Sometimes, we get involved in event planning. And sometimes in our personal lives, we even socialize. So, to benefit you, our blog readers, we are cyber-catering your 4th of July party with our best ideas. We will not be there, you have to purchase everything and clean up afterwards, but here are some sizzling ideas to make your party a celebration:

Step #1: The invitation

Evites and texts and phone calls work well. But if you want to be creative, grab a small watermelon and Sharpie the invitation details (when, where) right on there and hand deliver the watermelons to your guests. If you want, you can make your party BYOW, bring your own watermelon. You can also attach an invitation to a sparkler and make the event BYOS.

Step #2: The menu

You know your guests and party style, so maybe you have a typical cookout menu (burgers, potato salad, pasta salad, cole slaw, etc.) or maybe you have a more refined palate (grilled salmon, sweet potato fries, grilled corn, roasted asparagus). If you have guests from lots of backgrounds, you can have them bring something from their home country, and make a melting pot party. You can have an apple pie theme. You can have all kids of burgers: fancy blue cheese ones, veggie burgers, salmon burgers, bacon cheese burgers, etc.

We also have a cheap and easy flag cake that we “make” when time is short: Make a yellow sheet cake or buy a rectangular one from a grocery store. Ice the cake yourself with Cool Whip (any amount of fat is fine.) Then using sliced strawberries, make stripes and put blueberries in the corner for stars and you have a flag cake.

Potent potables: Make sure there are non alcoholic drinks for kids and designated drivers. Put some fun into both. If you make sangrias for the drinkers, make some punch with fruit, too. Jello shorts old hack? Try some pudding shots!

Step #3: The activities

If you can do a firepit, then s’mores is an activity unto itself. Good music is important, making sure that some patriotic tunes show up in the playlist. Be sure you have sparkler time (which must happen concurrently with John Philip Sousa’s march). Bring out the guitars if somebody is talented. Put on the fireworks from the National Mall in Washington DC on TV (but beware of the bewitching quality of the screen). Old fashioned games are a blast and people will do them: whether it’s croquet on the lawn, horseshoe tournaments, charades or Bingo, any easy game let allows all ages to participate in any physical condition keeps people occupied and out of the kitchen.

Step #4: Clean up!

Start cleaning up as you go. This encourages your guests not to be piggy. Spread around sufficient garbage cans so people can clean up after themselves. If anybody asks what they can do, have them change out the garbage bags or make a round doing pick-up.