This Reader is Spreading 4th of July Cheer in Her Neighborhood While Social Distancing

By Erika | Junior Content Manager

Jun 26, 2020 @ 10:10 AM MDT

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You can still celebrate the 4th of July – even from a distance!

With social distancing putting a damper on many celebrations, we’re seeing people getting more creative in the ways they choose to onlinememorate special occasions.

Hip2Save reader, Amy, came up with a cute and creative solution to celebrate the 4th of July with her neighborhood, even from a distance!

Check out her solution…

As I was reading about all of the 4th of July celebrations that have been canceled, I kept getting sadder and sadder. We then decided as a family that we wanted to bring some patriotic cheer to our neighbors. In the spirit of the “You’ve been Boo’d” traditions around Halloween, we gathered items from our local Dollar Tree and Meijer and created baskets that we marked with “You’ve Been Red, White & Blue’d.”

Each of these baskets cost around $8 to create and included fun items like sparklers, Pop Its, candy, ice pops, necklaces, and so on.

Spread the love frugally on this unique July 4th! 🙂

This is such a fun idea!

Thank you, Amy, for sharing your idea with us. What an amazing way to create some normalcy and bring joy to your neighborhood! And we love how you did it in a way that didn’t break the bank and still brought smiles to your neighbors!

If you want to spread some cheer in your own neighborhood, head to Dollar Tree to grab supplies to create your own 4th of July baskets!

Consider adding these Patriotic Flashing Star Beaded Necklaces, Patriotic Glow Stick Wands, and these fun Patriotic Foldable Fans to beat the summer heat!

HAPPY FRIDAY!

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Join The Discussion

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Jen June 26, 2020 at 10:12 am MST

Love it!! Such a great idea during this time. Thanks for sharing this! 🙂

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JMonte509 June 26, 2020 at 10:22 am MST

Aww I would do this if any of my neighbors even said HI to us. We always say hello and we get the stink eye 😂

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Michele of DE June 26, 2020 at 10:36 am MST

We get that too (from select neighbors). How hard is it to wave or say hi … don’t get people!

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Jackie June 26, 2020 at 12:15 pm MST

Same here. We been here 14 years now and we only talk to one our our neighbors 🤨. The rest are just not nice and don’t even look when we drive by.

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Melsoca June 27, 2020 at 5:11 am MST

I live in an apartment and during the quarantine lock down I decided to go head and leave goodie bags for all the people in our building ( yup even the ones who didn’t say hi) and it’s been a great ice breaker and showed them some kindness even if we didn’t feel it first ,maybe it’ll be a gesture of kindness they’re not used to that breaks the ice 🥳🥳😊

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Princed13 June 26, 2020 at 10:36 am MST

My neighbors get mad about these things. 🤦‍♀️

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L June 26, 2020 at 11:06 am MST

I think people get irritated when pressured to reciprocate. Personally, I’m not a fan of these things and I’m glad that I don’t live in a super onlinepetitive neighborhood like one of my friends where a “good deed” turns into a “look how amazing and generous I am” social media post. That being said, I still think the 4th of July idea presented is cute and frugal, and if it brings the giver joy, then keep on doing it!

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Shannon June 26, 2020 at 11:12 am MST

When we do things like this…ok once, when we did May Day flowers…we did it anonymously so it was just a lovely surprise gift to make someone’s day. 🙂

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Amy June 26, 2020 at 11:57 am MST

I didn’t put anything on the sign that said to reciprocate it. Fully agree with the ‘pressure’ that can happen with that. Just wanted to bring some patriotic cheer. 🙂

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L June 26, 2020 at 1:45 pm MST

And it is a lovely way to do so! I meant no disrespect and think your basket is awesome!

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Amy June 26, 2020 at 4:06 pm MST

No disrespect taken! 🙂

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cindyawarf June 26, 2020 at 1:16 pm MST

Since I started keto 1 1/2 yrs. Ago, I noticed that anything keto friendly has gone up in price. So one day when I ran out of almond flour, I decided to make my own by grinding up almonds! Its moister than almond flour, but still works! If you want a drier consistency you can use roasted almonds😁.

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Vanessa June 26, 2020 at 12:34 pm MST

This is really kind! It’s nice to see acts of kindness towards our neighbors in a time where everyone seems to be so angry and divided!

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LChapman June 26, 2020 at 1:18 pm MST

I think this is a super nice idea! 🤩

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Grace June 26, 2020 at 2:07 pm MST

Cute but I would not open this for fear of covid. If you are not in my safety bubble I am going to continue to be cautious

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iamkris10 June 26, 2020 at 2:45 pm MST

we didn’t do anything for independence day – but we did get a bunch of the Haribo passport bags from the dollar tree, added a note about not being able to ‘travel easily’ this summer – but that we hoped these flavors would be an adventure. kids enjoyed them at least!

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Liz June 26, 2020 at 3:41 pm MST

I also would not want to receive this from a stranger or a neighbor I don’t really talk to. But if it’s someone that knows you or talks to you then I think it’s a good idea. I’d love to this for close family and friends though.

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Amy June 26, 2020 at 3:44 pm MST

These gifts were made for very close neighbor friends of ours.. not just neighbors we barely talk to. 🙂

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sdsmom June 26, 2020 at 4:13 pm MST

Love! This is adorable! We usually host a 4th get together and are not this year so I might use your idea. Kids will love making and receiving this! Also everything can be sanitized so I think it’s totally safe! Thanks for sharing. ❤️❤️❤️

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Dara June 26, 2020 at 6:43 pm MST

Amy, this is a lovely and thoughtful idea. I recently splurged on some extra foam hand soaps at Bath & Body Works and Ulta, and I think I’ll surprise a few neighbors with a porch drop-off of that VERY in-demand product as a holiday treat!

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Lemonia June 26, 2020 at 7:32 pm MST

Wonderful idea! Especially at this time when people might be feeling down that need a little pick me up or kids that can’t celebrate birthdays!!

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DeborahMc June 26, 2020 at 10:31 pm MST

I think this is an awesome idea for the kids to enjoy and have a little 4th of July fun without breaking the bank. Very inexpensive but filled with fun. Times right now are difficult for many and I think anything we can do to put a smile on a child’s face is great. Thanks for a great idea for my neighbor’s kids and my grandkids.

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redsoxgirl June 27, 2020 at 2:58 pm MST

You could do it anonymously and not include to do it for someone else. I’ll bet some elderly neighbors would love this! I am thinking some decor items…our dollar store had the cutest things the other day! Thanks for the inspiration!

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Melissa L. June 29, 2020 at 12:52 pm MST

So sweet! Love it!

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Csandst1 July 3, 2020 at 10:08 am MST

CDC has never said to sanitize anything received outside your home—includes boxes, gifts and groceries.

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