It’s going to be a sparkler-less Fourth of July in our neck of the woods. Thanks to triple-digit temperatures and extremely dry conditions, city officials have banned all fireworks, including my 7-year-old’s favorite sparklers.
From what I gather by watching the news, similar scenarios are playing out throughout the United States. It’s simply too dangerous to let every Joe Blow and his pyro cousins set-off fireworks when the fire risk is dangerously high.
Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to celebrate America’s birthday without having to light colorful explosives. Check out these fun-filled, kid-friendly activities that will add some sparkle to your Fourth of July festivities:
Glitter Hand Twirlers
Materials:
Plastic coffee can lids
Craft knife
Rubber bands
Glitter star stickers
Paper clips
Flexible drinking straws
Directions:
Using a craft knife, cut an “X” in the center of the coffee can lid.
Push one end of a thick rubber band through the “X.” Attach the rubber band to a paper clip to keep it from slipping through the “X.” Let the other end of the rubber band dangle through the other side of the lid.
Place the star stickers in a circle around the lid on the same side as the paper clip.
Use the craft knife to cut the straw into two, four-inch pieces: One piece should be completely straight and the other should have the straw’s crinkly bend in the middle.
Bend a paper clip to create a hook.
Thread the dangling end of the rubber band through the straight portion of the drinking straw, and then thread the bent drinking straw through the rubber band loop-—this is your handle.
To use your twirler, wind up the cap and then let it go. This will make the cap twirl as you hold onto the handle.
Patriotic Scavenger Hunt: Collect a bunch of red, white and blue colored household items, such as pens, buttons, magnets, plastic utensils, balls, crayons, and pipe cleaners. If you can’t find the aforementioned items in red, white or blue, paint them. Next, hide the items throughout your yard or other area with well defined boundaries. Then, create a list of items for each team to collect. When it is time to play, announce to players that white items are worth one point, blue items are worth three points, and red items are worth five points. Anything that has all three colors on it is worth 10 points. Teams are given a set amount of time to collect as many items as they can. When time is up, teams need to come back to home base, sort through their collection and total their points. Give out ice cream or other small prizes to the winning team.
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