How to Host the Best July 4th Cookout

By Elana Goodwin on June 24, 2017

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Summer is in full swing — which means everyone’s favorite summer holiday, July 4th, is right around the corner and quickly approaching. This year, rather than just decking yourself out in red, white, and blue and catching some fireworks, consider hosting a barbecue for you and your friends or family to celebrate the holiday.

With that in mind, here are some tips on how to host the best 4th of July cookout.

Photo Credit: Pixabay.com

Plan ahead

Throwing together a last-minute July 4th cookout won’t yield the best results. If you plan to host a 4th of July party, start planning ahead now so you have ample time to make arrangements. Invite everyone you would like to come and set a date they have to RSVP by so you can have an idea numbers-wise of how many plan to attend your July 4th get-together.

Also, you will want time to dig out all your red, white, and blue-colored decorations or the opportunity to splurge on some more before the day of your barbecue.

Consider going all out with patriotic colored streamers, balloons, napkins, plates, a tablecloth, and even some foods. Once you have received RSVPs, you can make sure you have enough tables for people as well as check that you will have plenty of places for people to sit while they eat and relax at your cookout. Additionally, you may want to throw together a summer playlist to cue up or think of some fun games for people to play while at your party.

Make it a group effort

When you are hosting a 4th of July barbecue for a bunch of people, the costs can get expensive, especially if you are planning to feed everyone and provide drinks. As a college student, you probably do not have a ton of money to spend — which is why you can easily lower the cost of hosting your July 4th party by having everyone bring something to the cookout and making it a potluck. If you go this route, you need to be sure to assign or make note of what people are bringing and have people bring different things so you do not end up with three kinds of potato salad or only desserts.

To do this, organize a group chat or GoogleDoc so people can easily track what others have said they will bring and you can avoid duplicates. It is also a good idea to find out ahead of time if certain people do not eat specific foods. For example, if there is a vegetarian coming or someone with an allergy, make sure everyone bringing food knows this so you can make sure there will be enough for those people to eat.

Try to keep the costs fairly equal for each person — meaning some people may even bring more than one dish to even out the costs — and tell everyone who is bringing something how many other people will be at the party so they can bring enough for everybody.

Keep it simple

Besides decorating with red, white, and blue, you really do not need to do much else or go overboard when it comes to hosting your July 4th cookout. Keep the food items simple — especially if people are helping out by bringing stuff — and barbecue-classic. Stick to foods like hamburgers, hotdogs, buns, chips, a salad or two, corn, and some desserts, as well as plenty of drinks as it is sure to be hot out.

Don’t say no if someone wants to or volunteers to bring something special but otherwise just following a typical and easy barbecue menu will probably be simplest for everyone who’s pitching in and helping provide food. To cap the night off, consider roasting marshmallows and making s’mores before watching the fireworks.

Do your research

Of course, no July 4th celebration would be complete without seeing some awesome fireworks. If you are hosting a cookout, it is important that you do your research to find out when local firework shows are set to start so you can make sure your barbecue will be done before then.

When planning what time your cookout will be, make sure you give yourself time to clean up the remnants of your cookout and then travel time so you and your friends can get to a good fireworks-watching place. If you plan to host your cookout at a park or other public place where you will also be able to watch fireworks, you may want to stake out your place early in the day as those types of locales are sure to be busy and crowded.

Use these tips to start planning your 4th of July barbecue now so you can guarantee it’ll be an awesome cookout and a great way for you and your friends to spend the patriotic holiday!

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