Simple July Fourth decorating ideas you can easily make!

Decorate the Porch with Simple Designs made from paper bags

We live on the parade route for our little beach community, so I always need to decorate the porch for Independence Day. Everyone decorates with garland, ribbons, wreaths, and flags stuck into buckets and pots with ferns and a red, white, and blue banner.

However, my favorite decoration involves a glass door and a Sharpie!

Use an acrylic Sharpie for a 4th of July greeting.

Our New Canaan House with a Sharpie design…

white house with usa flag on glass door, planters

I love to decorate the front porch with Fourth of July decorations, starting with the front door. If you have a glass front door, an easy way to decorate the door is with a Sharpie paint pen.

I use a wide-tipped acrylic marker and draw a simple decoration, but you could do more or keep it simple depending on your artistic ability. The great thing about this kind of decoration is that you can use glass cleaner to clean it up in a flash!

And now our coastal cottage gets the same design in Sharpie on the glass!

Decorate a pan of brownies with a DIY stencil using the same idea!

This is probably my favorite patriotic decoration, and it couldn’t be easier—especially if you make box brownies. You only need a piece of cardstock, scissors, a fine mesh strainer, and powdered sugar.

Make a design with cut-out letters, stars, stripes, or whatever you want, and then cut it out from cardstock.
Carefully lay the template on the cooled brownies, dusting with powdered sugar using the mesh strainer. When it’s completely covered, carefully remove it, not letting the cardstock tip.

Add tiny toothpick American flags to any dessert.

And basically, anything with a tiny flag qualifies as a festive dessert on July 4th! Like these whoopie pies Madeline made a few years ago.

Make DIY flag hurricanes.

Make flag hurricanes using 4 x 6 flags you can buy at the drug store, grocery store, Walmart, or order on Amazon. Then, use jars large enough to display the size of your flag.

There are a couple of ways to do this. You can use Mod Podge to secure them to the glass jar, which is a little more permanent and a craft project. Since I will only use these for one night, the 4th of July, I used a little hot glue on each corner to secure them to the jar. The hot glue is removed easily, and then I can wash the jars and use them again.

What size and kind of jar works best?

I used Ikea jars that I had on hand. They are the larger storage size and work beautifully with a tall pillar candle inside. This way, the candle’s flame is at the same height as the flag and illuminates it.

I’ve also seen large Mason jars in the canning section of our local grocery store. That would work, too!

Line your patio, porch, or steps with the hurricanes, or use them on the table for a little patriotic party decor.

Add flags to any centerpiece! Even a pitcher or vase of hydrangeas becomes an instant 4th of July decoration when you add a flag or two.