All you need to know to plan your very own Children's Bike Parade--a fun activity for the 4th of July or neighborhood party. You'll also learn how to create a balloon arch for $20!
HOW TO HOST A 4TH OF JULY BIKE PARADE
Having your own bike parade is such a fun activity to kick off the 4th of July or any other time you want to gather friends and neighbors!
My husband and I have hosted a kid's bike parade for many years now, so I'm super excited to share all the tips and tricks we've learned to make your bicycle parade a success! (Plus the fact that our neighbors ask us if we are going to host it every year is a pretty good sign that we are doing something right!)
ELEMENTS OF A KIDS' BIKE PARADE
The gist of a bike parade is this:
- Round up the children in your neighborhood on the 4th of July. It's super festive on the 4th, but a birthday bike parade could be fun, too.
- Get the word out. Deliver invitations or send a text invite.
- Let each child decorate a bike, scooter, tricycle or anything they can ride. They can come with their bikes decorated or decorate them at the party.
- Keep it simple by sticking to the parade and serve up a simple breakfast along with it.
BIKE PARADE DECORATIONS
The great thing about hosting a neighborhood bike parade is that you won't need a lot of decorations.
However, you can make this fun balloon arch for just $20! It will make such a huge statement at your celebration. Plus kids will love riding their bikes through it.
Now, before you say to yourself that making a balloon arch is too complicated, let me assure you that it's much easier than you think!
I've written a detailed Balloon Arch Step-By-Step Guide here. Plus, your balloon arch will only cost $20 to make. And that includes balloons!
DECORATE BIKES AND SCOOTERS
Half the fun of a bike parade (besides riding through the balloon arch of course 🙂 ) is looking at all the decorate bikes. Especially if your bike parade is on the 4th of July, you'll love seeing all the red, white and blue adorn the bikes. It seriously makes for one festive morning.
Here's some bike decorating ideas for parade from kids in our neighborhood:
4TH OF JULY BIKE PARADE DECORATION IDEAS:
Wondering how to decorate bike for parade? The sky is the limit for bike decorations, but here's a few our favorite decoration ideas:
- red, white, and blue crepe paper
- mini American flags
- red, white, and blue bows
- Patriotic decor from the dollar store
- bells tied with red, white, and blue ribbons
- balloons
- red, white and blue star garland
OTHER BIKE PARADE IDEAS!
- Have a flag ceremony at the start of your breakfast and bicycle parade
- Play this Patriotic Playlist
- Have a parent's parade/candy toss. Have all the children sit on the curb and the parents can throw out candy as they walk by.
- Give all the children squirt guns and let them get the dads wet.
HOW DOES THE PARADE WORK?
Here's how to manage the parade:
- We had all the children park their bikes/scooters at "Bike parking" during the breakfast.
- Before the parade started, we had all the kids line up under the balloon arch for a big sendoff.
- They rode the "course" twice, and by course, I mean just a few times around the block where we could see them.
- They finished by riding back under the balloon arch.
- After the parade, we did a parent's candy toss. We had all the children line up along the curb and the parents walked down the street throwing candy to the kids.
MAKE IT A POTLUCK BREAKFAST!
Have everyone over early for a potluck breakfast! Your breakfast doesn't need to be anything fancy.
Don't stress it! You can go all out with a big breakfast or keep it really simple and make it potluck style! If you go the potluck route, tell everyone to bring their favorite breakfast food!
PATRIOTIC BREAKFAST IDEAS:
- French toast served with blueberries, strawberries, and our favorite buttermilk syrup
- Pancakes,eggs and bacon
- Keep it simple by having everyone bring their favorite breakfast item!
- Red, White, and Blueberry Parfaits
- American Flag Waffles
DON'T FORGET:
- paper plates, napkins, cutlery, cups
- bottled water, juice, milk, chocolate milk, etc.
- garbage can, garbage bags
I hope these ideas have helped you feel confident to throw a super fun children's bike parade!
If you have any questions, shoot me an email ([email protected]) or leave a comment and I'll get back to you!
And don't forget to tag me @sofestive on Instagram so I can feature you!
Pin this for easy reference later! Happy Parading!
Jennifer says
I am planning a neighborhood 4th of July Bike Parade and this article was perfect. Thanks!
melissa says
I'm so glad! Let me know if you need any other help!
Meighan says
This was so helpful as I’m planning our first neighborhood bike parade!! Thanks for the tips! 🇺🇸
melissa says
I'm so glad! I hope it turned out well!
Steph says
We are planning a street party in early September that will begin with a decorated bike parade and the neighbours lining the street. With many new families on the street, we need an easy ,inexpensive way to identify each participant as we plan to have 3 impartial judges ( ie those without a child participating) and award the top 3 a simple prize,
The street will be blocked off . Following the parade there will be a BYOD potluck BBQ, , a variety of games and activities for the children, possibly a karaoke machine,
We are in the early planning stages, and very much appreciate any ideas and advice in general and hope for good weather. THANKS!