What to Celebrate April 12 thru 18, 2021
Celebration Ideas for April 12 – 18, 2021
Tax Day is coming! Well, not really since we get an extra month this year. But if you’ve gotten yours done, good for you! If not, you don’t have to stress about it yet. But maybe don’t wait so long you have to stress about it in May?
At any rate, without that deadline breathing down your neck you have more time for things like gardening, reading, and laughing. Along with lots of other fun, serious, and/or delicious celebrations.
So don’t delay! Take a peek & plan your week. And as always, remember to …
Enjoy!
Celebrate All April Long
This month we get outside and create beauty in our neighborhoods and our own yards. And we fuel all this outdoor activity with yummy and nutritious foods, including pecans and celery.
Keep America Beautiful Month: Do your part to help keep America beautiful! When we each work to beautify our communities we end up creating a more beautiful country. So find out what’s happening in your community. Or start something in your community.
National Pecan Month: You’ll want to add pecans to as many meals as possible all month long. Luckily that’s simple! Because they go so well in so many things! From pancakes & muffins to quickbreads & pies. Also salads, chicken, & fish. Of course, eating them plain as a snack is always good. But you’ll probably want some pecan candies, too. There’s pralines, clusters, logs, chocolate-covered … you get the idea!
National Gardening Month: For some of us calling April a month to garden seems like a cruel joke. We still get frost during this month, so planting outside is just risking killing it all! But there are still plenty of things we can do, including cleaning up & prepping our planting beds. And, if we didn’t take advantage of earlier gardening holidays, planning our gardens so we’re ready to go as soon as the weather cooperates. So no matter where you live, if April is Spring, do whatever gardening activities the weather allows.
National Fresh Celery Month: When you’re not munching on pecans, much on celery! And celery also makes a delicious addition to many foods … although probably not pancakes. And celery crusted chicken just sounds weird. But it does add a delightful crunch to salads, both green and chicken. And while you probably don’t want to candy it, it can make a not-too-sweet treat filled with peanut butter & topped with raisins (you may call this ants on a log). Find other ways to add more celery to your meals too!
Weekly Celebrations for April’s 2nd Full Week
For this week we keep ourselves and our dogs safe. And we thank the people who help. We also learn about money and the importance of cancer screenings.
National Dog Bite Prevention Week (April 11 – 17, 2021): Even the sweetest dog can bite if it’s hurt or feels threatened. Or even in a moment of excitement. But most dog bites are preventable! So make sure you and your kids know how to make sure your precious pooch doesn’t bite. And how to avoid getting bit by someone else’s dog too.
National Animal Care and Control Appreciation Week (April 11 – 17, 2021): Animal Care and Control professionals work hard protecting their communities and promoting responsible pet ownership. Thank them for all they do.
Money Smart Week (April 10 – 17, 2021): Learn how to be smart with your money! Even if you’re already doing pretty good, there’s always more you can learn. See if any of this week’s webinars cover topics you’re unsure about. Consider promoting this week to family, friends, and your community too.
National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week (April 11 – 17, 2021): Unless you need to call 911, you probably don’t think much about the dispatchers and other employees who make sure you can get help when you need it. So thank your community’s public safety telecommunicators for this week. Maybe even suggest your community do something special for them, if it’s not already doing so.
Oral, Head, and Neck Cancer Awareness Week (April 11 – 17, 2021): Did you know one of the things your dentist does at each cleaning visit is screen for oral cancer? As with most cancers, early detection is key, so screening can save your life. Help spread the word for this week that anyone at increased risk should make it a point to get screened!
Celebration Days coming up for [April 12 thru April 18
Spend some time this week reading, gardening, and guessing! And enjoying grilled cheese, peach cobbler, and crawfish. Then play some Scrabble, find reasons to laugh, and write some Haiku.
How will you create your fun-tastic week?
April 12:
Drop Everything and Read (D.E.A.R.) Day: The world may have just lost Beverly Cleary, but we still have her books. And we still celebrate her birthday by reading. At least 30 minutes on this day. But we vote for all day, or at least as much of it as you can manage. Make sure the whole family is involved!
Big Wind Day: On this date in 1934 three weather observers recorded the highest natural wind velocity ever recorded on earth. It happened on Mount Washington in New Hampshire, and the wind roared in at 231 mph. This record was actually broken in 1996, but we still celebrate the original record.
National For Twelves Day: This day was created to celebrate football fans (the teams’ 12s). But we see no reason not to celebrate everything 12. From a dozen roses to a dozen eggs, and the twelve months of the year. Get creative with it, and have fun!
