What to Celebrate January 27 thru February 2, 2020
Celebration Ideas for January 26 – February 2, 2020
You’ve made it through almost a whole month of the new year! Good for you. Hopefully it’s been a good month (and hopefully we’ve helped!).
Just remember we each get to create our own good months. But sometimes we need a little help with ideas. And ideas are what we find. What we’ve found for the upcoming week ranges from chocolate and blueberries to kazoos and ukuleles. There’s bound to be something for almost everyone in there.
So do dive right in to take a peek and plan your week. And as always …
Enjoy!
Celebrate for the rest of January
January is all about creativity, bath-time safety, and self promotion.
International Creativity Month: We often think of creative activities as those we do for fun. And they certainly can be that! But creativity can also help solve problems. By looking at the problem in a different way (creatively!) we may be able to see it in a new light and find the solution. Let’s all remember to use our creativity in all aspects of our lives.
National Bath Safety Month: You may not think of taking a bath as a very dangerous activity. And it isn’t. Not really. But like any activity it does have its risks (especially for older or very young people), and you can do simple things to make accidents less likely.
Book Blitz Month: This is apparently a month for authors to focus on promoting their books (a blitz of promotions). So if you’re an author, do that for the rest of the month! And plan to do it for all of January next year. But for the rest of us, there’s no reason we can’t celebrate with a blitz of reading our favorite authors, books, and/or genres. And perhaps helping to promote our favorite authors too.
Weekly Celebrations for Jan. 27 – Feb. 2
Worms, school choice, and emails. It’s quite an eclectic collection of celebrations for this week.
Cordova Iceworm Festival (January 25 – February 1, 2020): Yep, those crazy Alaskans are once again celebrating a worm! Yes, iceworms are real. But the festival has lots of events & activities completely unrelated to worms of any kind. Although the parade does feature a really big (and kinda cute) worm.
National School Choice Week (January 26 – February 1, 2020): This week promotes school choice. Because all parents should be able to decide what educational options are best for their children.
Clean Out Your Inbox Week: Emails, emails, emails. They just keep coming! It’s easy to let that inbox (or inboxes) get out of control. But this is the week to get those inboxes cleaned out & start fresh. And hopefully keep them neat & tidy.
Celebration Days coming up for Jan. 27 thru Feb. 2
Don’t let post-holiday stress get you down. Pop some Bubble Wrap, plan a vacation, and have some fun at work this week. Chocolate cake, hot chocolate, and art could make it even better.
You might also enjoy playing a kazoo, being curmudgeonly, and eating ice cream for breakfast. Plus much more of course.
Are you ready to have another fun-tastic week?
January 27:
Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day: Pop some Bubble Wrap in appreciation of this accidental discovery. Or wrap something precious to keep it safe. No, not your kids, pets, or significant other. There are better ways to keep them safe! Stick with inanimate precious objects, please.
Chocolate Cake Day: And chocolate cake is also not a great candidate for Bubble Wrap, no matter how much you love it! Besides, how can you indulge in the decadence if you have to dig through layers of cushiony wrap? No, a better idea for celebrating this day is to make a rich, moist chocolate cake & enjoy every delightful bite.
National Geographic Day: The very first issue of National Geographic Magazine was published on this date in 1888. At the time it was mostly educational text. The focus on amazing photography came later.
Thomas Crapper Day: Celebrate the man who founded a company to manufacture “sanitary appliances.” Yes, Mr. Crapper made toilets. Also yes, his name is where the slang term for toilet came from. But no, his name is not where the slang for your poop came from! Apparently the man simply had an amazingly appropriate name for what he ended up doing.
January 28:
National Kazoo Day: Do you kazoo? Then this day is for you! And if you don’t, why not learn? It’s actually kinda fun.
Data Privacy Day: Keeping your personal data private can seem like a never-ending (and losing!) battle. But there are steps you can take to protect your data. Use this day to learn more & make sure you’re doing all you can to ensure your data privacy.
Thank a Plugin Developer Day: Do you use plugins? If you run a WordPress based website the answer is probably “Yes!”. And have you ever thanked the developers of those plugins? Especially the free ones? I mean, they’re giving away their hard work to make your life easier. A thank you—or even a small donation—is the least you can do. And while this day was created to thank the WP plugin developers other programs also use plugins. So if you’re using any plugins at all in any software, extend a thank-you to the developer(s).
National Plan for Vacation Day: Do you count yourself among those people who never use up their vacation days? Those people who roll over the maximum they can each year? Well, stop that! This is the day to make a plan to actually use some of those days. And use them for some rest & relaxation. Not for getting more stuff done. And if you happen to be in the travel industry, use the day to encourage travel planning … heck, extend your planning campaign to the whole week. Lots of people need some extra nudging!
National Blueberry Pancake Day: Start your day with a plate of heavenly, fluffy blueberry pancakes. Or have them any time of day … because can there be a wrong time to eat blueberry pancakes? (Hint: the answer is no!).
January 29:
Curmudgeons Day: Do you know a curmudgeon? Most of us do! And it may even be you. 😁 For this day we celebrate the curmudgeonly among us. Let them complain … help them even! Not that they’ll appreciate it. They’ll find some way to complain about your help too. But that’s what curmudgeons do! So just enjoy your curmudgeonly friend, family member, or self.
