Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Easter Sunday, May Day and Chinese New Year. The year is full of national days and holidays. And we all have our favourites. For my youngest, it’s World Book Day. He loves dressing up and going to school as his favourite book character of the moment. Shrove Tuesday is also a firm favourite in our household…but then I’m sure it is in most. Who doesn’t like pancakes, right?!
But did you know that as well as the usual ones, there are a whole bunch of other days totally worth celebrating? Days like National Popcorn Day, Fish and Chip Supper Day, National Science Day and World Wildlife Day? There’s even a Make a Hat Day and International Pillow Fight Day. Who knew?! Looking at the list of national days in my diary the other day, I realised something. I realised that not only are these days worthy of celebration in their own right, they’re also great inspiration for days out with your kids!
Fun days out with your kids…
Coming up with new ideas on how to spend quality time with our kids can a real challenge, especially in the holidays. But, with national days, the dates are already in the diary! For instance, what better way to celebrate International Forests Day than having a picnic whilst exploring your nearest forest? Or celebrating International Astronomy Day by taking a trip to your local planetarium? Or celebrating World Penguin Day by going to the zoo? See how it works?!
Excited by this idea, I went and made a list of all the national days worthy of celebration and today I’m sharing them with you! Not only have I made a list of all the best and most fun national days, I’ve also included a few ideas on how to turn them into great days out. Use this list whenever you need a bit of inspiration and never again will you be stumped for ideas of days out with your kids!
What’s on the list?
So, what exactly is on the list? Below are all the dates for February and March. Not all the days are British, but who says we can’t take inspiration from the rest of the world?! Want to know what’s on the list for the rest of the year? I’ve created a FREE printable that has every month on it, PLUS lots of ideas to get you started AND space for you to write down your own ideas too! Simply enter your details below…
Here are February and March:
February:
- 4th – Superbowl Sunday
- 5th – World Nutella Day
- 8th – Kite Flying Day
- 9th – National Pizza Day
- 11th – World Marriage Day
- 13th – Shrove Tuesday
- 14th Valentine’s Day
- 16th – National Almond Day
- 16th – Chinese New Year
- 17th – Random Acts of Kindness
- 19th – Chocolate Mint Day
- 24th – National Tortilla Chip Day
- 24th – Real Bread Week
- 28th – National Science Day
March:
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- 1st – World Book Day
- 2nd – Old Stuff Day
- 3rd – World Wildlife Day
- 4th – International Scrapbook Day
- 5th – British Pie Week
- 7th – Cereal Day
- 9th – British Science Week
- 11th – Mother’s Day
- 14th – Learn About Butterflies Day
- 15th – Absolutely Incredible Kids Day
- 21st – International Forests Day
- 23rd – National Chip and Dip Day
- 30th – Good Friday
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Turning national days into family fun…
The best part of using national days as inspiration for family fun? They help you to be more intentional about the time you spend together as a family. Not only do they work well as inspiration for days out with your kids, they’re great for coming up with ideas on how to spend time at home too. And there’s no rule saying you have to celebrate them on the day they take place either. If the day has already passed, or it takes place on a weekday, save it for that coming weekend. That way your weekend is taken care of and you have something to look forward to. It’s a win-win!
Here are just some of the ways to use national days to your advantage:
- January 19th was National Popcorn Day. Movie night at home anyone?
- April 14th is Look at the Sky Day. How about a spot of stargazing? Or laying on the ground to see what shapes you can see in the clouds?
- April 30th kicks off National Gardening week. Give your kids their own patch in the garden. Choose and plant plants together. Don’t have a garden? Make a herb planter for the kitchen windowsill instead.
- May 5th is Comic Day. Take your kids to the library and choose some comic books together. Or let them use their pocket money to buy a comic of their choice. Take them to your local coffee shop and read it together over a hot chocolate and brownie.
- Use the food-related days as inspiration for making dinner together or have a baking session one weekend.
- Stuck for ideas for your kid’s birthday party? See what national days are taking place that month and use one of them for inspiration. For instance, National Pizza Day is in February, so you could have a make-your-own-pizza themed party!
Never run out of ideas for days out with your kids again…
See how easy it is?! February and March are just the start though. There are still nine more months full of national days waiting to be celebrated. Coming up with things to do over the Easter break, summer holidays and half-terms suddenly becomes a piece of cake! With so many to choose from, which national day will you celebrate first?!
That’s it for this post! If you want to know what the rest of the national days are, make sure you download my FREE list. It comes with lots of great ideas on how to celebrate each day PLUS space for you to add your own ideas too! Kick-start creating a family life you love right now by filling in your details below and I’ll send you a copy right away!
Are there any national days you celebrate I don’t have on the list? What other ways do you have regular family fun together? I’d love to know…tell me in the comments below!
Until next time…
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