County Fair Inspired 4th of July BBQ and Tablescape Ideas

Take your 4th of July BBQ up a notch with a County Fair inspired backyard get together! Complete with all American hot dogs, Twizzlers flag cookies, Red, White, & Blue fruit cups, and Americana decor. This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser.

One of my favorite Disney classic movies is “So Dear To My Heart”. It is about a little boy who bottle fed a black lamb after its mother rejected it. He knew his lamb was worth as much as any white lamb. Jeremiah scrimped and saved to pay his own way to take his prized lamb, Danny, to the county fair. In the end Danny didn’t win the blue ribbon because there wasn’t a market for black wool and everyone said that a black sheep isn’t worth as much as a white one, but Jeremiah knew that Danny was worth as much as any white lamb. The judge gave him a special award for merit and dedication to his little black lamb. He said that Danny was in a class of his own.

I recently shared this movie with my children and they loved it too! I love vintage Americana and the patriotic feelings that come when seeing flag buntings and red, white, and blue. Inspired by the nostalgia of the country fair in “So Dear to My Heart” I created a 4th of July BBQ complete with bright pops of color from Twizzlers Twists, all American hot dogs, mason jars, and plenty of Americana decor.

Here is my County Fair Inspired 4th of July BBQ Tablescape!

I pulled out all of my galvenized metal trays and buckets, along with wooden crates for serving. I love the rustic element they add against the bright patriotic colors.

Tip: Use wooden crates or boxes to add height to your party table! This makes it easier to display your food, and also maximizes space.

Classic pinwheels combine with Twizzlers Cherry Bites for fun centerpieces.

Tip: Make centerpieces that are multifunctional! They will add color and charm to your table and are fun for guests to take home as party favors too!

No 4th of July BBQ is complete with out a good old fashioned American hot dog, right? Ketchup, mustard, relish and onions. Yum!

Tip: Serve food in baskets with liners. They are sturdy, easy to carry, and the food won’t roll out! When the party is over, toss the liner and stack the baskets for future use.

A cookie decorating station makes a fun and interactive activity for guests. These flag sugar cookies were so fun to make and incredibly easy with the help of Twizzlers Twists. (Keep reading for tutorial!)

Tip: Don’t have a cookie cutter for every shape on the planet? Yeah, me neither. To make rectangle cookies, use an index card! Simply place it on top of your dough and cut out the shape with a pizza cutter.

Mason jars have been done and overdone, but they really are classic and the perfect way to serve the drinks at my county fair BBQ. They also worked great to hold a bandana napkin and utensils!

Tip: Not only are bandanas bright and colorful, they are functional too. I used a few leftover bandanas to create my bunting for my table. I simply cut out triangles on the fold (3 per bandana) and hung them over a long piece of twine.

These Red, white, and blue fruit cups are easy to serve and fun to eat. I used strawberries, peeled apples, and blueberries.

Tip: Oftentimes you will need to prepare your party food hours in advance. When working with fresh cut fruit, like apples, toss them in lemon juice to prevent them from browning. These apples stayed fresh and white for over 24 hours.

Mason jars also work great for displaying bursts of bright red Twizzlers Twists for snacking.

Tip: Use fillers like beans, popcorn, or candy to weigh down picks and signs on a breezy day. I used popcorn for my buckets and Twizzlers Cherry Bites for my jars!

And now for a little behind the scenes action to see how I created the centerpieces, flag sugar cookies, and invitations using Twizzlers Twists, Twizzlers Cherry Bites, and Twizzlers Twists (rainbow).

4th of July BBQ Centerpiece

Supplies (all found at Walmart)

Jar ($2.97)

Pinwheel ($.97)

Twizzlers Cherry Bites (1 (16 oz) package per jar)

Styrofoam ball

Twine

Hot glue

tape

Printable

Poke pinwheel into styrofoam ball and place in center of jar.

Fill with Twizzlers Cherry Bites to weigh down.

Wrap jar opening with twine and adhere end with a dab of hot glue.

Adhere printable with a piece of tape.

Twizzlers Twists Flag Sugar Cookies

Supplies:

1 batch of sugar cookies (recipe here)

vanilla frosting

blue sugar and star sprinkles

Twizzlers Twists (4 per cookie)

If you use my sugar cookie recipe it will yield just over a dozen 3.5 x 5″ cookies.

Spread cookies with a layer of vanilla frosting.

With a toothpick, mark off a small rectangle in the corner as a guide for sprinkling the blue sugar.

Add sugar and star sprinkles.

Cut Twizzlers Twists to side (it will take 4 per cookie) for the stripes.

I made some cookies and left others blank for guests to decorate on their own.

Printable Invitation & Twizzlers Twists Pinwheel

Most invites are done via online these days, but I think it is still fun to receive a good old fashioned hand delivered invite! These invites are easy to customize using any print program (I use picmonkey).

