Show:  The Today Show
Date:  July 3, 2012
Guest:  Robyn Moreno

So you have only a day left to get ready for your 4th of July bash.  Lifestyle expert Robyn Moreno was on the Today show with some festive ideas (crafts, games and food) to set the mood when entertaining for Independence Day.  Her rules are to keep it fun and simple.  You shouldn’t have to work too hard.  Make sure you have something for everyone.

The first item Robyn showed was a fireworks mural, so you can enjoy the pyrotechnics, even if you are somewhere where they aren’t allowed, or if you have little kids and don’t think it is safe.  So this custom mural could work in a pinch, it comes with adhesive so you can stick it to the side of the house or on your garage.  Robyn’s idea was to take pictures in front of it.  So it makes a cute and reusable decoration.  Check out muralsyourway.com.

Screenshot of Mural

Next, she showed some hanging decorations that she found at Party City.  She found banners, balloons, hanging lights, etc.  She noted that most times when you go shopping this late, you can often find stuff for half off (of course, you risk the stores being cleaned out though!).

Next were some old fashioned crafts for the kids, like the cute pinwheels from mysweetmuffin.com.  So summery.  Kids can make and play with them (great for small hands), you can use them later for decorations.

Pinwheels

I really like this next craft,  animal balloons!   Who doesn’t love balloons?  This fun kit comes with 6 balloons, and the kids can construct animal faces, like the tiger and pig shown here.  There is also a red, white & blue set as well.

Animal Balloon Kit

Another retro craft is rockets.  So Robyn said she found a company called Kiwi Craft which will send you a different box of crafts every month, like the paper rockets. kiwicraft.com

For games,  there was a bean bag toss game.  A game everyone can play.Robyn says in Texas they call it corn hole-ing.  Weird  :)   The game shown below is from hayneedle.com

Bean Bag Toss

Next up is Hula Hoops and Stilts.  The stilts shown were ergonomic ones from a company called Walk-A-Roo. You can get Walkaroo Stiltson on Amazon.  The hula hoop has lights on it, so you can keep hooping into the night. The WeGlow International Light Up Hula Hoop
looks pretty small, so may be better suited for younger kids.

I think this one looks like a better pick:

For food,  Robyn had a cute suggestion, a Hot Dog Bar.  With labelled condiments and different toppings, everyone can make it themselves.

Hot Dog Bar

And for drinks, use a red Radio Flyer wagon as a cooler.

To Watch the video:

You can also watch this video on 4th of July crafts for kids: