With the Fourth of July just a couple of weeks away, you’ll no doubt be finalizing your plans for getting together with friends and family shortly. One of the biggest questions when organizing an event is, of course, “What foods do we serve?”. Read on to find some suggestions for your Independence Day celebration.

Combining red, white, and blue foods is an ever-popular option for this day’s celebration and this year is expected to be no exception.

Assembling a vegetable, fruit, and cheese board is an attractive, convenient, and delicious way to serve a crowd. To commit to the red, white, and blue theme, the cheese portion of the board can be presented with gouda wrapped in red wax, cubes of white cheddar, and a wedge of blue cheese. Red peppers, cherry tomatoes, cauliflower, white mushrooms, blackberries, and blue carrots all allow you to stick with the colors of the American flag for a creative party platter.

We recommend using toothpicks or party picks for any party tray with bite size pieces. Spear cubes of cheese and deli meat with toothpicks for guests to take from a platter or provide a container of picks for guests to select their own.

Even better than toothpicks are our American Flag Picks. They are more than just being useful on a charcutier board or veggie tray; they can perch atop sandwiches, burgers, or cupcakes as a tiny wave to patriotism.

It might be harder to commit to a red, white, and blue theme with main parts of a meal, but it’s okay to not go overboard! Classic barbeque and picnic items are always a hit with most people. Burgers, both veggie and meat, can be accompanied by plenty of condiments and veggie toppings. Potato and pasta salads, coleslaw, and dips can be made in advance. And a favorite around here is corn chips with cowboy caviar!

Build cutlery bundles by wrapping utensils in a white dinner napkin and securing with either a red or a blue napkin band. Having cutlery and a napkin already bundled together makes it easy for guests to grab one before they sit down with their food.

Create fun, flag inspired skewers by piercing raspberries, blueberries, and mini marshmallows. Berries are a perfect summertime treat, and marshmallows remind us of cozy evenings around a campfire. A great thing about these skewers is that if your berries are washed and dried the night before, they can be made quickly shortly before a party. (We don’t recommend assembling them the night before as the moisture from the berries might affect the marshmallows if assembled too far in advance.)

No party, indoor or out, is complete without refreshing drinks. Cans of soda or bottles of water and juice can be kept in coolers or large tubs filled with ice. Drinks like lemonade and homemade punch serve well from large drink dispensers. If you’re feeling in the mood for a more elaborate drink, head on over to our sibling site, EnviroTakeout, for some mocktail ideas.