July 4th Party Planning

Greetings from The (planning) Hill,

We are having a "Do" at our house for the July 4th weekend.  New to a Do?  At our house it begins by getting the word out.  Save the date's are gone and I'm beginning to hear back.  Then I plan like crazy.  The day before I spend cooking, cleaning, decorating,etc.  The day of begins early with a calming cup of coffee, last minute cooking then the guests begin to arrive around 11:00am.  From that moment on the house is open all day into the evening.  Because it is Independence Day we will have fireworks (legal in our county) to end the evening.


So what do you do at a Lindsey Do?  Spend time with folks you haven't seen in a while, eat, sit outside under the canopy and eat, get the gang together and go do something somewhere else then come back and eat, play with the kids and eat.  See the pattern here?

Most of the time I do a pot luck but this Do will be different.  I will make pulled pork for sandwiches instead of burgers.  Then we will grill brats and dogs and have a Hot Dog and Salad Bar.  I'll get different kinds of buns and a huge bowl of mixed greens and let guests select from the following toppings:

Dill pickles
Dill pickle relish
Chopped Onions
Onion rings
Corn & potatoes cooked in Old Bay
Shredded cheddar
Salsa
Diced tomatoes
Cold slaw
Sauerkraut
Scallions
Cilantro
Bacon
Cucumbers
Onion cooked in vege oil, ketchup & wine
Cherry tomatoes
Dried cranberries
Diced apples

Crumbled Gorgonzola

In addition to the above there will be appetizers, sides, dessert and massive quantities of stuff to drink.

While planning the menu I've also been scouring the Dollar Stores and thrift stores for items I can use to decorate with.  I already have a red, white and blue bunting for the porch.  Here are the additional items I've found so far:

Believe it or not I found these plates and napkins discount priced at my local grocery store. 

Watermelon S&P Shakers

I have a pretty good collection of salt & pepper shakers.  This is one of my summertime sets. I bought this little Aloe plant because it's great for cuts, bug bites and burns.  

Thrift store flower vases

I found these containers at the thrift store for 25 cents each.  I'll take the tops off the cookie containers and plant white petunias.  I will put red ones in the clay pots.  I am still looking for a blue container or two.

Thrift store bowls

In addition to red, white and blue flower vases I am also looking for small red, white and blue containers to put all the many toppings in.  Above are the ones I found today.

Dollar Store finds

I bought 2 holiday tablecloths and 2 of these really great rag rug mats.  The mat is twice the size you see in the picture.  We have a church pew on our front porch that will get one of the mats and a wicker love seat that will get the other one to cover up the pad it has now.


I'm getting really excited about our Do.  If I can pause in my hostess duties I'm take a few pictures to post.


Hope you are having fun planning whatever you plan to do over the holiday weekend.


Later...