Make
Independence Day a
family day
T
hese days, with most stores and restaurants staying open even on holidays, chances are at least one member of the family is going to have to work on the Fourth of July. But that doesn’t have to stop you from making it a family event; it’s more important than ever to create fun times for the family, especially when it involves a festive national holiday. The trick is to plan ahead and get things ready for the time of day when everybody can be together for a few hours. A couple of weeks ahead of time, ask teens and young adults who have part-time jobs to check with their supervisors about which shift they might be expected to work that day. And if you or your spouse has to put in a few hours of work, see if you can coordinate your shift with those of everybody else in the family. When all that is settled, you can officially request the presence of those you’d like to invite for an Independence Day get-together. If everybody has to be somewhere during the day, why not start the holiday with a red, white, and blue breakfast of berries and yogurt and an agreement to meet in the evening for dessert and fireworks. Or, if the kids have to work the evening shift, plan a traditional Fourth of July picnic for lunchtime at the park or in the backyard. Invite the neighbors and some friends to join you with their own picnic baskets, and you’ve got an instant easy party. As you negotiate tricky schedules and willful teens, remind yourselves that the American way of life has always had family at its heart. The Free Press • June 2014
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