Hooray for the Red, White & Blue!

I normally take most Fridays off during the summer, but today I’d like to share some simple treats for the holiday!  It’s always fun to serve up some red, white, and blue goodies to put everyone in a festive mood…no matter how busy your 4th of July schedule may be!  Have a peek at the sweets we dished out to some active kids…easy, yummy, inexpensive, and definitely patriotic!  I hope you can find some inspiration for your stars and stripes weekend!

Have a Happy 4th of July!

on the eve before the holiday weekend, we hosted some kids for a celebratory bonfire…and of course some simple treats!  the inspiration for all the goodies?  these adorable napkins from Home Goods…i just love them!  and with my family arriving today for some patriotic ball games, i know we’ll have plenty of opportunities to use them all up!

since my tabletop s’mores were such a hit with the ladies at my “hen party” i decided to break out the mini grill again for the kiddos.  it’s so fun to make the gooey treats this way with all the ingredients at your fingertips…of course they could do it the old fashioned way by the big fire too but i’m partial to the table!

once again i just loaded up my flower pot server with a mix of s’mores fixin’s for the holiday!

here’s a fun treat to beat the heat…a snow cone station!  only thing needed is the bag of ice when they’re ready to begin!

it HAD to be red & blue syrup along with some festive straws and spoons to make it patriotic!  a plastic container filled with paper horns, sparklers and smoke bombs sits in the background just waiting for some late-evening fun!

and as the sun was setting everyone could gather on the patio for some some MORE sweet treats…nothing like sending kids home all sugared up!

my new favorite shop sells our new favorite cupcakes!  if you haven’t been to Fresh Thyme Farmer’s Market you don’t know what you’re missing!  these delicious red velvet cupcakes are so tasty, cute, and surprisingly VERY inexpensive!  they’ve got a sweet surprise baked inside…just so delicious i keep going back for more…and more!

don’t they look good!?  and i’ll be using the cute toppers from Home Goods for many-a-celebration!

i also stacked a few patriotic parfaits on a cake stand.  the fresh berries make this a light and refreshing treat…and so easy to serve in these plastic glasses!

they’re simple to prepare ahead by layering the fruit, cake, and cream just like the ones i made for my family earlier in the week…these are just smaller!

and it’s easy to add a punch of flavor to sparkling water with some blue berries & a cherry!  i love naturally flavored water like LaCroix not only because it’s healthy but it’s also free of color & not sticky if it spills…you gotta love that!  but these bottles from the dollar spot at Target will help prevent most mishaps…and they look adorable!

so it can be pretty easy to make some not-so-elaborate snacks look festively patriotic with very little effort!

with the addition of last year’s banner, the buffet is just right for those holiday snacks!

and as the sun fell behind the trees…it cast some rays that actually reminded me of fireworks and shooting stars!  a perfect end to the beginning of a perfect holiday weekend!

so say “hooray” for the red, white, and blue!

best wishes for a spectacular holiday!

i’ll be off line next week as my family spends time enjoying the holiday and some summertime fun!  i’ll be back on the 11th…

see you then!