The 4th of July is a time for family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers to come together, grill out, bond, and hang out over drinks. It’s just beyond the middle of summer, which makes a lot of people feel like it’s high time to get their partying done for the summer before work kicks back in and there’s less time for holidays in the near future.

One thing I’m absolutely stoked for this upcoming weekend is visiting my fiancee’s family’s lakehouse for a few days. It’s the perfect place to stay and hang out for 4th of July Weekend simply because there are a lot of people out and about at the lake, it’s the best place to soak up rays on the water, and it feels like a little vacation away from home despite being just an hour or so away.

So, since I’ll be heading down there for a few days in just under a week, I’ve been checking things off my list for packing in order to enjoy the few days I spend there. Because once I’m there, there’s no going back to get other clothes or chargers or anything essential.

At the top of my list rests alcohol. I don’t want to have to make any trips to the store if I don’t have to, so I’d rather have everything I need drinks wise down there at the lake with me. And when it comes to alcohol, you’d rather have more than you need opposed to less than needed simply because you’ll want to do nothing but hang out, drink, and hang out some more. Driving somewhere for more is the last thing anyone wants to do.

I’ll also be bringing some basic shipping supplies along with me for fireworks later that night. Why shipping supplies? Well, if you take cheap cardboard boxes and break them down. From there, I like to take packing tape and “attach” mortar bases to the cardboard to have a stable base for the fireworks. A lot of times, people will put mortars in their little bases and shoot them off, but with unstable bases, they can actually fall and shoot sideways, which is extremely dangerous. So I avoid that buy taping the base down to cardboard for an even more stable grounding in order to keep the fireworks airborne and not aiming at someone on the ground.

All packing for the lake takes is some preparation and regard for safety. If you have those two things checked off your list, well, you’re good to go!