According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), over 7,000 people reported injuries from fireworks in 2008.  Considering that’s almost twice the size of my whole town, that seems like a pretty impressive number to me.  Of those 7,000, 7 died.

The CPSC emphasizes that these are not the big, professionally done blow-outs that mark Independence Day, New Year, and other big holidays and special occasions.  Those are done by…well, professionals, who pretty much know what they’re doing.

No, those injuries are being caused by the amateurs, the ones lighting off explosives on their back patio and putting sparklers out with their fingertips.  however, even if so many of those injuries are caused by carelessness, they still hurt.  So, the CPSC has come up with some guidelines to help you–and your kids, especially–have a safe and fun Indepenence Day.

• Check to see if fireworks are even legal in your area.  They never were where I grew up, but where I live now, they are.  It took me about five years to figure that out, though.

• Children must always be supervised when fireworks are involved!  And never let children light the fuses of fireworks themselves.  Those things move fast!

• Read the directions and follow all the warnings!  Believe it or not, you can do this wrong.

• Be sure other people are out of range before you light one.  That’s fire coming out of that tube.

• Light your fireworks on a smooth, flat surface, away from overhands, dry leaves and flammable materials.  It doesn’t seem like people should have to be told this, but at least 7,000 of them do.

• If a firework fizzles or duds, don’t try to relight it.  It might blow up in your face.

• Keep a bucket of water close by in case something catches on fire or someone gets burned.  It will also help you make sure your site is secured before you go in.

• Be aware that sparklers can catch clothes on fire!  They seem harmless, but they must be watched carefully!

Keep these safety tips, use some common sense, and make this a holiday to remember for the right reasons. 

This idea works for everyone, because it really doesn’t have anything to do with Easter.  And even if you don’t celebrate Easter, or you’ll celebrate it this coming Sunday instead of yesterday, the ingredients for this activity are cheap and will soon be cheaper, as egg-coloring kits go on clearance all over. 

Kids love to color and decorate eggs.  They make intricate designs with that white wax crayon, then wait patiently while holding an egg half in one color, only to turn it and hold it patiently half in another color.  And if your house is anything like ours, your kids like to color hard-boiled eggs much more than they like to eat them. 

But seeing how cheap eggs, vinegar, and dyeing kits are, why not stock upon these supplies and color some eggs at other times of the year, too?  For example, if you only use the red and blue tablets, you can have red, white and blue eggs for Independence Day.  Then if, kids don’t eat them, you can make egg salad or deviled eggs from them for that family picnic. 

How about orange and green colored eggs for Halloween?  Brown and yellow for Thanksgiving?  Red and green for Christmas?  Purple and pink for Valentine’s?  Purple and green for Mardi Gras?  Even if they don’t eat them all, you still haven’t spent very much money, and they get potentially hours of enjoyment decorating them. 

So, the next time you’re at the store, pick up a few of those egg coloring kits on clearance.  Pull them out in the middle of summer for some special occasion, or for now reason at all.  It will give your kids a creative, inexpensive activity, and bring a little more color into everyone’s life.