Hunting around for one or two clever and inexpensive 4th of July decorating ideas to help with planning your Independence Day party? For the Fourth, it should be easy! This is one holiday that has several prominent themes that can help get you started creating the ideal party backdrop. Think back to your lessons about American history, and images like the Statue of Liberty and soaring bald eagles start forming. And then of course, there's all that red, white, and blue! It's really all you need.

The truth is creating 4th of July house decorations should be easy... because this casual celebration is not a big "decorating" holiday. People will be focused on food, fun, and friends... so a few little touches will be all it takes to set the mood.

And remember, you'll find lots more decorating ideas, recipes, and more at 4th of July Party Planning Central!

1. Blow Up Some Balloon Decorations

Let's start with some nice and simple 4th of July decorating ideas: balloons! Balloons are an all-time favorite decoration because they're inexpensive and require no real craft ability to use them beautifully. They're also casual and festive and perfect for an outdoors-y holiday like the Fourth.

The Best 4th of July Balloon Decorations: Of course, go with red, white and blue balloons! For a simple accent, tie up bundles of three around the area of your party (one of each color), or on the corners of food tables. Want a little more oomph? Make bigger bundles of red, white, and blue balloons and place them on either side of the door, or create a red, white, and blue balloon arch.

A fun tip: To make the balloon shimmer like fireworks, blow it up and spray it lightly with craft glue. Sprinkle on some glitter and you're done! Fast, easy and the visual impact is a lot of fun. One of my favorite 4th of July decorating ideas for a lot of effect without a lot of effort.

2. Creative Red White and Blue Lighting

One fun idea for 4th of July house decorating is to consider extending your red-white-blue theme to some of your lighting fixtures. Colored bulbs now come in an array of colors for just such an occasion. Don't over do it - you still want GOOD lighting. Just change out a few.

Want to use this 4th of July decorating idea both inside and out? Another great idea is to find strings of twinkle lights in red, white, and blue and line the hedges, a wall, a deck, or whatever suits your fancy. A bonus? Twinkle lights combined with balloons really look pretty, and are perfect for an evening barbeque.

3. Get Festive Flowers for the Fourth

If you've got a few tables set up for people to eat all the delicious 4th of July food you've made, you're probably thinking of how to create some 4th of July table decorations.

For 4th of July table centerpieces, flowers are a great choice. And putting them together can be really simple. Get some fresh seasonal flowers, put them in a vase (line the vase with red, white, and blue ribbon if you like), and add a miniature American flag. Done and done!

4. Sparkle it Up

Want to make your 4th of July food tables look really festive? Dot the tables with star shaped confetti and a little glitter left over from the balloons.

And don't forget the sparklers! A cupful of sparklers placed in the center of the table will give your guests --especially the young ones-- something fun to look forward to all night.

5. Make Your Own Declaration

Are you the crafty type? Then this 4th of July decorating idea might be just up your alley. You can make your own Declaration of Independence from onion skin paper, and use it as a centerpiece or a decorative accent.

How to Do It: To accomplish this, you will need to write on one side of your paper using nice cursive writing- just a few of the words of the Declaration so that the top 1/3 of the paper has writing. Now roll it up and tie it with ribbon (writing-side out, of course). If you want, carefully burn the edges a little bit so it looks antique.

A Fun and Easy Variation: Don't think you can pull off the old-timey handwriting, or don't want to take the time? Find a copy of the Declaration of Independence (here's one!), put it in a nice, curly font, and print it onto paper. Then brush it with strong, brewed tea and let it dry. You have a perfect aged document! Burn the edges, too, if you like.

And to make this 4th of July decorating idea a bit more fun, have every member of your family sign the bottom instead of the founding fathers!

6. Light it Up with Candles

Another 4th of July decorating idea for your table is festive little candles. But don't go for the whole candelabra... you don't want these so large that they block people's view during discussions. Smallish or short red white and blue candleholders or lanterns are a great choice.

A fun tip: If you can find some small square mirrors to put under the candles they'll reflect more light. Don't overlook the value of your nearest Dollar style store for inexpensive decorating and craft supplies.

7. Edible Fruit Decorations for the Fourth

One thing many people don't consider when looking for ideas for 4th of July house decorations is that you can decorate with food!

For an outdoor party, a great 4th of July decoration idea is a fruit bouquet. To make this, you'll want to skewer slices of pineapple, cherries, melon, pear, etc. and then arrange them decoratively in a base of Styrofoam that's been covered with paint so it looks festive. You can get as fancy as you want with this - just remember to have extra skewers ready to fill in the arrangement as the guests eat.

A Fun Variation: Don't want to take the time to cut pieces of watermelon into daisies and tulips? Make a patriotic fruit platter like the one pictured here! It's tasty, easy to put together, and a lot of fun. Better still, make two-- one for each end of the table.

8. Go Inexpensive with Paper

This is one of my 4th of July decorating ideas that you can get the kids to help out with. They've got tons of construction paper tucked away everywhere, right? So use it! With the kiddos, make some cut outs from poster board and construction paper. Making the image of a liberty bell, an Uncle Sam Hat, or red, white and blue stars isn't difficult at all. These can be taped up wherever you wish... you can even tape them to windows, banisters, and onto paper tablecloths.

A Festive Chain Garland: Another use for the construction paper would be to make old-fashioned chain garland. Put the loops together red-white-blue-red-white-blue until you have enough length to cover whatever you want. This is one of the simplest 4th of July decorating ideas if you have an awning or a party tent edge where you want to add some color.

Don't want to make it all yourself? You can pick up lots of inexpensive paper decorations in red white and blue for the 4th of July. From patriotic striped crepe paper to fun red, white, and blue Chinese lanterns, these can be a great way to decorate for the Fourth of July without a lot of fuss or cost.

As you can see, coming up with 4th of July decorating ideas isn't all that difficult! And most of what you DO use to decorate is very affordable. Money you can save for buying your 4th of July party food!

I would also add that at outdoor parties you often don't need a lot of decorations. You have the lovely backdrop of "fruited plains" (figuratively speaking-- which is simple and perfectly fitting for this holiday. So declare a little independence from fussing... pull up a chair, watch the fireworks, and enjoy your guests!