Celebrate the 4th of July with Creative Activities

Chalk drawing by Susan Riedl at the Concord Farmers Market.

The 4th of July is a fantastic opportunity to spend quality time with friends and family. This guest blog features some fun, creative, and fulfilling activities to add to your celebration. Many of own summer days have been filled with tie-dying T-shirts, tossing water balloons with the kids, swimming, hiking, and camping. Plus, I’ve included some easy summer recipes to add flavor to any occasion.

Creative Family Activities

Thinking up new family fun activities that engage all ages can sometimes be daunting. Here are a few ideas to consider that are both creative and budget-friendly:

Patriotic Pebble Art

Materials Needed: Smooth pebbles or rocks (collected from local beaches), acrylic paints (red, white, blue), and paintbrushes.

Instructions:

  1. Take a family trip to the beach and collect smooth, flat pebbles.

  2. Wash and dry the pebbles at home.

  3. Paint the pebbles with patriotic designs such as stars, stripes, and flags.

  4. Let the paint dry and  share with family, trade them, play hide and seek, make a checker board game or balance games by stacking them, or simply keep them as memorabilia.

Nature-Inspired Fireworks Art

Materials Needed: Black construction paper, white glue, salt, watercolors or liquid watercolors, paintbrushes.

Instructions:

  1. Use white glue to draw fireworks shapes on black construction paper.

  2. Sprinkle salt over the glue while it’s still wet and shake off the excess.

  3. Let the glue and salt dry completely.

  4. Use watercolors to paint over the salt. The colors will spread and create a fireworks effect.

Plant Prints on Paper

Materials Needed: Clipped plant leaves, flowers and stems, plain paper, string, large bowl or bucket, twine or string,  brick or heavy rock, and hot water. *Adult supervision required.

Instructions:

  1. Collect a variety of natural leaves, flowers, and stems

  2. Place objects on paper in a small arrangement, and layer with paper.

  3. Repeat the layers, using paper, and natural objects stacking them on top of each other.

  4. Take twine and wrap around the paper, tying it tightly so the leaves and flowers will not slip out.

  5. Place stacks of paper into a bucket or bowl, weigh this down with heavy rock or brick and carefully pour hot water (preferably boiling) over the paper and let it soak for 30 minutes.

  6. Remove from water, and unstack the paper. Hang and dry the prints, and enjoy the natural dye from the found objects.

Colorful T-Shirt Hugs

Materials Needed: White tee shirts, acrylic paint or fabric paint (non-toxic).

Instructions:

  1. Have each family member and friend wear a white tee shirt.

  2. Cover arms and hands in paint, using paint brushes, or simply rubbing onto arms and hands.

  3. Hug each other, leaving paint prints on the tee shirts.

  4. Allow the paint to dry completely.

  5. Easy clean-up, with water and soap.

Not only is the art that created wearable art, it has an additional benefit because hugging someone for at least 20 seconds can increase happy feelings and promote an improvement in relationships and overall mood.

Delicious and Healthy 4th of July Treats

Coming up with delicious and healthy meals can be a challenge, but it does not need to be. Concord has a weekly farmers market on Saturdays from 8:30 am to noon, where you can gather many of these goodies mentioned below all in one spot. Here are a few snack and food ideas to consider for a summer weekend:

Fresh Fruit Delights

New Hampshire has many amazing pick-your-own farms with an abundance of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries. These fruits are delicious on their own and can be easily tossed on top of some locally-sourced Greek yogurt with a drizzle of honey to sweeten the treat. Abbott Hill Creamery has an amazing yogurt every Saturday at the market!

Strawberry Ice Pops Recipe:

●     2 cups fresh strawberries (hulled and sliced)

●     1/2 cup water

●     1/4 cup sugar (optional)

●     1 tablespoon lemon juice

Instructions:

  1. Blend the strawberries, water, sugar, and lemon juice until smooth.

  2. Pour the mixture into popsicle molds.

  3. Freeze for at least 4 hours or until solid.

Campfire Banana S’mores

An old favorite of mine is taking the S’mores ingredients and placing them in a slightly peeled banana, stuffing it with chocolate and marshmallows. I slice the banana lengthwise, and leave the skin on. Place the chocolate chips or pieces into the sliced part of the banana with marshmallows, and even graham crackers, then wrap it in foil and let it roast in the coals of the fire. If you haven’t tried it, don’t knock it—it really is a delicious treat to eat right out of the banana boat skin with a spoon. (Okay, the Farmers Market might not have bananas, but I had to include this one because it is truly a yummy twist on the classic s’mores.)

Grilled Skewers

For those looking for something more savory, let's not forget about grilling. How about grabbing some amazing locally grown onions and peppers, skewering them with pieces of chicken, beef or bison, marinating in your favorite seasoning, and grilling until done to your liking? The best part is that when things are skewered, it becomes a meal on a stick and cleanup is a breeze. Marsh Meadow Bison, Hop N Hen Farm, Miles Smith Farm, and many many more are at the Farmers Market with unsurpassed quality at any local grocery store. Here is a go-to recipe of mine for marinating meats and veggies.

Marinade Ingredients:

½ cup Brown sugar

¼ cup Soy Sauce

¼ cup Rice Vinegar

¼ cup Sunflower oil (Sunfox Farm in NH has the best!)

4 cloves smashed garlic

Join Us at Capital Art Therapy LLC

Wanting more structure to access your creative side? At Capital Art Therapy LLC, we’re passionate about helping our community discover the joys of art. This summer we are offering a variety of affordable classes for youth ages 6 to 15 with Margaux Thibeault, an art educator, to inspire creativity, build confidence, and foster a sense of community. She will provide guidance and support to help participants on their creative journey.

This summer, we hope you can take advantage of one of the art classes and gain a boost in confidence and foster a deeper sense of well-being. To learn more about our classes, visit our website at capitalarttherapy.com.

This guest blog was provided by Capital Art Therapy. It was written by Susan Riedl.

Susan is the owner of Capital Art Therapy LLC and is an artist, art educator, and art therapist in private practice and resides with her husband, and dog Nova in Concord, NH. She can be seen making street chalk drawings on Saturday mornings during the Concord Farmers Market located on state street next to the Capital.

Visit Concord NH is an initiative of the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce. This website and accompanying social media profiles showcase the best of NH’s Capital Region to travelers, new residents and long-time fans of Concord. Learn more about the Chamber at concordnhchamber.com.

Emily Marsh