Creating a parade float for your 4th of July parade is a snap using these tips and great decorating basics. It will take planning and hard work, but with the right committee and easy to use materials you’ll have a blast building your float!
A good place to start is the Building a Parade Float book, filled with tons of great tips, how-to’s, sketches, and more to help you with every stage of your building. Once you’ve formed your float committee, brainstorm some float slogan or theme ideas. Here are some basic patriotic slogans:
· Freedom Rings at Allen High!
· Panthers Are Proud to be Americans!
· An All-American Homecoming
· Red, White & Blue Forever
· Stars & Stripes Forever
· Hooray for the USA!
· God Bless America
· United We Stand
· United by Spirit
· Ignite the Spirit of America!
Some patriotic decorations seem obvious, such as American flags, the Statue of Liberty, Eagles, stars, or red, white and blue balloons, but you can add your own unique twist with a catchy slogan or the way you accent or mix and match them. One you have these ideas, the next thing you will want to do is make a sketch of your float. This will help you when you go to build it! Include the placement of your slogan, colors, and decorations. For instance, if you want the fringe to be brown and the trim to be red, label this on your sketch.
Any combination of these decorating ideas will have your float looking fabulous in time for the parade. 
- Make a giant American flag from chicken wire (available at hardware stores) with red, white, and blue Tissue Pomps. The flag can be a square measuring approximately 4’ high x 4’ wide. Attach the 4’ x 4’ chicken wire to a wooden frame and stuff the wire with pomps to make the U.S. flag.
- Add a Statue of Liberty made of chicken wire and tissue pomps. The statue should measure approximately 7’ high x 18” wide. Cut the chicken wire in the shape of the statue (it can be as simple as you’d like) and stuff the wire with metallic silver or gray tissue pomps. Use metallic gold pomps for the torch.
- Use some Fireworks decorations around your float for added patriotic flair!
- Inflate lots of Fireworks Balloons with helium and tie them together in bunches with Curling Ribbon. Make four separate bunches of balloons and place one bunch on each corner of your float.
- Have your mascot and some students ride on the float dressed in patriotic hats, waving Flags on Staffs. They can even be tossing red, white, and blue Beads to the crowd! Have someone dressed in a Lady Liberty costume or as Uncle Sam!
- You can also make a giant firefighter hat, police hat or eagle out of chicken wire and tissue pomps.
(Click here for instructions on making an eagle.)These elements would fit a patriotic float very well!
Additional Decoration Ideas
- USA Letter Set
- Patriotic 4’ Star
- Love the USA Column
- Patriotic Garland & Personalized Patriotic Banners
We’d love to see what float ideas you come up with! When you’re done with your float, be sure to enter our Float Design Contest!
