Patriotic Party Printables {Feel FREE To Have Fun}

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With 4th of July coming up I have lots of things on my mind- sparklers, fireworks, cookouts, red, white & blue outfits. And sadly- allergies. Justin and I both suffer from seasonal allergies as well skin sensitivities and while we love entertaining outdoors I always try to be mindful of ways to keep our allergies at bay.

Now that we have Easton, I am even more conscious of making sure all of our clothes, blankets and towels are washed in laundry products that are free of dyes, perfumes, certain chemicals, and irritating residues.  And while I don't know if he has any allergies yet,  I love knowing that we can snuggle Easton without being worried that he will have a reaction to our detergent. 

When I decided to host a little get together for my girlfriends and our kids I knew that I would need to make sure that all the towels and blankets were washed in all® free clear detergent so that everyone could enjoy the day allergy free. All® free clear detergent is the #1 detergent recommended by dermatologists, allergists, and pediatricians for sensitive skin. 

Since it is almost 4th of July I figured that a little patriotic afternoon party would be the perfect way to get the kids together and tire them out before nap time. I filled up the baby pool, put together a little tray of chalk and bubbles and made some snacks for both the moms and the kids. 

Whenever we are entertaining outside I like to keep things as simple as possible. I try to make as many things single serving as I can to cut down on the need for people to have to serve themselves. No one wants to put their bubble covered hands into the chip basket. I filled cupcake liners with crackers, pretzel chips, and goldfish for the kids so that people could just grab a single portion and go. 

I put all of the kids' snacks on a separate tray and kept it on a bench so that the kids could reach their own snacks. I also put together a little tray of chalk and bubbles too so that all the things they would need would be right in one place. 

For the moms I put out some hummus, greek yogurt dip, cheese and crackers. I also served fruit, white chocolate covered apples and Fireworks M&M Bark for dessert. I made the desserts single serving as well for ease of eating. A few cold drinks and my spread was complete. Everything was either store bought or easy to make ahead which made my life a lot easier on the day of. The single servings made for a simple clean up too. 

I tend to buy my party decor through out the year when I see things that match a theme or holiday I know I will throw a party for. Most of the serving ware I already owned and I picked up my cupcake liners and table cloth at Walmart. The table cloth was a new type that I had never seen and I fell in love with it. It is basically like a fitted sheet and snaps onto the top of the table. It was amazing and never needed to be readjusted. I will definitely be stockpiling these for the future. 

I created my signs using PicMonkey  (basic version is free!). I printed mine on card stock so that they would be a little more durable for the outdoors. Below are the printable versions of the signs seen in the post. The last one is blank so you can add your own text if you like. If you open the blank one you can use the font "Smash" to add your own words or text.

To edit, simply save the last sign below and go to PicMonkey  and open the image from your computer. Follow the steps above to open the "Add Text" tab. Select the font "Smash" and click "add text". Then use the text box that opens to add your own words and size them how you like. Save the image and then you can print how you like. 

While all® free clear detergent is not intended to treat or prevent allergies it does help remove allergens, including cat and dog dander, dust mite matter, ragweed, grass, and tree pollen. That makes it a perfect laundry detergent for helping with year round allergies. Be sure to always follow the directions on the packaging exactly, especially with little kids in the house. I was also thrilled to find the all® free clear dryer sheets at my local Walmart since I have been looking for something to use with Easton's blankets and towels. Want to learn more about all® free clear detergent and connect with other parents and families? Check out the all® free clear community!

Cracker Jack Popcorn Balls

 

  

I pretty much never go to Sam's anymore but I ran in the other day to check out some prices and I happened to stumble upon a HUGE bag of Cracker Jacks. Like double the size of a family sized bag of potato chips huge. I kid you not.

And since said giant bag of Cracker Jacks was a whopping $3.29, I clearly bought them. Yep, I was that girl in the Sam's checkout line with nothing but a massive bag of popcorn and a 32oz. Sam's soda cup. (Who can pass up a .79 cent fountain Diet Coke?)

Cracker Jacks are one of those things that I kinda forget exist when they are not in my direct line of vision. I have never said to myself, "Man, I wish I had some Cracker Jacks right now." But every time I see/have/hear about them, I remember how good they really are.

Proof: I brought this 20 cup bag of Cracker Jacks and I am pretty sure that between Justin and I we ate about 10 cups of it in 3 days. So I decided I had to make something using Cracker Jacks if for no other reason than to keep Justin from over dosing on popcorn/fiber.

 

And with the 4th of July coming up, what could be more American than Cracker Jacks? And what do you think of when you think of Cracker Jacks? Baseball. So I made Cracker Jack Popcorn Balls because baseballs are round, and white. You get where I am going right?



Don't let this strange combo freak you out. There is something magical about the intensely sweet, marshmallowy coating covering the slightly sweet, slightly crunch, molassesy Cracker Jacks.  Enough adjectives for you? It better be.

