What to Celebrate July 13 thru 19, 2020
Celebration Ideas for July 13 – 19, 2020
The summer heat has arrived with a vengeance! Are you wilting, too?
Well, wilting or not, having something to look forward too makes every day better. So check out what’s coming up and make plans to enjoy at least one celebration each day.
At the very least the food days can make meal planning (or dessert planning!) easier. Because who wants to think too hard in this heat?!
So go ahead: Take a peek & plan your week. And no matter how badly you’re wilting, remember to …
Enjoy!
Celebrate All July Long
Get outdoors to enjoy grilling and your local parks. Although you probably can’t grill in the parks. Or maybe you can, but we can’t!
And while you’re out & about, remember to be courteous about using that cell phone. Both to strangers and whoever you happen to be out with.
National Cell Phone Courtesy Month: Jacqueline Whitmore founded this month back in 2002. But we’re pretty sure the need for this month is greater now than back then! Our phones are a more essential part of our lives than then, so we often tend to forget others are around as we scroll, text, talk, and listen to music. Let’s try to remember to be courteous with our phones! That means strangers don’t want to hear your side of the conversation. But people you’re with deserve your attention, so put that phone away!
National Park and Recreation Month: For all of July we celebrate our parks and the people who make it possible to enjoy them. So get out and enjoy those parks! Safely, of course. And thank any parks employees you know or meet.
National Hot Dog Month: Eat hot dogs! Grill ’em. Fry ’em. Boil ’em. Eat ’em plain or with your favorite toppings. Add ’em to beans or whatever else your taste buds desire. Just eat ’em! And share ’em too.
National Grilling Month: Don’t cook & heat up your kitchen. Fire up the grill instead! You can cook any meat and lots of veggies on the grill, so why not use it to its full potential? Get lots of grilling tips & recipes here … including grilled donuts?!
Weekly Celebrations for 7/13 to 7/19
Fewer people have been on the road for a few months now. But with businesses reopening & summer travel season here, we’re heading back out in our cars. So it’s actually a good time for the annual Safe Driver Week. Stay safe!
Operation Safe Driver Week (July 12 – 18, 2020): Are you a safe driver? Are you sure? Well, this is the week to make sure. Because law enforcement will be making extra efforts to stop people driving in an unsafe manner. The focus will be on speeding, but any unsafe driving could get you a ticket!
Sadly, many of the events that were scheduled for this week have been postponed or cancelled for this year, including these.
National Ventriloquism Week (Vent Haven ConVENTion), scheduled for July 15 – 18, 2020, has been cancelled and is planning to return July 14 – 17, 2021.
And Family Golf Week would also have been July 15 – 18, 2020, but the organizers have decided not to hold the week this year. They also plan to return for 2021.
Celebration Days coming up for July 13 thru July 19
The rockets’ red (& blue, green, white, & yellow) glare and booms have gone away. (And for some that in itself is a reason to celebrate!). But the yellow pigs, gummi worms, and sharks are still ahead.
Along with all kinds of ice cream, rhubarb wine, and mac & cheese. And we can’t forget the horses, snakes, and guinea pigs. Plus so much more. Enough to create yourself another fun-tastic week for sure!
July 13:
National French Fries Day: Whatever else you eat on July 13, make sure at least one meal comes with a side of fries.
International Rock Day: At first glance rocks can seem pretty boring. But they’re actually incredibly useful. Throughout human history we’ve used them for everything from tools to filtration. Why not learn more about the different kinds of rocks for this day?
Gruntled Workers Day: Are you a disgruntled worker or are you … gruntled? If you are in fact gruntled with your job, join together with other gruntled workers to spread some joy to those who may be less gruntled. Or even fully disgruntled. This silly-sounding but also kind of serious day comes to you courtesy of Tom & Ruth Roy.
National Beans ‘n Franks Day: Beans and hot dogs are a quick & simple meal that also happens to be delicious. To celebrate right you’ll want to add the franks to the beans instead of having the beans as a side. Or you can buy cans of beans & franks (like Beanee Weenees) to heat up … even simpler!
