We’ve got Valentine’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day coming up soon, plus my kids recently had Spirit Week at school. And there are always birthdays and anniversaries to remember. It’s no secret, I love celebrating people and dates, but sometimes it’s hard to know how much to do. Truthfully, my kids don’t need elaborate celebrations to make memories.
The good news is that there are lots of ways that you can make any occasion special. The key is taking some time to think about how to make certain days more memorable. Below are some tips to do just that.
Theme your day
A great way to make special occasions and events more enjoyable and memorable is to theme your day. We love some themed birthday parties around here. You could theme any holiday or anniversary based on what you and your people enjoy. Themes can help you come up with activities, foods, and party favors.
We’ve had sports, character, hobby, and food themed birthday parties around here for our kids. We even got creative when everyone was quarantining this spring and our family had three birthdays in two weeks.
Incorporate dressing up
To break up the monotony of January, my kids’ school had Spirit Week recently. For Be Sweet Day, Ben dressed up like a Sour Patch Kid. One day Cate matched one of her best friends for Twin Day and Ben matched three other boys in his fifth-grade class who have the same navy sweatshirt jacket. Then they wore Ja Morant jerseys – one from Murray State and one represented the Memphis Grizzlies – for Favorite Sports Team Day.
Dressing up to match a theme or incorporating costumes add extra fun to whatever day you’re choosing to celebrate. After all these days in comfy clothes, even dressing up in fancier clothes may be a good way to mark an occasion. I loved the coordinated pajamas we were gifted before Christmas. Of course, I may like matching more than my kids do at this point. Perhaps you could get matching t-shirts for the whole family from a toddler St Patrick’s day shirt to something similar for the teenager.
Create your own family traditions
One thing I love about traditions is how we’ll celebrate certain occasions is already decided for me. Sure, we tweak the details, but we know we are having three other families over in early November to celebrate Friendsgiving as a prelude to Thanksgiving. I know that my kids and husband will pick what dinner they want me to make on their birthdays, and we’ll likely eat out to celebrate mine. We typically celebrate Memorial Day weekend at the lake with my siblings and their families and then spend Fourth of July with my husband’s extended family.
Of course, sometimes the reality is traditions change. We used to love hosting a Birthday Party for Jesus with friends and even one year as a communitywide event. That hasn’t happened in a few years, but it could again one day.
Traditions don’t have to be complicated. My husband writes me letters for Christmas and my birthday that I save in a binder. I write letters on my blog to my kids on their birthdays. (Read them there: Cate. Ben. Rachel.)
More than eighteen years into marriage and more than thirteen years into parenthood, traditions make our celebrations more fun. Decide once how you’ll celebrate any given day and then fill in the details. Get creative and remember your celebrations don’t have to look like what others choose to do.
How do you make celebrating any given occasion more fun?
Leave a Reply