Celebrating the Fourth of July at UT Tyler

Today is July the second, which means that in two days fireworks will light the night sky during a national celebration of Independence Day.  Most people will host grand parties with plenty of food and obviously a lot of fireworks.  Do you have any plans? If not, then perhaps I can help. If you have already started planning your celebration, then maybe I can help you along the way!  If you are interested in throwing an amazing fourth of July celebration without paying an absurd price, then read on!


Consider going to public firework shows
Cities will always have public shows that everyone can attend.  The best part is that almost all of these types of shows will be free, so you do not have to sacrifice your bank account for fireworks.  Get a group of friends and carpool to a public show.  You do not have to sacrifice your own fireworks, but this could be an opportunity to cut your costs in half or more! Personally, I enjoy lighting my own, but public shows are an awesome chance to save some money. Do you not know where to look to find public shows? You can find a list here!

If fireworks are must for you, like they are for me, then consider having everyone pool their resources and go shopping for fireworks together.  Or, you could just collect money and go shopping by yourself.  Alternatively, you could also just have everyone buy their own and bring what they get.  Just remember, exercise extreme caution when you are lighting your fireworks!

Start shopping as soon as you finish reading this
Some people wait until the day of their party to start buying supplies like food and decorations.  If this is you, my advice is to start buying now.  Stores always like to use the fourth of July as an opportunity to have big sales on items like hotdog and hamburger buns and even some decorations.  If you take advantage of these, then you can save a lot of money.

Have a potluck dinner
Rather than buying all of the food by yourself, try having everyone bring a homemade dish to your party.  This is a great way to keep yourself from having to buy 50 hotdogs, of which maybe half will be consumed.  If everyone brings their own food, then you will save a lot! Plus, homemade food is better than anything you will buy from a store. Here is a free online tool to help you plan yours!

Hopefully, after following some of these tips, you can celebrate the Fourth of July extravagantly while saving yourself a few dollars! Do you have any additional suggestions? If so, let me know!

Happy 4th of July!