For our July edition of our family traditions and rituals series, we’re diving into all the fun family traditions to be enjoyed over the summer! With 4th July weekend kicking things off at the beginning of the month and beautiful, warm weather to enjoy for most of July, we’re excited to share our ideas with you to help you create some special summer family traditions!
Whether you’re chilling at home or heading to your favorite vacation spot, there are so many wonderful ways to create family traditions, even in our seemingly mundane everyday rituals.
4th July Family Traditions
4th July weekend is a very important holiday on American calendars. 4th July or Independence Day, commemorates the Declaration of Independence on July 4th 1776 when The United States officially became independent of the British monarchy. The national holiday is generally celebrated with parades, festivals, barbeques, picnics and concerts. Here’s how you can start a new family tradition to celebrate the 4th of July together every year!
4th July Crafts:
Creating some patriotic decorations with your kids and decorating the house can be a fun way to kick the holiday off each year. To inspire your crafts, we’ve created a Pinterest board packed with 4th July craft ideas! We came across sweet paper plate purses, which we think are so cute you could even hang them up as decorations around the house! We also spotted adorable DIY festive flags, which make excellent decorations for your front porch to show your patriotism. Made from cardstock and ribbons, they’re a fun and easy 4th July craft project to do with the kids.
4th July parades, carnivals and fireworks displays:
Patriotic parades, carnivals and fireworks displays are most families favorite ways to celebrate the 4th of July. Kids love attending the vibrant and festive 4th July parades and of course the carnivals! Who wouldn’t love to play some carnival games, go on a few rides and snack on cotton candy to celebrate?!
Many families enjoy ending off the day by watching the fireworks displays together in their towns, which is a magical and mesmerizing experience for most little ones. This is a great 4th July tradition to involve grandparents in. Pack some camper chairs, a picnic basket and head out to your local viewing spot as a family. We came across many stories of adults remembering sitting on their grandpa’s lap as the skies lit up with the magnificent display.
Neighborhood Bike Parade:
If you live in a close-knit community, organise a yearly 4th July bike parade. The kids absolutely love it, the parents enjoy it just as much, plus it’s a great way to get to know your neighbours.
Get everyone to decorate their bikes with patriotic decorations and dress up in stars and stripes! Before or after the parade, you could have a neighborhood cookout or potluck to celebrate the holiday together while all the kids play.
You can decorate the street with a balloon arch, bunting or other festive decorations to really set a celebratory atmosphere.
4th July Games Night:
If you’re a family that loves playing games, a 4th July game night is a fun summer family tradition to celebrate the holiday. Get some healthy competition going and break up the family into teams, with the winners getting a prize! Some of our favourite games include:
- Charades
- Jenga
- Twister
- Monopoly
- Scrabble
- Pictionary
4th July Family Reunion:
If your family lives out of state or it’s been a while since you’ve all gotten together, the 4th of July is the perfect day for a family reunion! Whether you fire up the grill, enjoy a family picnic or plan a potluck, spending this patriotic holiday with family is a wonderful family tradition to get going.
We have 3 patriotic editable 4th of July party invitations to choose from that you can use to invite the crew over for the big family reunion. Edit the text, download and send electronically or print and mail out.
4TH JULY BBQ EDITABLE INVITATION
4TH JULY PARTY EDITABLE INVITATION
CHALKBOARD 4TH JULY EDITABLE INVITATION
As the cherry on top for your patriotic celebrations, we have this easy recipe for patriotic firework vanilla cupcakes. Soft and fluffy, totally delicious and extra festive, these will be a huge hit with your guests this 4th of July!
World Chocolate Day Bake-Off
July 7th may just be our favorite day of the year – World Chocolate Day…a whole day dedicated to the indulgent goodness that is chocolate! We don’t need an excuse to bake chocolatey treats, but World Chocolate Day deserves a little extra effort in our humble opinion.
A fun family tradition to start on World Chocolate Day every year could be a family bake-off where each family member needs to bake something chocolate and perhaps granny and grandpa can be the judges. We’re pretty sure there’ll be no shortage of volunteers for that job!
