I love the 4th of July with all the anticipation of a beautiful evening.I begin to plan for it now since school ends the third week of June and by then it is too late for me to plan a lavish celebration. This year I will be up north for a wedding but I am still decorating in my mind and will use many of these items for son2’s graduation.I might start off with table linens from Williams-Sonoma…

The table runner and placemats are reversible.
I salute the star napkins as an accompaniment.

Did you notice the cute pails?
You can also buy galvanized ones at a hardware store.

I’d fill them with salted peanuts in the shells or fill them with sand and stick these candles in them from Crate and Barrel.

I also like the look of this Tattersall pattern.

I would set it with blue enamel speckled plates found at a camping store.
If I went with the blue Tattersall cloth, I’d use my red speckled plates.

I think these glass candle holders would create a festive spark with either Tatersall cloth.

I usually make home made ice cream and strawberry shortcake for dessert. I roll out the dough for the shortcake and cut them into stars but cupcakes might be fun for a change with the ice cream or how about all three?

Ready for some fun fireworks for your cupcake topper?

… and for the grand Finale…

I love paper lanterns.

For every party we have during the summer I string white lanterns in various shapes in our backyard over carnival lights. Hanging in the trees are opaque glass globes that give a soft glow with votives. It is truly magical.

I’ll hang these starred lanterns in my kitchen over the table or kitchen island from filament for the graduation partay. I also have an assortment of foil stars from the party supply store that will do double duty for graduation. They are so much fun!