Book Club Kit: Americana-Themed
- Grace Lakin
- Jul 19
- 4 min read
Updated: Jul 20
Red, white, and BOOKS! We have barbecues, we have lake trips, we have pool days, we have fireworks--why can't we have patriotic book clubs in July? We can. We totally can, and here's exactly how to do it.
Book pick:
Red, White, and Rodeo by Cassandra Joelle
When I plan a book club, I like to go all out. I'm talking themed decor, place settings, table-scapes, food, and drinks. I also think it's fun to include an activity or a hands-on craft. However, because most book clubs run around two hours, you probably won't have time to do everything I suggest. So please don't feel like you have to!
This is the beauty of planning. This is your event. Curate it how you want. And if you start feeling overwhelmed or stressed out, just take a step back. Cut a few things out. Delegate something to someone else. It should never be stressful. Except for that one crazy hour before it starts (brace yourself now, there's no getting around that one).
Let's start with the food. One thing to remember if you do start to feel overwhelmed, potluck style is always a good idea and is often the easiest!
Food Ideas
Most Effort: Full-On Cookout
Burgers, hot dogs, ribs, grilled corn
Sides: potato salad, potato chips, beans
Medium Effort: Patriotic Charcuterie Board
Cut cheese into stars with cookie cutters, include blue corn chips, patriotic colored M&Ms.
Another idea: Arrange your charcuterie board to look like a flag with red berries for the red stripes, white cheese for the white stripes, and blueberries for the stars. Get creative!
Low Effort: Watermelon Salad and Chips and Dip
Remember: Potluck is always a great idea!
Dessert Ideas:
Flag Cake (Recipe from Betty Crocker)
Sugar Cone Ice Cream Sundae Bar
Iced Patriotic Cookies
Popsicles
Now for drinks, which is one of my favorite parts! Coming up with a special, themed drink is one of the easiest ways to pull out a theme. It can even be as simple as choosing a soda brand that matches your color scheme.
Drink Ideas:
Bomb Pop Mocktail
Mix blue Gatorade, Sprite, and a splash of Grenadine
Garnish with a Bomb Pop popsicle and a cherry
Tip: Keep the popsicles in an ice bucket or small cooler and let guests garnish their own drinks. This will keep the popsicles from melting too quickly. Plus, your guests will find it fun to dress up their little drink themselves! You could even create a fun, patriotic drink station.
Tip: For this drink, you'll definitely want clear glassware to see the pretty colors. Mason jars or stemless wine glasses would work great. Consider purchasing patriotic straws like these to offer as well.
Craft time! Okay, as an avid crafter, this is always so fun for me. Crafts are a great way to get everyone excited with a hands-on activity. And it's so much fun to see everyone's creativity come out. If you're short on time, consider making the icebreaker an easy craft. You also can do a craft while discussing book questions.
Craft Ideas:
Paint Wooden Stars
Acrylic paints
Wooden stars
Include embellishments such as glitter and gemstones (may need glue)
Make Pinwheels
Printed napkins
Book pages or scrapbook paper
Wooden bead or button
Wooden dowel (optional)
DIY Book Page Origami Star
Paper
Other fun ideas: gluing beads and gems to sunglasses...hydrangea painting on mini canvases...decorating patriotic headbands...hydrangea floral arranging...make patriotic windsocks.
If you have time, lighting sparklers is totally on theme and so much fun!
Decor Time!
I think people sometimes get overwhelmed with the thought of decor and shrink back. But decor really can be so simple!
Flowers (fresh or faux) go a long way, and hydrangeas are the perfect choice for a 4th of July book club. Consider tying patriotic ribbon around a vase to zhuzh it up.
Table confetti also adds a little bit of color and shine. You can sprinkle it literally anywhere and everywhere. Those cheapy plastic beaded necklaces are great table decor as well.
Purchase printed, themed ribbon and tie bows everywhere. I like to do this on wreaths, chair backs, vases, cabinets, anything!
Tip: Printed ribbon can get expensive, so I try to buy holiday ribbon when it goes on sale and save it for the next year.
Another great way to add pizzazz is including books in your decor. Place a vase of flowers on top of a stack of books. Tear pages out and use them as table decor. Open a variety of books and display them around. Put beaded necklaces or confetti in the center of an open book.
For linens--consider stripes, dots, or gingham for a picnicky all-American vibe!
I hope this helped you plan a super fun Americana book club this 4th of July! You can see the TLDR version on my Instagram.
A Quick Note: All my posts are written by me. Any em dashes, semi-colons, and the like all come from my own head and heart. :)
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