If you need some inspiration, Lou has tons of tasty chocolate recipes on the blog. From chocolate chip cookies to chocolate cakes and truffles, your mouth will be watering by the time you’re done reading through them all!
Weekly Meal Ritual
You don’t need a holiday to make memorable family traditions. Sometimes the simple rituals of everyday life can form part of our most cherished memories and family traditions. The most common ritual is a weekly meal that becomes a tradition on a specific day. For example you may do taco’s every Tuesday or Friday night pizzas.
You may want to try making your own homemade pizza every once in a while if you have a weekly pizza night. Lou has an easy recipe for a delicious, thin and crispy pizza base that will take family pizza night to the next level!
Outdoor Movie Night
There’s something about watching movies under the stars that just sparks joy, right? With the stars shining bright and the evenings warm, there’s no better time for an outdoor movie night than July! Create a comfy set-up with pillows, blankets and movie snacks, roll the tv or projector outside and play your favorite movie to watch together as a family!
We have these cute printable movie tickets you can edit and print out to invite the family around for this fun summer family tradition. It’s an easy way to make the evening extra memorable for the whole family and make it feel like a real outdoor movie theatre.
To add some pizzaz to your movie night, you can use our set of movie night concession stand printables to create an at-home concession stand filled with all your family’s favorite movie snacks!
Family Talent Show
In every family each family member has their own special or unique talent that may even become an inside joke. Maybe there’s a cousin who is a great dancer or an uncle who tells hilarious jokes (no, not you dad). Maybe their talents are a little more wild and wacky. Either way, a family talent show is sure to be an annual tradition that has everyone entertained or in stitches of laughter!
Up the ante with these printable score cards because the stakes are always higher when score cards are involved!
Summer Vacation Traditions
There are certain traditions that we practice when on vacation that even as adults still bring us warm-fuzzy feelings when we think back on them. When you’re heading off to your summer vacation destination, there are plenty of opportunities to create special family traditions – and opportunities to strengthen your bond – along the way.
Our copywriter, Michaela, has fond memories of stopping off for coffee and the most delicious cheesecake on the way to her family beach home every vacation. It started as a quick stop-off on one particular trip and soon became a must every time the family took a trip to the beach.
When we were reading through other families’ anecdotes, we came across one that really made us smile. One woman fondly remembers stopping off for a family swim in the lake on the way to their vacation spot every summer. This became something the children really looked forward to every year, and is a tradition she has carried through to her own family today!
Your summer vacation family tradition could be something as simple as any of the following:
- Creating a road trip playlist you listen to at the start of every trip
- Singing a particular song together to start off your journey to your vacation
- Stopping for ice-creams or treats at a particular café
- Stopping off at a landmark to take a family picture each year
Other Days To Celebrate and Inspire Family Traditions in July
1 July: International Joke Day – ok Dad’s, the floor is yours! Unleash the dad jokes for one day only!
6 July: World Kiss Day
7 July: Father-Daughter Take A Walk Together Day
8 July: Video Games Day – take the opportunity to show the littles who’s boss with a video game competition
9 July: Teddy Bear’s Picnic Day
11 July: World Mini Golf Day – a round of backyard mini golf, anyone?
13 July: French Fries Day
14 July: Shark Awareness Day – how about a family rendition of “baby shark” to mark the occasion!
18 July: Ice Cream Day
19 July: Global Hug Your Kid Day
20 July: International Chess Day – play a game of family chess
23 July: Gorgeous Grandma Day – dedicate the day to giving grandma some extra love and spoils.
24 July: Cousins Day
25 July: Parent’s Day – let the kids know today is about YOU!
26 July: Aunts and Uncles Day
28 July: Water Park Day – visit your local water park or splash pad
31 July: International Slumber Party Day – host a family slumber party or send the kids to a sleepover with granny and grandpa!
We’ll bet you didn’t realise how many family traditions there are for you to incorporate into your own family in the month of July. To be honest, neither did we until we did a little digging! We just love the idea of marking the summer vacation with some kind of memorable annual family tradition. Which one will you be adopting this July? Let us know, we’d love to hear from you!
