Dear Friends,

As we gear up for the Fourth of July celebrations, today’s Dish is brimming with my Itinerary, Menus, and Recipes for the entire week. In addition, you’ll find Style Points, Tips & Quips, and Sources & Resources to make your table and home sparkle with patriotic cheer.

Our family loves July 4th! We gather with each other and with friends to celebrate at Grandfather every year. In addition to a few meals out, we will enjoy many wonderful meals at home. Planning, prepping, and preparing ahead ensures no one is in the kitchen when we’d rather be on the golf course!

I keep our Itinerary, GamePlan, Menus, etc. in the Notes function on my phone. Every year I copy the previous year’s lists to use as my template for the current year … such a time saver! From there I add, delete, edit to reflect this year’s plans. I then email the itinerary to our family so everyone is in the know. I also post the itinerary on the fridge along with a friendly reminder that the speed limit in the club is 20MPH. 🙂 Also on the refrigerator is the “I Emptied the Dishwasher” list. This may be one of my most brilliant ideas of all time. Once that list goes up everyone wants to get their name on it and I never empty the dishwasher the entire week.

Below you will see our “July 4th GamePlan” with Menus and Recipes that you can access. Most of the recipes can be prepped or prepared in advance. You will see the “To-Do List” which shows you how I will do as much as possible before everyone arrives. I will also make my grocery list in Notes. This will also be effortless as I simply copy and paste the ingredients needed into Notes from the EE Recipes online. For those of you who have the guide, you too can do this! If you have a guide and don’t have an online login, please email Jenny Mey at meyranary@gmail.com to set that up for you.

In addition to using the Notes function on your phone, we’ve provided a PDF below that will help you get started. In your EE guide and online, you also have a generic Shopping List that you can print. See Charts in Sources & Resources.

Step Nine in Effortless Entertaining,
“Plan Your Work and Work Your Plan.”

With good planning and prep, our July 4^th gatherings can truly be … effortless!

From our home to yours,

DeeDee@MyEffortlessEntertaining.com

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July 4^th GamePlan   🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

Remember, this is the template I use every year — copied and pasted from one year to the next in the Notes app. Also helpful when using Notes is that everything is synced to my laptop and iPad.

Printer-friendly Fillable One-Week GamePlan*

*Best filled out in your Web-browser or Adobe Acrobat

Signature Cocktails

• Jalapeño Cucumber Limeade
• Dalrymple Brown Derby 
• Liz’s Margarita 
• St. Germaine Martini
• Old Fashioned
• Cosmos

On Your Own

What to Wear and What to Pack

What to Pack

• Jacket (no tie), long sleeve dress shirts, cute tops, casual dresses, jeans
• Workout clothes, hiking, and tennis clothes
• Golf clothes, shoes, clubs
• Bathing suits
• Wraps, Sweaters

Note: Club is allowing jeans for dining on the patio. We still prefer long sleeve shirts and jackets for men on the weekends even with jeans.

To-Do List

Printer-friendly Fillable Shopping List*

*Best filled out in your Web-browser or Adobe Acrobat

Style Points Shop the Creatives!
Lemondaisy Designs available here: Patriotic Sea Life | Multi Color Golf Bag Cart	Cheerful Baker available here: Cookie Cutter and Stencil Set + Bag Tags | Class + Cookie Cutter Set	Elizabeth Delphine Embroidery Follow on Instagram
Stars, Stripes, and Confetti!  Shop for July 4th  lanterns, hats, pinwheels, bunting and more … Have fun!
Budweiser Cowboy Hat available here	Pleated Fan Flag | Star Lanterns | Blue Lanterns | Flag Pinwheels | Assorted Pinwheels	Table Confetti USA Stars & Flags | Large Stars | Small Stars

Tips & Quips
Without question, one of my best ideas EVER! I never had to ask anyone to empty the dishwasher … Everyone wanted to make sure they added their name!	In every guest bath, I place Makeup towels. These are a win-win for host and guest — no fretting for anyone about makeup on your white hand towels! Available here

Sources & Resources Setting the Table
Pomegranate Red Tablecloth | Red Napkin | Blue Bamboo Tablecloth | Red Scalloped Placemat	Red & Blue Kitchen Towels available here	4th of July Napkins available here	Vintage Georges Briard Lowball Rock Glasses available here

Votives
Assorted Blue Votives available here	Red and Blue Votives available here	Hurricane Votives available here

More Votives!