Celebrate the 4th of July with Patriotic Pedicures and Kids Crafts

Celebrate your independence with your kids with these two fun activities! But first – a little history lesson on why we recognize “Uncle Sam’s” Birthday.

Activity #1 - The Patriotic Pedicure

The 101:
Most people in the United States celebrate the 4th of July, but sometimes forget why it is such an important day aside from barbeques and family fun. In 1776, colonists had more and more taxes taken away from them by Great Britain.  People started getting mad and started to make a plan to make their own rules and no longer wanted Great Britain to be able to tell them what to do. What was their next step? They decided to tell Great Britain that they were becoming an independent country.

To make a long story short, the Congress met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and they appointed a committee to write a formal document that would tell Great Britain that the Americans had decided to govern themselves. The committee asked Thomas Jefferson to write a draft (first try) of the document, in absolute secret, until he had written a document that he thought said everything important that the committee had discussed. On June 28, 1776, the committee met to read Jefferson’s “fair” copy of the document and declared their independence on July 2, 1776.  July 2^nd?!? They officially adopted it on July 4, 1776. That is why we call it “Independence Day.”

ACTIVITY #1
Brighten your child’s toes and let him or her paint their patriotism by decorating his or her nails with stars and stripes!

What is Needed:

• Nail polish in red, white, and blue
• French manicure brush (white nail polish with a thin tip brush)

What to Do:

1. First, apply a base coat of red and blue polish, as shown.
2. Let that dry for 2 minutes.
3. Use a thin French manicure brush to add the white-polish stars and stripes.

ACTIVITY #2
Who doesn’t love punch or lemonade on Independence Day?
Plastic cups tend to look more and more alike at any 4^th of July party. Look-alike plastic cups have a way of losing themselves in a crowd. Cut down mix-ups (and garbage) with guest-decorated designed cups!

Activity #2 - Independence Cups

• Plastic cups
• Large and small star stickers (red, white, and blue)
• Placard
• Marker

What to Do:

1. Add a large red, white, or blue star sticker to each cup, along with a few smaller stars for decoration.
2. Put an assortment of markers on a table.
3. Set up a sign or placard directing guests to choose a cup and write their name on it.

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Easy Father’s Day Picture Frame

Spell out to your daddy how much you love him this Father’s Day!  Make him a paper picture frame using the letters of his name or simply “DAD”.  This gift from your child can stand proudly on his desk, around the house or next to his bed with the easy help of bent paper clips! The photographs in this craft are trimmed to show your baby or kids faces, where they peek through the holes of the letters.

Items Needed:

1. Lightweight card stock in any color
2. One sheet of plain white paper
3. Scissors
4. Pencil
5. 2 paper clips

Frame How-To

1. Draw in block letters “DAD” with thick lines on a white sheet of paper to create a template for the picture frame (see picture for the shape you are).
2. Lay the template over lightweight card stock – choose whatever color you like!
3. Trace with a pencil and cut out.
4. For all you mommies, cut out the middle parts of each letter.
5. Trim photos to fit the openings, making them slightly larger than the holes
6. Tape the photos behind the frame.
7. To make the frame stand up, bend open two paper clips and tape the small sides to the backs of the letters at the very bottom (see picture).
8. Give Daddy a hug and present this gift with love!

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