Q: Besides the usual fireworks, what do you suggest?
A: Letting them have their own space is nice since a childs opinion of what's fun is somewhat different from an adults. If the adults are having a fire, maybe make a small one for the kids to enjoy on their own, under supervision of course. Provide them with their own stereo so they can listen to the music they like along with their fire and sort of have a party of their own. Make sure to have sticks ready for them to roast hot dogs and marshmallows. Don't forget the basic necessities for smores. Suprise them with the sparklers! If you have fireflies, get jars out and hold a contest to see who can catch the most. Have a special reward set aside for the winner. Blow up Fourth of July colored balloons. Put a dollar inside one of every three (or whatever you decide). Whoever pops the balloons with the money gets the money. They will love this. You can give them something to pop the balloons with or let them stomp them out. If you don't have a pool or lake to use, since kids love to swim, buy an inflatable pool. They run as low as $5 and provide lots of fun. You can buy a sandbox at Walmart for $30. It's looks like a giant turtle and it has a cover that is the shell. You can buy fun accessories for the pool and sandbox at the Dollar Tree for only a dollar a piece, including rid-able inflatables and the classic bucket and spade. Making a tire swing is always an option. My kids love ours. You can also try horseshoes, pin the tail on the donkey or coloring. You can print off coloring book pages online. They have fourth of July pages as well. Go to: About.com: Family Crafts. They also include some other activity ideas. This is good if you can't be outside. There's also always large varieties of puzzles and board games to back you up at your local stores. I try to steer my children away from television and video games on the holidays but if you don't mind I'm sure they'd enjoy those too. Good Luck and have a fun filled Fourth of July!