Happy July!!! Here's Some Festive Fun

Today I'm sharing a few ideas for festive fun just in case you're looking for something to do with your kids this week.  Nothing screams summer to me like some red, white and blue and we always have a great time getting in on the holiday spirit.

First up, possibly the cutest patriotic craft of all time :)

I mean!!!  A few pieces of 12x12 scrapbook paper, cotton balls, paint and paper plates and we were in business.  When I do more "structured" crafts with the kids I like to have everything prepped and ready for them before we start.  

I cut out the "beards" from paper plates, cut the brims for the hats, trimmed down some white paper to make the actual hat shape and put out the paint and cotton balls.  The kids painted the stripes on with tempera paint...

... glued cotton balls onto the beard plate pieces...

... and decorated the hat brims with stickers.

SO MUCH FUN!!!!  They ended up being a little "large and in charge" and I wish that I hadn't cut the paper plate quite so much and made the face opening a little smaller BUT they were fun, easy and the kids loved making them.

We also made some patriotic rockets using M&M minis tubes.  

Step One - eat the M&Ms :)

Step Two - Cut off the lids (don't throw them away!!!)

Step Three - Decorate the tubes with paper, stickers, glitter, etc.

The kids all made rocket tops out of paper as well.  (Griffin's rocket looks way smaller because her cap was larger and so it sat down lower on the tube).

Toothless wonder was proud of his rocket :)

Next came the fun part.  We took the tubes outside, popped an antacid tablet (or two) in them, topped them with a little bit of water, put the lid on them and flipped them over.  

When the antacid starts dissolving in the water it creates gas, the pressure builds and...

... they launch!!!

It was really hard to get a picture of it launching, but we used the entire package of antacids and found that if we picked the undissolved tablets up off the ground we could get a second (or third) launch out of them if we worked quickly.

Eventually we ditched the patriotic decor and just focused on launching the tubes...

... Look at how high Mason's got!

This was REALLY simple and fun and we ended up just hosing the antacid remnants off the driveway when we were done.  You wouldn't have to make this patriotic necessarily but they had a good time decorating them ;)  We kept our tubes and they've already added antacid tablets to the grocery list.

Last is a quick little dessert the kids helped me make.  It's nothing groundbreaking, but with some red and blue M&Ms it's festive and delicious.  It would be perfect to bring to a party on July Fourth or cute in little individual bags tied with ribbon to bring to a parade or other event.  OR you could be like us and just snack on it all week long :)

Here's what you'll need...

- 1 box Rice Chex (about 9 cups)

- 1/2 cup peanut butter

- 1 cup chocolate chips

- 1/4 cup butter or margarine

- 1 teaspoon vanilla

- 1 cup M&Ms

- 2 cups powdered sugar

Here's what you'll do...

- Put the peanut butter, margarine and chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl.  Microwave for a minute, stir and then microwave for an additional 30 seconds and stir again.  Repeat until everything is melted and smooth.  Then stir in the vanilla extract.

- Pour the chocolate mixture over the cereal and stir gently until it's all coated

- Transfer the cereal/chocolate mixture into a two gallon ziplock bag, add in about 2 cups of powdered sugar and shake it until everything is coated.  (If yours is looking a little gray, add in some more powdered sugar and keep shaking)

- Toss in the M&Ms, spread it onto some waxed paper to cool and you're DONE!

So easy and SO GOOD!  And obviously the M&Ms are totally optional, but they do add a fun and festive touch.

And I'm also going to link back to a few of my past patriotic posts in case you're looking for even more inspiration.  With all the house painting and what not going on around here I didn't decorate this year like I typically do but the fresh paint has me not even mad about it :)

Click  HERE to read about a fun Fourth of July lunch tradition we have...

Click  HERE for the recipe for my FAVORITE cupcakes...

Click  HERE for a handprint flag canvas craft....

Click  HERE to see my summer decor from last year...

Click  HERE for my patriotic book recommendations...

And  HERE for one of my favorite crafts ever.

Happy Fourth of July week, friends!!!