National Licorice Day: Licorice lovers rejoice! For this day you may eat licorice all day, and nobody can stop you. Not that a true licorice lover would let anyone stop them anyway! So enjoy all your favorite licorice candies for the day. Maybe even try something new?
National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day: For this delicious day we eat grilled cheese. All day if we’d like! Seriously, we see no reason not to get creative with bread & cheese to make different versions of grilled cheese sandwiches for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Doesn’t that sound like a perfect day?
April 13:
National Scrabble Day: Celebrate Alfred Butts’ birthday with a game of Scrabble. Why? Because he invented a game called Lexiko. With a few changes over a few years that game eventually became Scrabble. So if you have a Scrabble board, pull it out & play. Or buy one of the many varieties available now.
Be Kind to Lawyers Day: Lawyers generally get a bad rap. And while some lawyers deserve our scorn, most don’t. Most lawyers really do just want to do the best they can for their clients. So for at least this one day, let’s all be kind to them. Thank them for their hard work, even.
National Make Lunch Count Day: This day began in 2016 to get America’s workers away from their desks for lunch. Preferably to a restaurant with coworkers. It’s a great way to recharge! If you’re able to and feel comfortable doing so, consider supporting a local restaurant during your lunch for this day. Even if you’re still working from home.
National Peach Cobbler Day: Cobblers are petty easy to throw together. So you have no excuse not to make a peach cobbler for desert!
April 14:
National Dolphin Day: Celebrate dolphins. Learn about them, go see some, or even donate to dolphin conservation.
International Moment of Laughter Day: Is laughter the best medicine? Well, it can’t cure everything, but it sure can lessen your stress about it, at least temporarily. And these days we can all use some more laughter in our lives. So we encourage everybody everywhere to take advantage of this celebration to find as many moments to laugh as you can. In fact, we’d recommend just celebrating this one every day.
National Gardening Day: It’s time to finalize those gardening plans! You want to be ready when it’s finally safe to plant outdoors. Or, if you’re lucky enough to live where it’s already safe to plant, get out there & do that! Assuming you’ve already planned what you’re going to plant …
National Look Up at the Sky Day: Do as the day’s name says and look up at the sky. Preferably more than once throughout the day. Because the wonder above us changes constantly. Each time you look up you can find something different to appreciate and be amazed by.
National Reach as High as You Can Day: On this day we read for the stars (don’t forget to look up at the night sky to see some stars, too!). We set our goals high, higher than we feel comfortable with. Then we work hard to not only achieve them but surpass them! But it’s also ok to fall short of the goal, because you’ll probably still have gotten higher than if you’d stuck with smaller, more “reasonable” goals.
National Pecan Day: Eat pecans all day. They’re yummy and good for you, and they make almost anything taste better. So add them to pancakes or cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Top your lunch salad with them. And make pecan crusted chicken or fish for dinner. Don’t forget the pecan pie for dessert! Or pecan cookies. (And actually, keep eating pecans all month, because April is also National Pecan Month!)
April 15:
Rubber Eraser Day: Write something in pencil and then erase it with a rubber eraser! Assuming you have those two things anyway. Until a year ago we could at least count on our kids to have #2 pencils & erasers for taking multiple-choice tests. But now? Not so much! But surely there’s at least one pencil & eraser somewhere you can use to celebrate?
Take a Wild Guess Day: For this day you don’t need to actually know anything. Just guess! The wilder that guess, the better. Although if you’re having a hunch or some sort of intuition about the topic, you’re allowed to use that to inform your guess.
National Titanic Remembrance Day: On this date in 1912 the “unsinkable” Titanic did the impossible and sank after hitting hit an iceberg on the night of April 14. More than 1500 people died, and for this day we remember them.
National ASL Day: Celebrate American Sign Language on the date the oldest permanent school for the deaf opened in the US in 1817.
National Tax Day: This year the tax filing deadline has been delayed until May 17! If you’ve already filed, celebrate a job well done. If you’re taking full advantage of this extension, celebrate your good fortune for a 2nd year in a row (last year the deadline wasn’t until July 15!). And celebrate again in May.
National High Five Day: If you haven’t quite gotten those taxes done the fact that you have extra time probably makes you want to high five everyone around you. So celebrating this day will be simple! For the rest of us, well surely we can find something worth high-fiving about!
National Glazed Spiral Ham Day: Many of you may have just had a glazed spiral ham for Easter, but here’s your excuse to have another! And why not? Ham is delicious, and leftovers are incredibly versatile. Plus, a spiral sliced ham is the easiest to serve! So go ahead, make your favorite glaze, slather it over a spiral ham, and enjoy.
