Planning teen activities for a fun July 4th celebration can be as simple as setting out supplies. Teens love to take charge of their own fun and experiment with creativity. All of the teen activities listed below give teenagers the freedom to express themselves with the independence that was earned in 1776.
Bandana scarves, glow necklaces or toe nail polish will serve as artsy tools for teens to make a patriotic fashion statement and simple recipes will allow teens to create a patriotic dessert using plenty of self expression.
Bandana Scarves as Accessories
Teen boys and girls will have fun tying red, white and blue bandana scarves around necks, wrists, foreheads, hats and ankles to show their patriotism or party spirit on July 4th. Bandana scarves can also be knotted into belts to accessorize jeans.
The only preparation for this activity for teens is to buy the bandana scarves ahead of time. Adults or teens only need to set out colorful bandanas scarves in patriotic colors or flag patterns and teens will have fun deciding how to use them to add American spirit to their attire.
Glow Necklaces – Games and Accessories
Having a box of red or blue glow necklaces will entertain teens once the sun goes down on July 4th. Just handing out glow necklaces can spark teen activities to develop on their own. But a few fun teen activities for using glow necklaces are:
- ring toss in the dark
- teams dress one team member in a “glow outfit” and have a fashion show or contest
- diving for glow necklaces in the pool at night
- wrap hula hoops in glow necklaces and hula hoop
Spirited Toe Nail Painting
Teens only need two colors of toe nail polish to create a festive display of country spirit: red and white, blue and white or red and blue. Teens can get inspired by seeing the patriotic toe nail examples at the Family Fun website but for sure, they will come up with ideas on their own.
An easy application of red on one foot and blue on the other foot is oh so simple. Another option is to alternate toes in a pattern of red, white and blue. Or copy the French manicure style, but use patriotic colors and paint a stripe across the end of each tow nail. Sparkly or glitter nail polish can add a fireworks effect. Painting toe nails in patriotic colors will be one of the hit teen activities at a July 4th party and parents should not be surprised if some of the boys join in too.
Patriotic Dessert Making
Parents can put teens in charge of something sweet on July 4th. Creating a dessert using red, white and blue will feed a teen’s artistic side. Many teens will be pleased to get messy in the kitchen and create a patriotic dessert for the family to enjoy.
For a treat that teens can prepare ahead of time, parents may suggest a patriotic parfait or an easy patriotic pie, both from JELL-O, an American flag cake decorated with strawberries and blueberries or red, white and blue poke cake. For a patriotic dessert that can be prepared on the spot or with less than an hour before party time, teens can select from star spangled dessert or a fruit flag.
Teen activities can be structured or unstructured depending on the number of teenagers attending a July 4th celebration. After the event is over, adults can recruit teens to be involved in any clean-up needed from the fun and patriotic festivities.
Kelly Pfeiffer - Kelly Pfeiffer teaches Positive Discipline workshops to parents and trains child care providers on various child development topics.