Simply download this blank invite (5×7″) and add your own wording! You’ll notice that there is an empty space to the left to add a Twizzlers Twists Pinwheel.

I made these by wrapping the Twizzlers Twists (rainbow variety) in a piece of plastic wrap. Then I made a tiny 3″ pinwheel out of origami paper, and poked the brad into the Twizzlers Twists, spreading the prongs in the back to attach. Then I used a glue dot to attach it to the card.

To make a pinwheel, cut out a 3″ square of construction or origami paper. Then cut using the diagram below.

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You will now have 8 flaps. Bring every other flap to the center so that 4 are in the center and 4 are left out. Use a brad to secure the center flaps.

Sources:

Food and Decor: Walmart (the cashier said, “I can’t believe we sell all of this cute stuff!”)

Tablescape Printables: Hostess with the Mostess

Blank Invitation Printable

Comments

wyominggirlcoastiewife says

June 29, 2015 at 11:00 am

this turned out so adorable!! I love the classic fair feel, it really is so perfect and all American for celebrating the 4th of July!! #client

JESS44903 says

June 8, 2016 at 8:58 am

Oh wow…everything looks so fun and festive! 🙂

I would love for you to add this to my Recipes and Crafts Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/pluckyrecipescraftstips/

Thanks for joining Cooking and Crafting with J & J!

Beverly says

June 9, 2016 at 5:55 pm

This is all so fun! You’ve got so many great elements for a fabulous 4th of July Party! Visiting from Friday Favorites. I’d love to have you share your wonderful ideas at our Celebrate the USA Party.

Heidi says

June 10, 2016 at 4:16 pm

So loving your display–pinning it! That bandana banner is the cutest!

Janet Vinyard says

June 11, 2016 at 6:12 pm

Great Fourth of July patriotic table display! Well done! Blessings, Janet

gracefulcoffee says

June 12, 2016 at 9:52 am

Beautiful tablescape! Love the way you incorporated twizzlers 😉

Blessings,
Edye | http://gracefulcoffee.wordpress.com

Jemma says

June 12, 2016 at 1:59 pm

Visiting from Life and Linda-fabulous ideas!

charleneasay1 says

June 13, 2016 at 8:39 am

I love anything patriotic. Very cute. I would love to have you join us at Family Joy Blog Link Up Party this week. Check us out http://thinking-outside-the-pot.com/?p=2601

Angelina at Peonies and Orange Blossoms says

June 13, 2016 at 4:05 pm

This is super adorable! I’m going to feature this as part of Thursday Favorite Things this week!

Amy Johnson says

June 14, 2016 at 6:33 am

So many cute ideas! Visiting from the Creative Corner.

Christine @ Must Love Home says

June 16, 2016 at 8:47 am

Loved your 4th of July project, it looks so festive!!You have been Pinned, Tweeted and Posted to Facebook! Your post will be featured this week at the Friday Favorites Link Party. The party goes LIVE on Thursdays at 7PM at mustlovehome.com I hope to see your there! Hugs – Christine at Must Love Home

DearCreatives (@DearCreatives) says

June 16, 2016 at 3:35 pm

Brandy, This is so awesome! I love the patriotic / country fair theme! So many great ideas in this post. Thanks for sharing at the Inspiration Spotlight party. Shared!

Helen at Pleasures of the NW says

May 14, 2017 at 1:07 pm

This is great!! Pinned! I am so ready for summer events – and I’d be honored if you shared on the Pleasures of the NW’s DIY party!
http://www.pleasuresofthenw.com/diy-crafty-link-57/

Angela says

May 15, 2017 at 9:04 pm

Your tablescape looks amazing!!

Danielle @ A Sprinkle of Joy says

May 16, 2017 at 3:20 am

So much fun!! Now I want to go buy some of those boxes to use!! Love the spread!

Sandra Garth says

May 16, 2017 at 3:38 pm

This is a great party post and I love the retro feel!

diyadulation says

May 16, 2017 at 4:13 pm

These are all adorable ideas! We love going to the fair (mostly for the food) but I’ve never thought of throwing a BBQ inspired by it. That’s a great idea! Thanks for sharing with us at Merry Monday this week!

Annie says

May 17, 2017 at 9:27 am

This is SO stinking cute!!! We’re going out to my mother-in-law’s for the 4th, but I wonder if she will let me decorate… 🙂

Mary-The Boondocks Blog says

May 17, 2017 at 10:22 am

Lots of fun ideas for a great day outdoors. I love celebrating this special day, and in the evening relaxing outdoors and enjoying the fireworks.

Here is my County Fair Inspired 4th of July BBQ Tablescape!

4th of July BBQ Centerpiece

Twizzlers Twists Flag Sugar Cookies

Printable Invitation & Twizzlers Twists Pinwheel

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