National Nitrogen Ice Cream Day: No, this is not National Ice Cream Day. That’s in a few days! For this day only ice cream made by freezing with liquid nitrogen will do! This stuff is silky & creamy, because the quick freezing makes for much tinier ice crystals than regular ice cream. If there’s a Nitrogen Ice Cream shop near you, head out for a sweet frozen treat after your beans & franks.
July 14:
Pandemonium Day: On this day we create chaos wherever we go! Ok, maybe not create it. But whenever pandemonium finds us we embrace it and go with the flow.
Shark Awareness Day: At first glance this day seems to go perfectly with Pandemonium Day. After all, sharks are great at causing pandemonium wherever they turn up! Except not really. More than 500 different species of shark swim around this planet. Most are no threat to us at all. And the few that are don’t really want to attack us. Why not learn more about sharks & share what you’ve learned to help avoid shark-related pandemonium in the future?
National Tape Measure Day: Celebrate the patent for a spring-click tape measure, granted on July 14, 1868. This improvement on previous tape measures meant pretty much anyone could measure pretty much anything pretty much anywhere! Although it did take a while for it to catch on. Celebrate by using one of your tape measures. You do have more than one, right?!
National Grand Marnier Day: Enjoy this delightful orange liqueur in a cocktail or even dessert. Make a sauce with it too. And use that sauce for both dinner and dessert! Or sip your Grand Marnier neat or on the rocks to truly enjoy its unique flavor.
Cow Appreciation Day: This was the likely day to dress like a cow & get yourself a free chicken sandwich to make our bovine friends happy. But Chick-fil-A has decided to postpone the official day to help keep us all safe. That doesn’t mean you can’t still celebrate cows! Chick-fil-A even has some ideas to help.
National Mac & Cheese Day: Last week we celebrated macaroni in any form. This week it’s all about macaroni smothered with a luscious cheese sauce. That sauce can be anything you like, too. Add spices or meats or veggies. Use your favorite cheese or a blend of cheeses. It’s all good, as long as it’s supremely cheesy! So make or order your favorite mac & cheese dish and indulge.
July 15:
National Pet Fire Safety Day: For this day we do 2 things. 1. Make sure our pets are included in our fire escape plan. 2. Make sure we’re taking steps to prevent fires, including making sure our pets can’t start one. You’d be surprised at how many fires actually start with pets!
National I Love Horses Day: If you have a horse, definitely make time to ride it for this day! If you don’t, find another way to spend time with horses. Or consider riding lessons if you don’t already ride. If there’s a horse rescue near you, ask about volunteering. Or at least donate to a rescue or other horse-related charity.
National Give Something Away Day: On this day we give. How is up to you. Maybe buy a meal for someone in need. Clean out your closet or garage and donate any still-usable items you no longer need/want. Give your time and volunteer with an organization that supports a cause dear to your heart. However you choose to give, you’ll be celebrating right!
National Gummi Worm Day: Who doesn’t love gummi worms? (Ok, we know there are some of you crazy gummi-haters out there. This day isn’t for you). Celebrate with a few gummi worms in your favorite flavor.
National Tapioca Pudding Day: We have to admit, tapioca is kinda weird. At least the tapioca pearls in tapioca pudding are weird. But they also make for pretty good pudding! And tapioca flour is also a pretty good source of iron & it’s gluten-free if you need that. So have a dish of tapioca pudding and then learn more about tapioca and how you can use it in your own cooking and baking!
July 16:
World Snake Day: If you suffer from ophidiophobia this may not be the day for you. But for anyone not afraid of snakes, this is the day to enjoy them in all their scaly, slithery (but not slimy!) glory. Seriously, snakes are fascinating. And most are harmless.
Guinea Pig Appreciation Day: Do you appreciate guinea pigs? Shower your piggies with love, cuddles & treats. Don’t have guinea pigs? Adopt a pair! If you can’t have piggies, maybe donate to a guinea pig rescue instead.
