Stars & Stripes Pool Party

My sweet son celebrated his 10th birthday last weekend. Since it’s so close to Independence Day, we went with a Stars & Stripes theme, using red, white and blue. After a few hours at a trampoline park, he and his friends came back to our house for a Pool Party.

stars and stripes party

After getting a bit carried away with his sister’s Pancakes & Pajamas Party, my son was nervous his party would be too “little kid.” But when he arrived home to this festive backyard, he was all grins.

the decor

I raided the Fourth of July section at Target and Dollar Tree for just about everything….rafts, pennants, paper lanterns, food baskets, and tablecloth. The centerpiece was clippings from our Yellow Belle bushes.

Picnik collage

I used these free printables to jazz up the juice bottles, and tying the plastic tablecloth to the table legs kept it from flying up. The striped table runner I made here.

Picnik collage

Boys aren’t too picky, so the menu was simply hot dogs, watermelon, chips and veggies. They loved being able to double dip in their own cup of ranch dressing, and I kept them chilled by serving in a shallow pan of crushed ice.

the food

The boys thought the plastic food baskets were “really cool…like a restaurant!” The napkins and flatware stayed tidy in paper-covered soup cans.

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They were starving after jumping on trampolines for two hours, but I made them wait an extra minute so I could take pictures. There was definitely some blog resentment going on! Once I gave the okay, they attacked the food table.

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Five minutes later, it looked like this.
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Finally full, it was time for more fun. And these boys are so sweet, they even let little sister in on it.

the fun
I had a side table set up with more fun stuff….suckers, pop-its and temporary tattoos. We sent the boys home with flip-flops and s’mores as party favors.

favor table
My son initially nixed the s’mores favors, but after my begging seeing them assembled, he conceded. His friends loved them, which only made him roll his eyes at me as I gloated.

s'mores
The party was so fun, and I was able to enjoy it too since everything was so easy to put together. Thanks again to DimplePrints for the perfect invitation!
jackinvite

Leave a Comment

42 Comments

  1. -Kasey wrote:

    How fun! I love all of the red, white and blue accents!

    Posted 7.6.11 Reply
  2. traceyf wrote:

    AMAZING!! Your party favours are killer…especially the smores.

    Posted 7.6.11 Reply
  3. Cassie @ Primitive & Proper wrote:

    that looks like such an awesome and fun party!

    Posted 7.6.11 Reply
  4. Heidiopia wrote:

    So many GREAT ideas here! Love the individual cups of veggies and ranch and the s'mores take home. Looks like the perfect celebration!

    Posted 7.6.11 Reply
  5. Britton wrote:

    I am loving this theme, everything is so festive!! My birthday is on the second so I always have a very festive day as well! 🙂 Hope your son had a great day!

    Posted 7.6.11 Reply
  6. Ashley @ Places To Go, Things To Buy wrote:

    Great job with the party! All the decorations and favors were too cute!! And I'd like a s'more please! 🙂

    Posted 7.6.11 Reply
  7. jillian :: cornflake dreams. wrote:

    what a fun theme! love all the decorations and banners. xoxo jillian:: cornflake dreams

    Posted 7.6.11 Reply
  8. Susan wrote:

    OK, this was and is my favourite July 4th party I have read about.The layering of decorations from the ceiling down to the table is really effective and so artsy!I want you to plan my birthday party 🙂

    Posted 7.6.11 Reply
  9. Chic Coastal Living wrote:

    Happy Birthday to Jackson! That was a great party!!

    Posted 7.6.11 Reply
  10. Marissa Waddell wrote:

    Super cute–I love the s'more goodie bags!

    Posted 7.6.11 Reply
  11. Crystal (theweekendhomemaker.com) wrote:

    Cassie – I wish my birthday was near the 4th of July! This is so cool. I love the red, white & blue and love how you used the printables.

    Posted 7.6.11 Reply
  12. theyuppiefiles wrote:

    This is just too cute! What a perfect party!

    Posted 7.6.11 Reply
  13. Andrea@ourbluefrontdoor wrote:

    Wow! What a great birthday party! My daughter's b-day is on the 3rd so her friends are always busy around her bday. You did a great job, might have to copy some of your ideas. I love the banners…and the red, white, and blue

    Posted 7.6.11 Reply
  14. Something Old, Something New wrote:

    how fun! great job on putting this together – looks like a great party!

    Posted 7.6.11 Reply
  15. Courtney {a thoughtful place} wrote:

    I LOVE it! Such a fantastic job, Cassie. Love the idea of having it elsewhere and then back for the food and pool party. Genius. My creative friend does it again!

    Posted 7.6.11 Reply
  16. Kelly wrote:

    Wow what a fun party!!!! Love all the decorations.

    Posted 7.6.11 Reply
  17. Natalie wrote:

    oh my goodness! what a super mom you are! he is one lucky boy to have such a fun creative mother!

    http://www.natyouraveragegirl.com

    ps if i have a son i have always loved the name "jackson"

    Posted 7.6.11 Reply
  18. Ali Richardson wrote:

    Seriously AMAZING!!! Everything turned out so festive, fun , & awesome! Great job!

