Save money and have a ton of fun with backyard games and outdoor activities that don’t require electricity, special equipment, or extensive planning.

All-age yard games like croquet give everyone a chance to have fun together.

RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—Many of us here in the U.S. of A. are looking forward to a little extra time off in celebration of Independence Day, and making plans to get together with family and friends for some good food and good times this weekend. It’s a holiday that’s greener than it may seem. After all, the day doesn’t call for gift giving, card sending—and the associated paper waste—or mass consumption of oversugared treats. And as we spend a little time considering our country’s 233 years of existence, I think it’s worth bringing back some of the celebratory traditions that I, and maybe you, remember from the days before iPods, the Internet, and DVDs.

Noise Solutions
Celebrating the Fourth of July as a kid was all about eating, making as much noise as we could, and waving legions of sparklers around once it was finally deemed time to light them by our parents. I have fond memories of the smell of cap gun caps, which we used in toy pistols if we had them, but more often than not we stretched the pink paper ribbons out on the curb and whacked them industriously with a hammer. As we got older we moved onto making some more serious noise with a Big-Bang cannon. These classic cast-metal toys made a quite sizable boom, and a bit of a flash out the barrel. But they didn’t shoot anything. You may be able to find one at a local hobby store, or take advantage of free rush shipping at the company’s website bigbangcannons.com to make your very own loud, but safe, cannonade this year.

Giving kids permission to be loud for a day—outside—is a great way to keep them occupied, and off the couch. If there will be a bunch of small children (or young-at-heart adults), stock up on party noisemakers to keep them happily entertained. My favorite noisemaker was always a kazoo. If you can hum you can play a kazoo like a pro, and a bunch of kazooers makes a joyful noise, if I ever heard one! Your local party store is sure to have a selection of plastic ones, and maybe even longer-lasting metal ones, which can get tucked away for the next festive occasion. And if all else fails, give each kid a metal pot and a wooden spoon, or two pot lids, and tell them to make as much totally free noise as they can!

Squirts for Squirts
No hot-weather outdoor get-together would be complete without some flying water! Squirt guns and water balloons provide hours of fun and healthy exercise for kids of all ages. When I was little, we always had little plastic pistols that shot a tiny stream a few feet, took forever to reload, and wore out your finger (and themselves) rather quickly—though we had plenty of fun with them anyway. When my kids were young, we chanced on something called a Dip Stick—basically a big syringe made out of plain old PVC pipe—that took water battles to a new level. They shot a generous amount of water a considerable distance, reloaded from any bucket (or pool or lake) as fast as they discharged, didn’t wear out your trigger finger, and lasted for years (no moving parts), despite being stepped on and dropped repeatedly). They are now called Stream Machines and come in bright colors and have pistol grips for more comfortable streaming. Order a case, as we did for a family reunion years ago, and let the fun begin! Or head to the hardware store and make one; it’s a great little family project. All you need are some lengths of PVC pipe and rubber gaskets; you can find plans all over the Web. (PVC is not very environmentally friendly, but these sturdy squirters can last for many years and take the place of dozens of “super soakers” that will break down in a single summer. Recycle them when they’re finally worn out.)