Independence Day: Eight frugal activities

Independence Day is upon us.  No need to spend a ton of money enjoying it …

This past weekend I got a belated Father's Day gift and saw Independence Day: Resurgence, so I got into a Fourth of July mood a bit early.

Independence Day: Halfway there

In addition to its significance in American history, Independence Day, at day 184 or 185, is really, really close to the center of the year.  (July 2nd is the middle day of the year.)  Half the year has gone by, and it's a good time to take stock of how it's gone.  If things aren't quite on track, then there's the second half of the year to work on it afresh!

In the meantime, though, it can be a time to recharge and enjoy the company of friends and family.

Weather any day of the year can be great or not-so-great.  Here's a combination of activities for either case.

• Take a walk outside.  Your neighborhood works, or you can head to a nearby trail.  Enjoying a stroll in familiar surroundings is a freebie that we sometimes forget about.  The sunshine helps produce Vitamin D, too.
• Enjoy a parade.  Depending on where you live you may be able to hit a parade.  Celebrate your community with local groups and local heroes, wave a small flag, and have some cotton candy.
• Search for bicentennial quarters.  Got a piggy bank or a jar of change around?  Look through the quarters to see if there's a 1976 quarter hanging out.  The design on the reverse is different than that of the years surrounding it.  (Finding one is actually a bit tough; it's a 40-year-old coin now!  But it's likely that it will be worth just twenty-five cents when you find it.)
• See a fireworks show.  Little else is more synonymous with Independence Day than fireworks.  There's probably a show fairly close to where you live.  If your house is on a hill, you may not even need to go anywhere to see the pyrotechnics.  (When I was growing up, we could just go across the street to see the local show.)
• Catch up on whatever you need to do.  If you're fortunate to have part (or all) of the day off, there's not a thing wrong with using it productively.  Work a bit outside cleaning up, or get ahead on some tasks so that you can start the rest of the week with a running start.
• Sparklers.  As far as do-it-yourself fireworks go, sparklers are a good, um, bang for the buck. We got a bundle of sparklers at Costco nearly a decade ago (I think it was 24 retail boxes to a case or something like that for $9) and we still have them.  So if your municipality allows, safely (!) enjoy a few sparklers.
• Red, white, and blue dessert.  Maybe bake some cupcakes and frost them with vanilla frosting and add red, white, and blue jimmies on them.  Or, if you're feeling a bit healthier, do strawberries and blueberries with low-sugar whipped cream.  Or, you can go all-out and try a flag cake.
• Grab a patriotic flick.  If you don't have July-fourth DVDs you can hit a nearby Redbox or Walmart for an inexpensive rental or purchase.  Foxnews has a good list of patriotic movies here.  (My father-in-law will probably be interested in seeing the first Independence Day movie so we can catch a few more of the references made in the new movie.)

What other Independence Day activities do you do that don't break the bank?