National Banana Day: Eat bananas! Sliced over cereal. Baked into bread or muffins. Frozen & coated in chocolate. Or just snack on a perfectly ripe banana. It’s all up to you!
April 16:
Save the Elephants Day: Elephants are big animals that need a lot of space to survive. Unfortunately, their habitats have been getting smaller & smaller because of human activity. So a lot of elephant populations are in serious danger of dying out. But humans can also help ensure that doesn’t happen, which is what this day is about.
National Wear Your Pajamas to Work Day: This day apparently began as a way to have a bit of fun once Tax Day was done. Especially if you were one of the last-minute filers, staying up late to get it done. Of course, these days a lot of people have been wearing PJs to work for a year! But if you’re one of those who has had to actually go to a workplace, see if this is a day you’re allowed to celebrate.
National Healthcare Decisions Day: Do you have an advanced care directive? This important document lets your loved ones know your wishes if you’re ever unable to make your own healthcare decisions. And it can help prevent fighting between loved ones, who may have different beliefs as to how to handle your care.
National Clean Out Your Medicine Cabinet Day: Here’s one healthcare decision that’s simple: Don’t take expired medications! Or medications prescribed for someone else. So take a few moments to go through the various pills, creams, ointments, etc. to make sure they’re still ones you use and they’re still good to use. Then get rid of anything that doesn’t fit both those descriptions. But don’t just flush them or toss them in the garbage. Dispose of them safely. Or collect them to bring to National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on April 24.
National Bean Counters’ Day: Accountants focus on the money. And making sure their clients spend and/or invest theirs wisely. And get the tax breaks they deserve. Which is pretty boring stuff to a lot of people. But also important. So for this day stop with the boring bean counter jokes and thank your accountant for helping you keep more of your money. And if you are an accountant, take the day off; you’ve earned it!
National Eggs Benedict Day: Start your Friday right with a delicious breakfast of Eggs Benedict. Make it a classic Eggs Benedict. Or get creative and try a variation on the theme.
April 17:
Bat Appreciation Day: Bats are amazing, adorable, helpful creatures deserving of our appreciation. So spend some time on this day learning more about them & all the reasons we should appreciate them (2 good reasons: mosquitoes & tequila!).
Husband Appreciation Day: If you’ve got a husband you should probably save some of your appreciation for him. Now the bats are probably both cuter and more useful (unless your husband eats mosquitoes, pollinates fruits, & poops fertilizer?), but we’re pretty sure he’s got some good qualities to appreciate, too. So show him you appreciate him at least as much as you appreciate bats. 😉
National Haiku Poetry Day: For this day we’re all poets. But we don’t write just any old poetry. No, we write haiku. You could even express your appreciation for your husband (or bats!) in haiku form. Or see if there’s a Haiku Poetry Day event near you.
World Hemophilia Day: Help raise awareness and understanding of hemophilia nd other bleeding disorders for this day. If you have a bleeding disorder, consider telling your story.
National Cheeseball Day: Make and serve your favorite cheeseball(s) as a snack or appetizer for the day. Or if you’re one of those people for whom cheese & crackers could be a whole meal, make it one! Round cheese puffs are also sometimes called cheese balls, so in theory you could celebrate by eating those too.
National Crawfish Day: You may want to limit your cheeseball consumption to leave room for crawfish. Have a crawfish boil, make etouffee, or whatever else you prefer. Just make sure you eat crawfish!
April 18:
National Columnists’ Day: Columnists take a lot of abuse. Especially these days, when it’s easier than ever to let them know exactly how much you disagree with their opinions on a topic. Just the same, they continue to distill the news of the day for us all to consider and think about. We don’t have to agree with their conclusions, but we should admire their dedication to their craft.
World Amateur Radio Day: Commemorate the founding of the International Amateur Radio Union on this date in 1925. It was this union that supported amateur radio around the world, allowing it to grow into the popular activity it is today. This year’s theme is Amateur Radio: Home but Never Alone.
National Lineman Appreciation Day: This day honors those men and women who keep our power grids operating, keeping your lights on. Since you’re reading this you must have a charged (or plugged in) device, which is only possible because of these hardworking people. So thank any linemen you know!
National Animal Crackers Day: Enjoy that childhood favorite: animal crackers! Especially if it’s been a while since you’ve had any. Get the originals, of course, but consider frosted and chocolate flavors too. What a sweet way to end the weekend.