You know what makes these even better than they already are? There are only three ingredients (unless you count sprinkles as an ingredient which I don't) and you don't even have to turn your oven on. So run out to your nearest bulk warehouse retailer and buy this massive bag of Americana so you can make these too!

Cracker Jack Popcorn Balls

• 7 cups of Cracker Jacks (or any kind of popcorn)
• 4 tablespoons of butter (half a stick)
• a 10oz. bag of marshmallows
• Sprinkles if you want them

 1.) In a large bowl, microwave the butter until melted.

2.) Add the marshmallows to the same bowl and microwave for one minute. Stir and then return to the microwave for another minute.

3.) Stir again to mix marshmallows and butter together completely and then slowly stir in the Cracker Jacks.

4.) Mix until the Cracker Jacks are completely covered in the marshmallow mixture. Let cool until you can handle the mixture.

5.) Lightly coat clean hands with cooking spray and then shape the mixture into balls. Make sure to pack them together tightly so that they stay together as they cool.

6.) You can wrap them individually in plastic wrap or store them in an airtight container. They are best when eaten within 48 hours.

Enjoy!

American Flag Cupcakes

Hello, hello! It's good to be back. Did you miss me? I finally got back into town at 1:00 this morning and needless to say that 6am work alarm was no fun. The good news is it's a three day weekend (or at least it is for me) so this school week should fly by!

In honor of the long weekend (as well as those who have served our country), I am loving these American Flag Cupcakes. I have made them before for Memorial Day and 4th of July but this specific batch was made for my students who took the AP Government test. I figured that if they have to take a 3 hour long exam the least I can do is make them some cute brain food.

I love how simple these are to make but they look like you spent tons of time and effort on them. I am a huge failure at making straight lines with icing so when I saw Martha Stewarts's idea for using Twizzler Pull 'n' Peels for the strips in her Cupcakes Book, I couldn't wait to try it.

The cupcake itself is an awesome short cut I got from the Hello, Cupcake! Cookbook . Can you tell that I have a slight addiction to buying cupcake themed cookbooks?

I personally hate using box mixes for cupcakes. I feel like I am cheating when I use them. But there are some nights when you just have to go with the easy way out. By swapping a few ingrediants this recipe makes box cupcakes taste like they are from scratch. It is the perfect happy medium for those of you who cringe at the thought of box mixes but don't feel like dealing with the time/effort/mess that scratch cupcakes take/make.

I used a cream cheese icing from Hello, Cupcake! that was just sweet enough to pair perfectly with the buttermilk box mix cupcakes. I ended up making mine with extra large muffin top liners since I wanted a big enough space to work with in creating my flags.

Hopefully the overwhelming cuteness and the patriotism of these cupcakes motivated my students to get straight 5's on their AP tests but if nothing else they will make a great addition to your Memorial Day or 4th of July picnic or BBQ.

 Buttermilk Box Mix American Flag Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing

Cupcake Ingredients:

• 1 box of yellow cake mix
• 1 cup of buttermilk
• 1/3 cup of oil
• 4 eggs

4 simple ingredients.

1.) Mix together all the ingredients with an electric or handheld mixer. Beat until well combined and fluffy but not longer than 3 minutes.

 2.) Scoop into muffin liners or greased tin of your choice and bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes or until tops are springy to the touch and starting to brown slightly.

I used muffin top liners from Ikea.

3.) Set aside to cool while you make the icing.

Icing Ingredients:

• 8oz package of cream cheese at room temperature
• 1 stick of unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 box of powdered sugar (16oz)
• 3 tablespoons of milk
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla

1.) Cream butter and cream cheese together with an electric or handheld mixer. Beat until light and fluffy.

2.) Add in milk and vanilla and then slowly add in powdered sugar until completely combined. If icing is too thick add a little more milk.

3.) Set aside half a cup of icing in a small bowl for the stars.

Assembly:

• Twizzler Pull 'n' Peels
• Blue food coloring or Wilton Gel
• Toothpick

 1.) Ice completely cooled cupcakes with plain cream cheese frosting. Try to make the tops as smooth as possible.

2.) Cut sections of the Pull 'n' Peels into 1 1/2 inch sections. Cut some of those sections in half. I found it was easier to cut them into the right sizes before peeling them apart.

3.) Peel the individual pieces apart to make the "stripes" of the flag.

4.) Starting at the bottom of the cupcake lay three of the longer "stripes" down evenly spaced from each other. Then place three smaller "stripes" equally spaced apart on the upper right hand corner above the first three stripes.

5.) Using the icing you set aside and the blue food coloring, mix up a small batch of blue icing for your "stars". You can use a small piping bag and tip to create the stars but I have found that you can use a toothpick just as easily to make nine small dots to represent the stars.

6.) Now go out and impress people with your mind blowing cupcake decorating skills! Enjoy!

All ready for my students to enjoy during their testing break.

Make sure you stop by this week's Mealtime Monday and link up any amazing recipes you have been working on lately.

***Depending on the day this post may be linked up to any of these fabulous linky parties.***