It's that time of the year again folks! Here in the good ole' United States, thousands are gathering to celebrate our nation's independence. It's time to ready your fireworks, start your grills and play every single patriotic country song known to man.
Yes, the holiday is a time for celebration, but it is not without its dangers. Every year we hear of some poor soul who decided it would be a great idea to let a firework launch from his head, or someone blows their fingers off because they didn't think to themselves, "hey, maybe this isn't such a good idea."
Believe it or not, folks, there are good reasons why fireworks are illegal in many states, and no, it's not because they want to steal your freedom. They want to make sure that you're alive long enough to appreciate it.
That being said, here's a list of 7 things that are a lot safer than throwing poppers at your friends.
1. A Friendly Game of (insert competitive sport here)
One could argue that playing football against your super competitive cousin Steve is a terrible idea, but honestly isn't anything better than potentially getting your face blown off? I've seen enough videos of dogs getting a hold of fireworks to know that no matter how professional you are, things could still go terribly wrong.
2. PAINT FIGHT
You're lying if you say that you've never wanted to have one of these. The only thing stopping most people from doing this is the potential clean-up. Well no worries readers, I have a solution: water soluble tempera paint. All you have to do when you're done is hose everything down! And if you don't have a hose, baby wipes will do just fine. Instructions for the perfect paint fight are found here.
3. WATER FIGHT
If you're still wary about the whole paint thing, nothing beats an old-fashioned water fight. Complete with sponges, water balloons and water guns, your fight will present the perfect chance for your family members to reveal who's the family favorite.
4. Tie-Dye Shirts
Gather your family around the picnic table and decide on some designs, because no matter what comes out of this, chances are there are going to be matching tee shirts involved. If you aren't sure how to tie-dye, here's a helpful link to some step-by-step instructions here.
5. A Friendly Baking Competition
See which of your family members can make the most overly patriotic dish possible. Whoever wins will be forever remembered as the red white and blue champion! Plus, after all the judging's done you get to eat it. It's a win-win situation.
6. Cup Race
Here's a really easy explanation of what I mean by this: you take two plastic cups, string some twine through them, make sure the string/twine is fairly long. Tie the strings taut between two trees or poles, make sure that they're close, but not close enough for the cups to touch. Then, grab some water guns, and start shooting. Whoever gets their cup to the end of the line first, wins. That's it. The Cup Race is exactly what is sounds like.
7. Face Paint
Patriotic face paint is sometimes the best kind of face paint. Show your friends and family just how cool you are by rocking some totally awesome face-art.
That concludes my list of 7 things to do this 4th of July. Feel free to put your own spin on these activities and have a safe a wonderfully patriotic 4th of July!
