Kara's Sites & Bites: America's 250th Birthday... Make This 4th of July a Festive, Stress-Free Holiday

America's 250th birthday is finally here! This momentous milestone that only rolls around every two and one-half centuries deserves special recognition. Whether you're entertaining a crowd at a backyard barbecue or plan to watch fireworks shows on TV, this oncein-a-lifetime occasiondeserves more attention than a regular 4th of July holiday. A festive, patriotic tablescape... red, white and blue snacks... a special holiday meal of grilled classics... and of course, a flag cake made of strawberries and blueberries... these are just a few ways to pay homage to our country's founding 250 years ago. Each of the suggestions listed above are ones I added to my trial run leading up to the 4th. I don't mind sharing thatI've been thinking about this special holiday for months. I've purchased items for my table, gathered ideas and dreamed of ways to make the holiday extra specialwithout spending all my time in the kitchen. Here are a few of the tips and photos from my trial run; hopefully, they'll serve as inspiration to you as you prepare for the most memorable Fourth of July many of us will experience in our lifetime. Set a table that's patriotic, colorful and fun for guests Nothing sets the mood for a holiday meal like a festive table courtesy of colorful linens, dishes, centerpieces, candles and decorations geared to the occasion. As mentioned, I've been planning for this Fourth of July for quite a while; as a result, I've also been shopping for months. Several weeks ago, I purchased a patriotic tablecloth from TJ Maxx, a store that always stocks some of the best holiday decorations. Browsing through my local thrift store, I found four red dinner plates and patriotic salad plates that paired well with water goblets with navy stems I already had on hand. I had dreamed for a while about making a Betsy Ross cake (similar to princess and Barbie cakes at young girls' birthday parties) and using it as my centerpiece. While I successfully made the cake and was happy with how it turned out, it lacked the height and "wow factor" I wanted for the main centerpiece. Instead, I filled an old wooden crate purchased years ago at a vintage store with red and white plants. Empty spaces were filled in with U.S. flags and an old red lantern. I painted white taper candles red and redto add to a candelabra, placed Betsy Ross in a place of prominence and just like that, I had the Fourth of July table of my dreams. Note: One final touch I'm adding to my table this week are inexpensive photo frames filled with old-fashioned patriotic scenes, a copy of the Star-Spangled banner and other assortedscenes and phrases I've collected over the past year. Shortcuts for a special 4th of July meal While nothing's better than grilled burgers, ribs and steaks hot off the backyard grill, the temperature will likely be in the 90's on the big day. To keep everyone cool, why not do what I did and purchase most of the items already cooked and assembled? At Sam's Club, I found a box of fully-cooked cheeseburger sliders that received favorable reviews online. When I stopped by Kroger, I picked up a box of Nathan's Famous Coney Island Pretzel Dogs. A few minutes in the oven and microwave and just like that, dinner was ready. To add my own special touch, I placed U.S. flag picks on each one and served them with dipping sauces. They're colorful, easy to walk around with and best of all, really tasty. No grilling required! Red, White and Blue Snacks Scrolling through Pinterest and other online sources, I became overwhelmed with the hundreds of creative ideas for red, white and blue cookies, candies, snack mixes and more. To keep things simple, I settled on white chocolate-dipped strawberries decorated with blue sugar and patriotic sprinkles. I've dipped hundreds of strawberries in my lifetime and never had an issue with baking chocolate. This time, the baking chocolate decided not to melt, despite repeated attempts. The closest store only stocked marshmallow crème so I took what I could get. After microwaving for a minute or two, the crème was the perfect consistency for dipping. The end result wasn't as firm (or perfect-looking) as baking chocolate, but the taste was surprisingly good. The grand finale... a flag cake, of course TheFourth of July wouldn't be the same without a festive flag cake made of rows of icing and strawberries

and a top left pocket of blueberries for stars. While I made the original version, I also discovered a way to make a quick and surprisingly eyecatching flag cake using inexpensive dessert cups, whipped cream in a can, chopped strawberries and blueberries. Creating this shortcut version is the perfect way to allow children to help with the holiday dessert and have fun in the process. I hope you've been inspired by my Fourth of July trial run and most importantly, are excited about our nation's once-in-a-lifetime milestone birthday. If all of the photos of the above-mentioned ideas aren't published in your publication, drop me an email and I'll send them to you, along with additional recipes and way to create a memorable meal. I hope everyone has the best Fourth of July and food, fun and fireworks aside, remembers the many sacrifices made by the Founding Fathers to ensure America would become what we are today...the best country in the world. Happy Fourth of July!