Patriotic Entertaining Ideas

Red, white, and blue carry the day, but this year, let freedom ring. Liberate yourself from banners and bunting.

Show off your own style while celebrating America's diversity. Pick up supplies at paper and fabric stores, ethnic markets, and unusual gift shops. A glue stick and scissors are all you'll need to cut and paste your way to the crafty eye candy here.

Everything else is simply a matter of see-and-do arranging. Follow our lead or improvise with what's on hand.

Make your table decor as elaborate as you please. Maybe an Indian-inspired fabric will bring all the pattern and color you need. If not, top it with a solid-color table runner. Want more? Use a star punch to fancy-up a 7-inch band of decorative white paper. See what we mean by choices?

While at the supermarket, pick your posies. For red blooms, look for dahlias (shown), roses, zinnias, cosmos, and scarlet salvia; for white blossoms, choose Queen Anne's lace (shown), chrysanthemums, cosmos, or phlox. For the blue? Count on a vase to add that hue.

With Asian-style plates, bamboo cutlery, and a stamped-tin star from Mexico, this pastiche of inexpensive tableware from different cultures celebrates the many faces of America. Tuck in a true-blue napkin and tie it all together with a patriotic ribbon.

Just as Lady Liberty beckoned newcomers to America, these chair banners make everyone feel welcome. They're easy to make using a computer, paper or fabric, scissors, and glue or adhesive.