July 4th Party and Cookout Games

July 4th isn't just America's Independence Day. It is a day of celebration with hot dogs, hamburgers, potato salad, ribs, corn, and fun! Most Americans plan on either attending or hosting a cookout with friends and family. As a host you want to keep your guests of all ages entertained. I have devised some easy games for both adults and kids that only require a little imagination, a touch of research, and people who want to have a good time.

1. Bead necklace game-Adults
Needed: 3 red, white, and blue necklaces per guest, and index cards.
Set up: This is a game that can last throughout the entire day and can be played while everything else is going on. You need to make up at least 3 index cards for each guest. The cards will have an action or a saying that the holder needs to catch someone doing:
-Take the beads of the first person you see sitting in the grass.
-Take the necklace of anyone you can get to say "Independence day".
-Take the beads of anyone who uses a swear word.
-Take the necklace from anyone who says "Uncle Sam". (It's very helpful if there's actually an Uncle Sam who attends your party).
-Get out of giving up your necklace free card. If you hold this card then you can give it to the person who caught you doing the task, take one of their cards, and keep your necklace.
Rules: Each guest receives 3 necklaces and 3 index cards when they arrive. They are to follow the instructions on the cards. If another guest gets caught doing or saying what is on the card, they must give the "catcher" a necklace. The two must then trade one card. This keeps the game going. The person with the most necklaces at the end of the day wins.

You can make this game as crazy or as simple as you like. The best part about this game is that you can play it and still socialize.

2. Presidential Bowling-Kids
Needed: Up to ten, empty 2 liter bottles and a ball.
Set up: Decorate the 2 liter bottles to look like famous presidents and one that looks like Uncle Sam. Fill the bottoms of the bottles with just enough water to stabilize them.

Rules: Scoring is a little different than regular bowling, but you can score it the old fashioned way. Assign a value to each president between 1-9, you can put the value on the bottle to help, and give Uncle Sam a 20 point value. Set up the bottles in either a typical bowling fashion or line them up to make getting to Uncle Sam the hardest. Each child rolls the ball and receives the points of the bottles they knock over. Have each child bowl 5 frames. At the end, whoever has the most points, wins.

3. Pin the Hat on the President-Kids
Needed: An 8x10 photo of George Washington or Abraham Lincoln, a blindfold, and a construction paper hat.
Set up: Paste the picture of the president onto a poster board. Put a piece of tape on the back of the hat or use a thumb tack.
Rules: Blindfold the player and spin them around 3 times. See who gets the closest to getting the hat in right spot on the picture.
Adult version: Pin the tail on the president. This works the same except you need a photo of your "favorite" president and literally pin the tail onto him. You can get creative with the picture.

4. American History Trivia-Adults
Needed: Index cards and a score board.
Set up: Google phrases such as the history of the American flag, or American history trivia. My favorite sites are: http://www.usahistory.com/trivia, and http://www.historyq.freeservers.com. They give several questions on national, presidential, and state trivia. Write down your favorite questions on the index cards.
Rules: Divide your guests into two teams. Flip a coin to see who goes first. Ask the first team a question and give them 30 seconds to come up with an answer. If the first team answers correctly, award them ten points, and ask them another question. Keep going until they answer incorrectly. If they are wrong, the question goes to the second team. If they answer it correctly then they receive the 10 points and another question. If they do not answer the question correctly, place the card on the bottom of the pile. When all the questions are answered the game is over. The team with the most points wins.

5. Scavenger Hunt-Kids
Needed: 50 small red, white, and blue coins or marbles.
Set up: Hide these coins or marbles around the yard or cookout area.
Rules: Whoever finds the most coins or marbles throughout the day wins.

6. Ketchup and Mustard Wars-Adults
Needed: 4-6 sets of the old fashioned ketchup and mustard squeeze bottles, a hose, two poster boards, and participants should wear bathing suits.

Set up: This game is for the adventurous group. Fill the bottles with the appropriate condiment. Draw a picture of a ketchup bottle on a poster board for the red team and a picture of a mustard bottle for the yellow team.
Rules: Give each team member the appropriate bottle. The goal is to squirt the opposing team's poster with your condiment. Whoever's poster gets squirted first loses.

You can decide if you want to actually give out prizes or just let the winners have bragging rights. My favorite Fourth of July prizes are little American flags that the participants can sport for the remainder of the day. These are just a few ideas for games. All you need are willing participants to make this Independence Day memorable.