Beyonce kept attendees entertained on a video screen. (Courtesy Photo: Heidi Gutman/NBC)

New York City - If ever there was a reason to leave the Hamptons on Fourth of July, watching the fireworks from Macy's own VIP press party would be it.

Beyonce entertained on a video screen, while Brad Paisley performed live, and NBC's Nick Lachey hosted the evening. So, we took our leave of the Southampton Parade, the annual Jack and Isabel Biderman viewing corner and Jeannette Hektoen and Neill Slaughter after party barbeque, and skipped back to New York. Our press badges got us past several friendly police checkpoints and into the Lighthouse at Pier 61.

"Every year we like to pick a new spot for our party," Macy's Media Relations Group VP Robin Reibel told us. "Last year we were on the Norwegian Epic cruise ship, and the year before that we were on the Intrepid, both several stories high. This year, we'll be at sea level, right under the fireworks." Up or under, we were assured, this was one of the best vantage points to see the nation's biggest and best fireworks.

There, directly on the Hudson, Macy's had provided the ultimate Fourth of July spread: hamburgers, veggie burgers, hot dogs, fried chicken, really good potato and macaroni salads, cole slaw, and more. Then dessert: yummy brownies, oatmeal/chocolate chip cookies, chocolate covered strawberries, and passed around ice cream and frozen fruit bars.

Robin Cofer enjoys the evening and the beautiful sky. (Lee Fryd)

It all led up to the main event - 27 minutes of thrilling, muscular, pyrothechnic display, spread across the Hudson River on six barges. When we finished hugging and marveling at the great nation we live in, Hamptonite Robin Cofer and I wondered, what could all this possibly have cost?

"We'll never tell," Martine Reardon, Executive Vice President of Marketing and Advertising for Macy's, said sweetly. "It's our gift to the city. When you give a gift to someone, do you tell them what it cost?"

She didn't mind telling us when they will start preparing for next year's display. "Tomorrow," was the answer. "It takes us about a year of really thinking about the right themes, the right music, how to choreograph the fireworks and music together for a really thrilling show, and of course make sure we introduce some new exciting elements every 4th.

"This year is a tribute to the 10 year anniversary of 9/11 as well as the 125th Anniversary of the Statue of Liberty," Reardon continued. "So, our theme is freedom."

We were feeling very free and happy as we left. Yet, there was one more thing that was free - a beautiful picnic goodie bag with matching Macy's Martha Stewart outdoor summer table settings, wine glasses, placemats, flatwear and corkscrew. For the final farewell? A chocolate mint ganache handed to us at the exit. Happy Birthday, America - and many more!