Budget Party Tips for a Festive Fourth

A truly festive July Fourth get-together should have suitably patriotic décor. While you may think this requires a trip to your local megamart to stock up on every star-spangled item in sight, it’s much cheaper — and more fun — to get creative with items you already have at home, says style expert Sabrina Soto, host of HGTV’s The High Low Project, who shared her best budget decorating ideas with us.

Use what you already have
Red and white Christmas lights and tablecloths are perfect for a July 4th party, and many people have them stashed away in closets. Ditto red and silver ribbon, which make pretty accents when affixed to glass votive candle holders or short vases to hold cutlery. Larger pieces of ribbon can be tied around chairs or posts.

Another way to save? Don’t buy disposable plates, cups or cutlery. Use your own dishes instead, even if it means mixing and matching. Yes, you’ll have to wash them later, but you’ll be doing your wallet — and the environment — a favor. If you don’t have enough gear for your crowd, scope out the selection of cheap melamine plates and acrylic glassware at discount stores or Ikea. They can often be had for a dollar or two apiece and you can use them again and again (or donate them to Goodwill or another charity).

Make festive floral centerpieces
Flowers are elegant but don’t have to cost a fortune. Pick up a couple of 2-for-$12 bouquets at the supermarket, cut off the blossoms and float them in shallow bowls of water on each table. Fewer blooms stretch further this way. Or buy a few flats of the cheapest red, white or blue flowers at the garden center and wrap the bottoms in red cellophane. These can even double as favors at the end of the party.

Go bargain hunting
Dollar stores often have a big selection of red, white and blue decorations at rock-bottom prices. Check your weekly paper for coupons for craft and home stores. Both will have good selections of holiday themed items, and the discount may make a splurge-worthy item more manageable for your budget.

Incorporate candles
They can add a splash of red, white and blue color and also provide elegant lighting, perfect for an evening party. Cluster a few on a rimmed baking sheet and scatter with decorative pebbles, or nest the candles in glass bowls or jars filled halfway with play sand. You can even color wet sand with red or blue food coloring, and layer it in empty glass bottles (or set it up as a craft for kids).

And if you have sand and tealight candles, you can make luminarias with paper lunch bags — just fill the bags partway with sand and nestle a candle (set inside a tall glass votive holder for safety) inside. Kids can decorate the outsides of the bags with red, white and blue designs before you fill them.

Make use of the food
Even something as simple as red apples (from a cheap bulk bag at the supermarket) in a blue bowl can make a lovely centerpiece. Or make rice-cereal treats with red and blue candies or sprinkles and stack them on platters in the center of each table so guests can just help themselves when it’s time for dessert. If you get a good deal on strawberries and blueberries, arrange them in concentric rings on a plate on each table and spear a few with toothpick flags.

Reach for the stars
Use craft foam paper or construction paper (in red, white, blue and silver) to cut out different size stars and string together on fishing line for a whimsical garland for railings, tables, even your mailbox post. You can enlist the kids to help while you prepare food. The foam paper is even sturdy enough to be used for star-shaped coasters. These items can be used year after year, too.

Get your guests — and yourself — active at the party

Red, white and blue water balloon toss: Pair off and start standing just a few feet away from each other. Gradually increase the distance after each throw. The last team with an intact balloon wins. Pin the stars on the flag: Make a flag out of red, white and blue paper and cut out a bunch of white stars, too. Attach a loop of tape to the back of each star before letting blindfolded guests loose (one at a time, of course) to try and "pin" them to the blue section of the flag. Flag relay: Divide the group into two teams, and fill two buckets with sand. Stand one flag in the bucket for each member of the team. Put the buckets on one side of the yard and line up the teams on the other. At "Go!" time, the first person in line runs to the bucket, grabs a flag, and runs back to tag the next person on their team to go. The team who finishes first wins. You can do this relay with other items in bowls or buckets, too. Old-fashioned tug of war: Use sturdy rope if you have it, but even a rolled-up tablecloth, sheet or towel will work, too.