworks image by cherie from Fotolia.com

Celebrate July 4th with games, crafts and activities before the fireworks. Host a cookout, and let kids burn off energy with flag-themed games. Set up an arts-and-crafts station for kids to create patriotic art to decorate for the big light show. After the fireworks, take home complete projects as party favors.

Spinning-Star Pinwheels

Create spinning-star pinwheels as suggested by the Kaboose website. Cut two sponges into star shapes and then dip one each into red and blue paint. Press the sponges onto a square piece of white paper. When the paint has dried, turn over the paper and stamp the other side. Cut a diagonal line from each corner to the center of the paper, leaving a small area in the center of the paper uncut. Fold each corner of the paper toward the middle without creasing. Poke a thumbtack through the five layers (each corner and the middle of the paper). Slide a small, wide bead onto the point end of the thumbtack and then press it into one end of a slim wooden dowel to be used as the handle. The pinwheel should spin freely in the wind or when blown. If it does not, pull the thumbtack a little further out of the dowel rod. Kids can play with the pinwheels before sticking them into the ground for backyard decorations.

Paint your own "fireworks" as suggested by the Idea Box website. Trace around the bottom of a salad spinner onto black construction paper. Cut out the circle and place it inside on the bottom of the spinner. Select one or more paints in bright colors. Squeeze a few drops of paint onto the paper circle, put the lid on the spinner and crank the handle several times. It helps to have someone else hold the bowl during spinning. Remove the lid to reveal a splattered paint design. For extra sparkle, sprinkle glitter onto the paint while it's still wet.

The Family Corner website suggests making star decorations for your July 4th party. For each star, cut thick white yarn into five pieces of equal length. Dip the yarn into red or blue glitter glue, completely covering it. Lay the yarn pieces on a sheet of wax paper, arranging and overlapping them into the shape of a five-pointed star. Allow the yarn to harden completely and then run a thin string, thread or piece of fishing wire through one star point; knot the string to make a hanger. Hang stars on on trees or bushes or from eaves. Hide stars for a stellar scavenger hunt.

Kids can capture the flags in a relay race with this game from the Disney Family Fun website. Divide children into two teams. Fill two buckets with sand or gravel and set them equal distance from the starting line. Stand the American flags in the sand by their sticks; each bucket gets one flag for each player on a team. On the "go" signal, the first child from each team runs to the bucket, grabs a flag and marches back to the starting line to tag the next player. The first team to retrieve all of its flags wins.