Stranded! (Drive-In Not Included)

I’m stranded. Stuck. Marooned in the middle of the city with a holiday in the middle of the week. Yes, July 4th, I’m talking to you. Had to be on a Wednesday, didn’t you? Couldn’t find a way to happen on either a Tuesday or a Thursday, giving us poor salary-people a long, luxurious four-day weekend? Heck, I’d have settled for a three-day weekend!

No, those silly vagaries of the calendar let Independence Day fall smack dab in the middle of the week. The Powers That Be that run my office won’t succumb to our pleas for a five-day weekend, so I wave goodbye to my plans of days spent sitting on the beach, reading, sipping frosty beverages or icy cold beers, watching the fireworks over the ocean when the sun goes down.

I can’t let this holiday go unnoticed, though. Like Tom Hanks making friends with a bloody volleyball in Castaway, I will make plans. A summer barbeque with nary a grill in sight, I’m coercing my friend Ali into hosting a Fourth-a-Palooza for those of us without the time to get away. And with red, white, and blue the obvious party themes, I’m prepared to go all out.

Décor.

Sure, people can hang a flag and think themselves set, and bunting’s more appropriate for a car dealership than a small New York City one-bedroom apartment, but we won’t let that stop us. Think navy fabric with stark white cocktail napkins, and a bowl of red apples for a centerpiece. Don’t have or can’t afford a linen tablecloth? Run down to your nearest crafts store and buy a couple of yards of navy cotton to throw across a table. Want something a little more fancy? Arrange red roses with blue hydrangeas in a tight, short arrangement, or wrap white dinner napkins (paper or linen, if you want to go all out. We’re party planners to every budget!), with red ribbon leftover from Christmas gifts.

And who doesn’t like balloons? Grab an assortment in red, white, and blue, and tie them in clusters to your existing home furnishings. Why splurge on helium when you’ve already got a perfectly good standing lamp in the corner? And there’s no need to go all out—ask your guests to bring party decorations in the form of their own selves, wearing red, white or blue. They don’t need to pick up this year’s version of the holiday tee from Old Navy when blue jeans and a white T-shirt will work perfectly well. A fun pair of red heels with a white skirt and a red and white striped tank top just scream “festive!”