    Posted 7.6.11 Reply
  19. Lil Mama Stuart wrote:

    LOVE the little s'more kits (and label). And the fact that he rolled his eyes while you bask in mom-was-right glory 😀

    Posted 7.6.11 Reply
  20. coolkids wrote:

    you throw the best parties!

    Posted 7.6.11 Reply
  21. Aubrey {All Things Bright and Beautiful} wrote:

    I love that he ended up loving the favors…and that you got to gloat! SCORE! Chalk one up for team mom (c: What can he say but mother knows best, right? The whole thing was absolutely adorable…and looks like a blast! Happy 10th Jackson!

    Posted 7.6.11 Reply
  22. Kim @ keller-creative wrote:

    What a great birthday party! Will you please plan mine next year 🙂 It's a week before Valentines Day so I think you could have a lot of fun with that theme… just saying 🙂

    Posted 7.6.11 Reply
  23. Jan@southernjunkin' wrote:

    Great party ideas! Love the red, white, & blue! Boys are so much fun!

    Posted 7.6.11 Reply
  24. Aspiring Kennedy wrote:

    ooooh. squeezits! you just made my day, i LOVE those things. give me one of those & a cupcake… i'd float around your pool like a happy kid.

    Posted 7.6.11 Reply
  25. a' la mode wrote:

    Girl, you rocked it! great job! I esp love the flops as pfavors and the smores too- great, now I'm craving one and its all your fault! xoxo shel

    Posted 7.7.11 Reply
  26. lilmisskaty wrote:

    That looks incredible!! What a lucky kid 🙂

    Hope he had an awesome time, I feel like I missed out!

    We had our own, very British, Independance day, breakfast on Sunday. Blueberry and strawberry panckaes, with blueberry juice in red cups! Even had red, blue and yellow (i dont have a white one) plates!

    Good effort no?

    Posted 7.7.11 Reply
  27. Mrs.D wrote:

    Hi there…I LOVE your parties. The pancakes and pajamas and this one are adorable. Can I use them for the blog? Please email me: dimpleprintsinfo@yahoo.com

    Thanks,

    Abbey @ Dimpleprints

    Posted 7.7.11 Reply
  28. ~Tammy~ wrote:

    This is just too cool!

    Posted 7.7.11 Reply
  29. pam@pixelimpress wrote:

    flip flops = party favors… cool! you seriously need to start an event planning company. pam

    Posted 7.7.11 Reply
  30. Chassity (Look Linger Love) wrote:

    Cassie, you could win momma of the year. I'm so inspired by the effort and love that you put into your children's rooms and parties. At the same time, you stay fanfreakingtastic too. Love you girl. Congrats on another party well done!

    Posted 7.8.11 Reply
  31. Toni wrote:

    It looks like so much fun! Love everything you did for the party (and it looks like the boys did too!). Thanks for sharing! I might have to use the smores idea for my son's birthday in September.

    Posted 7.8.11 Reply
  32. Lili wrote:

    this is so much fun!!! great job on everything!!!

    Posted 7.8.11 Reply
  33. Megan {Honey We're Home} wrote:

    You do the BEST parties Cassie! I love how the invite turned out too. I can't believe you became a mom when you were 12! 😉

    Posted 7.9.11 Reply
  34. Erin @ Crafts and Sutch wrote:

    Cassie, this party was super fantastic! I love all the attention to detail you included and I especially love the flips to go! So clever for us Texas folks! I hope you are having an amazing summer!

    Posted 7.10.11 Reply
  35. Courtney {a thoughtful place} wrote:

    Hey hot stuff . . linked this up on my facebook {I think I have 3 followers on facebook . . but all three will see it!}

    Posted 7.12.11 Reply
  36. Six Sisters wrote:

    This is the cutest party I have ever seen! You are so cute! We love everything on your blog. We would love for you to come share this at our "Strut Your Stuff Saturday" link party! http://sixsistersstuff.blogspot.com/2011/07/strut-your-stuff-saturday-week-2.html

    Love,
    The Sisters @ sixsistersstuff.blogspot.com

    Posted 7.16.11 Reply
  37. Michelle {Daydream Believers} wrote:

    What a fun party! Everything looks great! 🙂 I "lol'd" at the "blog resentment" remark… I TOTALLY understand that! My fam gets that way too sometimes, but hey, we bloggy-mummas have to capture the moment! 😉

    Posted 7.17.11 Reply
  38. Chef in Training wrote:

    how cute! You did such a great job! The party looks awesome! I found your blog through a link party and LOVE it! I am your newest follower and would love it if you would check out my blog and follow me too! Thanks!
    -Nikki
    http://chef-n-training.blogspot.com/

    Posted 7.18.11 Reply
  39. BJ_Mama wrote:

    AWESOME! Our anniversary is the fourth of July! I might have to steal some of these ideas…of course we'd need a pool first 😉

    Posted 7.19.11 Reply
  40. Megan {Honey We're Home} wrote:

    That is awesome! Thanks for giving me all the inspiration for our party! And thank you for linking up!!

    Posted 7.2.12 Reply
  41. Janae wrote:

    Wow! That looks like a super fun party! LOVE all the decorations! What cute party favor ideas as well!

    Posted 7.2.12 Reply
  42. Kara wrote:

    Such a great party theme! Love the flipflops as party favors. Too cute!

    Posted 7.6.12 Reply