Every year for the fourth of July my family has a picnic the weekend before.  Everyone in my family talks about the partys I have so we decided to have it at my house this year. I started with the invitaions. I kept these simple by taking a piece of white heavy paper and cuting it into the shape of a fire work.  I glued on red foam stripes and a blue piece of string at the top for the fuse.  I wrote all the info on the back. For the decorations I concentrated mostly on the outside because that is were the party was going to be held at. (All the decorations were done in red white or blue) For the front of my house I had small flags on both sides of my sidewalk, and paper lanterns hanging from the trees. My front porch had star garland that my kids made hanginging arounnd the top. I had two flag arrangements sitting on the endtables I have on my porch,(I took two small blue pots with a piece of foam stuffed inside and stuck diffrent sized flags into the foam and then wrapped stars that were attached to raffia around the top of the pot) and I had Uncle Sam sitting on a chair. (I made him by stuffing a white shirt and red and white sripped pants with newspaper. I placed a blue jacket I found at a yard sale around the shirt.  I made his head from a styrafoam ball. I painted a face and glued on cottonballs torn apart for his beard onto the ball.  I added two fake arms that I had from Halloween and a flag hat to finsh him) For the party area I set up several tables in the back yard.  I covered them all in flag tablecloths. The adult tables had empty clean vegie cans filled with biscotti's for the centerpiece.  I wrapped the cans in stripped, fireworks, and star scrapebook paper.(Wal-mart) The kids tables also had a can but theirs were filled with red, white, and blue lolliepops.   For the activities I set up an area for the kids and for the adults.  I set the kids area up by my sons swingset.  I had a swimming pool, golf, and a craft table set up.  The craft table had construction paper, child safe scissors, crayons, stickers, etc. for the kids to make flags, flag windsocks, and stars.  Make sure their is an adult to help the kids with their crafts. The adult area had a horse shoe pit, volley ball and badmitten net set up.  For the food we had cheese spread shaped like the flag(kraftfoods.com) hotdogs, hamburgers, mac and potato salad, baked beans and watermellon. For dessert I made firecracker and berry topped cupcakes. (Firecracker-put coconut in a bag and place several drops of food coloring into the bag and shake it until covered.  Sprinkle the cupcake with the coconut and press a small piece of string licorice into the top for the fuse.  Berry Cupcake-Bake the cups then spread vanilla pudding ontop.  Place five strawberry slices ontop of the pudding to resemble a star. Fill the centers with blueberries and store in the fridge until your ready for them.)  I also made a Patriotic quilt cake(kraftfoods.com)   About an hour before it got dark I gave the kids some snaps, party poppers, and snakes.(Make sure an adult lights the snakes)  Once it got dark the kids did some sparklers and then I set off the bigger fireworks.  Make sure everyone is far away so nobody gets burned.  Everyone had so much fun that we are having it at my house again next year.