National Personal Chef Day: Personal chefs work hard bringing their clients delicious, nutritious meals. If you have a personal chef, offer extra thanks—and even a public shout-out & recommendation—in honor of the day. If you are or are working on becoming a personal chef give yourself a pat on the back for a job well done.
Get to Know Your Customers Day: If you own a small business, you know the importance of knowing your customers. That personal touch sets you apart from the big, impersonal businesses. Take advantage of that & use this day to learn even more about them & their needs. But big businesses can also work on knowing their customers better & improving their relationships with the communities they serve.
National Corn Fritters Day: It’s sweet corn season! And that means the best-tasting corn fritters too. So make a big batch of corn fritters to enjoy for this day and again another day.
July 17:
Yellow Pig Day: Have a bit of fun with numbers & pigs. More specifically the number 17 and yellow pigs … possibly with 17 eyelashes. 😮
World Emoji Day: 📅🎉 Do you use emojis? ❓ Most of us do! ‼️ Some more liberally than others. 💯 And for at least this one day we must all dot all our communications with emojis. 🙀🤗 Go! 👍🥳🥂🎊
Wrong Way Corrigan Day: On this day we celebrate stunt pilot Douglas Corrigan, who may or may not have accidentally flown from New York to Ireland. 🤨 As the story goes, he claimed to be heading back to California on July 17, 1938. But cloud cover messed up his navigation and he instead headed the wrong way, eventually ending up in Ireland. Of course, given that he had just been denied permission to duplicate Charles Lindbergh’s transatlantic flight, many people doubted his trip was an accident.
National Tattoo Day: If you’ve been thinking about getting a tattoo, this is the day to do it! As long as you’ve planned ahead & know what you want & where you want to get it! Make sure you can get an appointment, too. Otherwise this might be a good day to research your options. If you design tattoos, consider unveiling a new design for the day.
National Peach Ice Cream Day: Vanilla and chocolate might be two of the most popular ice cream flavors, but sometimes you want something different! And peach ice cream is just what your taste buds are craving in mid-July. And for the absolute freshest flavor, make your peach ice cream yourself. Of course. 😊
July 18:
Woodie Wagon Day: Once upon a time cars were made of wood. Who thought that was a good idea!?? (Ok, it was only the passenger area, but still!).
Nelson Mandela International Day: On this day we honor Nelson Mandela by making a difference in our communities. We can all do our part to make the world a better place.
Toss Away the “Could Haves” and “Should Haves” Day: Stop second-guessing yourself and regretting your choices. Accept what’s done and move forward. Learn from mistakes and make different (hopefully better) choices next time. But don’t worry about those future choices today! That just sets you up for “could dos” and “should dos”! Just live in the present.
National Sour Candy Day: If you’re a fan of candies that make your mouth pucker, this is your day! Enjoy all your favorite sour candies, including Sour Punch Grape Straws, for a sweet (if not sweet-tasting) day.
National Caviar Day: Since even the biggest sour candy fans probably want something besides candy for the day, consider some sturgeon roe on toast. And if you can’t (or don’t want to) afford true caviar, other fish roe is also mouth-watering & much less expensive. We won’t tell!
Strawberry Rhubarb Wine Day: We’re not sure how well this wine pairs with either sour candies or caviar, but we’re willing to do a taste test! And no matter what, a chilled glass of this sweet, fruity wine is perfect for relaxing on a warm Saturday evening.
July 19:
Raspberry Cake Day: You deserve a treat to celebrate another week well done. Why not make it a slice or 2 of raspberry cake? It’s light & summery. And it goes well with the next 2 celebrations. 😊
National Daiquiri Day: Raise your glass in a toast to the drink named for a mining village in Cuba. Of course, that glass must contain that drink! Here’s a recipe for the classic daiquiri, with links to variations included if you happen to prefer yours more fruity and/or frozen. (As always, we remind you to please drink responsibly).
National Ice Cream Day: End your week with your favorite ice cream. The flavor is all up to you. So is the kind of cone. Or dish if you prefer. Toppings are optional, but always encouraged! You could even put the ice cream on a slice of raspberry cake if you’d like. But probably not in your daiquiri …