National Puzzle Day: Celebrate puzzles! And of course solve some puzzles. The kind of puzzles are up to you. Word puzzles, number puzzles, logic puzzles … or even some part of the puzzle of your life.
Freethinkers Day: Celebrate Thomas Paine and freethinking. Now this day is not about freedom of thought or expression. It’s about using your brain and using reason & logic to inform your life. And what does Thomas Paine have to do with this? He was a freethinker who inspired others to become freethinkers and fight for human rights & advancement. He was born on Jan. 29, 1737.
National Corn Chip Day: Enjoy corn chips all day to celebrate! After all, they’re corn so they’re good for you. Ok, not exactly. But depending on how they’re made they can be better/less bad for you than some other chips.
January 30:
Inane Answering Message Day: Despite the name, this is not a day to record inane answering machine (or voicemail these days) messages. No, it’s a day to replace those annoying messages with something simple, clear and to the point. Of course, that only works for your outgoing message. If you’re stuck listening to someone leaving you an inane message, just delete it! (Note: But use some common sense about it. We are not responsible if you delete something important!)
Croissant Day: Enjoy croissants for the day. If you plan ahead you could even try making croissants from scratch!
January 31:
Fun at Work Day: For all the time you spend at work you should have fun at least some of the time! And if it’s only once a year, then this is the day. So get your coworkers in on the fun & enjoy the day. And if you work from home? Make your own fun! Unemployed? Try to make whatever unpaid work you’re doing fun … After all, housework is work! So is looking for a job.
Inspire Your Heart with Art Day: Enjoy any and all artistic expressions that fill your heart with joy. Whether you love paintings, music, dance, sculpture, or something else, make time for it on this day. So visit museums or head to a concert. If you’re an artist yourself, create a new piece (or start one) to celebrate. Or just sing in the shower! Seriously. The day is all about what inspires your heart.
National Backward Day: For this day all the rules get turned around and you must do everything backwards! So have dinner when you get up. Put your clothes on backwards (as much as possible anyway … pants can be hard to do backwards). Walk around backwards. And any other backwards things you can think of!
National Hot Chocolate Day: Ahhhh, hot chocolate hits the spot on a cold January day. So make yourself a cup or 2 and warm up after coming in from the cold. And if you haven’t left the house? Make a cup anyway … it’s delicious! And you don’t have to stick with just adding hot water to a powdered hot chocolate mix (not that there’s anything wrong with that!). If you’re feeling creative, try one of these hot chocolate recipes.
February 1:
National Serpent Day: Celebrate serpents! We suspect the day is for celebrating real serpents (snakes). But we see no reason you can’t celebrate the imaginary ones, like dragons, if you’d prefer. Or go all out and celebrate them all! Because serpents of all sorts are fascinating.
Take Your Child to the Library Day: Libraries are magical places full of adventures and enjoyment just waiting to be discovered. And every child deserves the chance to love reading & learning. So whether your kids already love trips to the library or they’ve yet to discover the excitement, this is the day to head to your local library for a day of fun & discovery.
Change Your Password Day: Keep your online accounts secure with strong, hard to crack passwords. Don’t use the same password for multiple accounts. And change your passwords regularly … at least annually for Change Your Password Day!
World Ukulele Day: If you play the Uke, this day is for you. It’s also for you if you like listening to ukulele music. If you happen to be near Dunedin, Florida head over the the Ukulele Day Festival. Or see if there are any Uke events happening near you.
Ice Cream for Breakfast Day: What kid hasn’t wanted ice cream for breakfast? And for that matter, what adult? Well this day gives you permission to do just that. Even if it is freezing cold. And if it’s hot too! So make sure you have your favorite ice cream on hand and indulge!
National Baked Alaska Day: Speaking of ice cream, you get to enjoy it twice! After all, how can you celebrate this day without the cake & ice cream goodness known as Baked Alaska? See which of these recipes looks best to you. There’s a couple of classic-ish recipes plus several variations.
February 2:
Hedgehog Day: On this day we find out what the hedgehog says about how long winter will last. Now, if you’re in the US you probably won’t be able to celebrate this day with a real hedgehog. You’ll have to stick with our groundhogs’ predictions. But before there was Punxsutawney Phil and his various relatives, Europe had hedgehog weather forecasters. Of course, we could just use the day to learn more about hedgehogs, instead of pretending they can predict the weather!
World Wetlands Day: Wetlands are critical to our lives, so spend part of the day learning about them & how we can all help protect them.
Marmot Day: This is technically just an Alaskan holiday (Michigan also has a Marmot Day, but it’s in July). But who wouldn’t want to celebrate furry little marmots? Why not learn a bit more about these critters for the day?
National Heavenly Hash Day: Enjoy some Heavenly Hash! Which Heavenly Hash is apparently up to you. Because there’s two. One is a fruit salad. The other is some kind of chocolate or baked good (or ice cream!). All versions contain marshmallows, but that’s about all they seem to have in common. Find some heavenly hash recipe ideas (but not actual recipes) here.
