Throughout the summer months, Americans celebrate several patriotic holidays. On the last Monday in May, we recognize Memorial Day and remember those that have fallen while serving our country in the military. June 14 is the day we celebrate Flag Day and pay tribute to this symbol of America. And every Fourth of July, we celebrate our independence as a nation on Independence Day. The flag is a traditional symbol, not only for the United States but all countries around the world. It can be a sign of victory or a sign of allegiance.

When celebrating these holidays, it's not uncommon to find friends and families gathered outdoors at a barbecue or other get together. Traditionally, everyone makes a dish, and brings it to share with the other guests. You may be interested to learn how to make flag cupcakes that you can bring to your summer gathering. Prefessional cake decorating skils are certainly not required for this project. You'll simply need a little patience and creativity. There are many different ways in which you can create and decorate flag cupcakes. This guide will offer ideas an tips for making a festive dessert that will be fitting for any gathering. Before getting starting, you'll need to have an idea of how many guests there will be, so that you can adjust your servings accordingly. Also, be sure to have all the necessary ingredients for baking and decorating the cupcakes, prior to getting started. Once you've set up your kitchen, you're ready to get baking.

The ideas for decorating cupcakes are only as limited as your imagination. Once the cupcakes have completely cooled, it's time to transform them from ordinary cupcakes to festive desserts. If you have an overwhelming task of preparing all of them yourself, this is certainly an activity that many children would enjoy helping out with. Before you begin, have all your decorations, frosting and tools ready and available for you, so you do not have to stop and go searching for them in the middle of decorating. There are so many sweet items that can be used to make flag cupcakes, it may be hard to choose only a few. Here are some ideas for decorating flag cupcakes.

1. Using a white frosting as a base, you can design a simple flag by making red and blue frosting with food coloring. Place red frosting into a pastry bag, and pipe a few lines onto the cupcake, leaving a blank square on the upper left hand side. Then use the blue frosting and make a square. To be extra creative, you can use a white colored sugar and just sprinkle a little onto the blue square to give it the appearance of stars. http://www.marthastewart.com/article/flag-cupcakes
2. Candies come in a variety of colors. You can use red licorice to make the stripes, and blue M&M's for the star portion of the flag.
3. For a 3D look, you can make flags and stick them into a colorful cupcake. Either using preprinted paper, or letting the children draw little flags cut out the flag and wrap it around a toothpick and place it into the center of the cupcake.http://cupcakestakethecake.blogspot.com/2009/04/fly-your-cupcake-flag-high.html
4. The decorations aren't the only things that can be festive. The cupcake itself can be colored by starting with a white cake mix, and adding red or blue food coloring. Then, frost the cupcakes in alternative colors. Or use a red velvet cake mix to add a little extra creativity.
5. Try red, white and blue sprinkles or colored sugar. You can easily find a flag stencil in most local craft stores. This will allow you to place the candies on the cupcake in a controlled design.

To begin making flag cupcakes, you'll need to decide which flavor cake you'd like to use. There are many different flavors available in store bought cake mix. Not only is using store bought mix a time saver, it also allows novice bakers the chance to create unique flavors that may be more difficult to prepare from scratch. Keep in mind that one store bought mix yields between 24 and 30 cupcakes, and you may need to prepare additional batches if the number of guests attending the get together is larger than this quantity, or if you'd like to have a few left over to take home and enjoy. You will also need a few key items to get started.http://www.bettycrocker.com/tips/tipslibrary/baking-tips/how-to-make-cupcakes

1. Pan, preferably a cupcake or muffin pan to keep the shape of the cupcakes.
2. Festive paper baking cups of any style.
3. Tools for decorating the cupcakes such as pastry bags, clear plastic storage bags, spatula.
4. Any items that you'll be using to decorate such as frosting, candies, sprinkles, colored sugar or icing.

Following the instruction provided on the box, mix the cupcake batter and bake accordingly. Once the cupcakes have been removed from the oven, be sure to allow them approximately 30 minutes to cool. This will make decorating easier. Also, if you are going to store the cupcakes before decorating them, use a loose storage lid. Creating an air tight seal will cause the tops of the cupcakes to have moisture that will make them tacky and could make decorating a challenge. http://www.bettycrocker.com/tips/tipslibrary/baking-tips/how-to-make-cupcakes

An alternative to creating individual cupcakes, is to create a cupcake cake. This is made by placing cupcakes into a desired form and decorating them to create a whole cake, rather than individual desserts. Because of the simplicity of a flag shape, this can be done very easily with cupcakes. Below are two ideas for flag cupcake cakes.

1. Arrange your cupcakes into a flag shape, or a simple rectangle.
2. Begin with a white frosting, and cover the cake entirely.
3. Do not frost each cupcake individually, rather in one sheet. By using a thicker frosting, you'll be able to accommodate the valleys that are present between each of them. By frosting them in this way, you are giving the appearance that it is a solid sheet cake. #Once you have an appropriate base, you can decorate the flag in any manner you choose.
4. Try using fruit, namely blueberries and strawberries.
5. Place the blueberries in the upper left hand corner to form the square of stars.
6. Then slice the strawberries and place them in rows, alternating with a row of plain white frosting.http://blisstree.com/feel/cupcake-flag-for-summer-parties/

If you prefer to decorate each cupcake individually and then assemble your flag cake, you can do this quite easily. http://www.pastrywiz.com/cakes/4ofjulycupcakes.htm

1. First arrange your cupcakes in the shape of a flag.
2. Determine how many will make up the blue star portion of the flag.
3. These cupcakes should alternate colors of blue and white.
4. Then do the same for the stripe portion, frosting one row white, and the other red.
5. For a little extra decoration, use colored sugar to highlight each of them.