July 4th: my birthday

The fourth of July happens to be my birthday.  I never know quite what to do...  Families go on vacation, camping, to family parties, etc., etc.  The point is that it's a great day for a get-together, but often people tend to be busy with their own families.  Unfortunately, all our family lives out-of-state, so we have gotten used to doing smaller-scale get-togethers.  So, when I find out a few friends are available on the 4th - I tell 'em to come on over!

I like my birthday, so I am really not complaining.  However, birthdays on or around any holiday can make parties a bit more difficult.  My daughter has it much worse...her birthday is Christmas Eve.  No slumber party for her on her actual birthday...probably EVER.  My other daughter isn't much better off, either.  Her birthday falls the week of Thanksgiving... sometimes on Thanksgiving Day.  Yep, we usually have to celebrate her birthday with her friends before or after that week.  So, we might not have huge birthday bashes here, but we sure do enjoy our little parties!

I decided not to buy a regular table-cloth.  Instead, I bought some cute material at JoAnn's Fabric & Craft Store.  I bought a couple yards of Fabric Central's Honeydew Collection (which matches a bundle or two I already have).  I simply cut it (with pinking shears) to fit over my folding tables.  Since I am planning to re-use this fabric for something in the future, I wanted to protect it from food/beverage spills.  So, I bought a cheap clear shower curtain, cut off the edges, threw on a disposable table runner, and voilà!  Boring card tables transformed into cuteness!

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What party is complete without some dessert?  Who needs cake?  We do! So how about some festive, summer-time cupcakes!?!  I used Pillsbury's Orangesicle and Key Lime cake mixes and corresponding seasonal flavored tubs of frosting.  Mmm...  Of course, I had to add sugar sprinkles, choose some cute-polk-a-dot wrappers and festive picks to put in them.  Nope, I didn't stick with just the traditional patriotic colors.  Since it's also my birthday, so I opted for some aqua blues and some reds (and some pinks, too!)

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Backyard Party Prep...
Opened the umbrellas, put out some Tiki torches, a Tiki globe, some candles, and mini-paper lanterns.  Made sure everything was swept and cleaned off before bringing out the snacks, too!

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We chatted and enjoyed some snacks and drinks.  A little while later we threw some burgers and hotdogs on the grill.  After dinner, we let the kids play with some little things like poppers, smoke bombs, sparklers, and what-not.  As it got darker, we got our fireworks all ready and watched our own little show.  While we watched fireworks, I dished everyone up some birthday (cup) cake and ice-cream.  It wasn't a big party or anything, but I enjoyed the company!  It was a great birthday and 4th of July for me!

Have a wonderful July!