Making ordinary days special for my family has always been a goal for me. In fact, one of my goals when I was first married and then became a mom was to make life wonderful for my family. Not just the big days, but more importantly, the little days- the days that no one else but us would see and know about.
Then I began noticing that there were “special” days everywhere. National Popcorn Day. National Donut Day. National Hot Dog Day. And my personal favorite, National Coffee Day!
I like that there are special days because it makes ordinary days just a bit more special. I want to be the mom who makes the popcorn, gets the free donuts (with the purchase of a beverage…. and then my donut is not so free anymore), makes hot dogs on that particular night, and takes her kids out in the pouring rain to get the coffee (because coffee makes my world go around).
Yet, those were not the only special days that I wanted to create for my family.
I wanted to make the ordinary days special- the special days that do not show up on the calendar.
I desired to purposefully plan to make a regular Thursday special by planning ahead a simple but memorable activity for my kids to look back on.
I wanted to plan ahead for a special time for my husband and I to enjoy after the kids had gone to bed.
So I did.
So, I began thinking about ways to make some of our ordinary days special. These are just a few ideas to get you started on making ordinary days special for your family.
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Donut Day
Get your donut and then read your littles the book If You Give a Dog a Donut while you enjoy your sweet treat.
Chick-Fil-A Cow Appreciation Day
It is so much fun to dress up for your lunch or dinner! Pull out the paint, the old t-shirts, and some construction paper and make an event of going to your local Chick-Fil-A.
American Girl Girl of the Year movie premier
If your little girl is a fan of AG like mine was, the date of the AG movie premier can turn an ordinary day into something special. We used to make a girly afternoon of it. I pulled out my nail polishes, curlers, hair straightener, curling iron, and then I painted my daughter’s nails and did her hair. She picked out a cute outfit complete with as many accessories as she wanted, and we watched the movie together.
Beach Day
One benefit of living in Florida is the nearness and accessibility to beaches. The surf and sand have a way of making any ordinary day special. Pack a light lunch such as fruits, cheese sticks, pretzels, trail mix, plenty of water, and sunscreen and let them play. Sometimes we bring beach toys, sometimes we don’t.
National Puppy Day
Do you have a dog? Celebrate that pup! Until we got a dog for our family, I did not realize how much dogs do for the heart of a home. Let your dog feel celebrated… even if it has no idea what is going on.
Ring in the Olympics
There are so many ways to make the Olympics a special time for our families. We make our own torch, and, during the opening ceremonies, we have our very own torch relay. We have also chosen a particular sport to follow (gymnastics, ice skating, swimming) and a particular athlete to root for. We also watch Olympic related movies as a family- Miracle and The Gabby Douglas Story have been two of our favorites.
Cookie Day
As a little girl, every year, our mom would take one day around Christmas to do nothing but bake cookies. One year, we baked 500 cookies. Then we gave those cookies to others in our church as gifts.
First Day of Each Season
It doesn’t have to be anything special, but commemorating the first day of each season can make that day special. For the first day of spring, we love going to Rita’s for a free ice. On the first day of fall, we decorate our home for fall- adding autumn colored leaves to our arrangements and decorative greenery, pulling out our previously made fall crafts, and even some of our Thanksgiving items. For the first day of summer we enjoy going to the beach, and on the first day of winter, we have celebrated Snowman Day (mentioned below).
Snowman Day
Here in Florida, kids can only dream of snow, so snowmen are an impossibility for us…. or are they? We made an entire day based on snowmen, complete with homemade snowman shirts, snowman shaped pizza, had a “snowball fight” made of crumpled paper towels, and then collected all of our paper towels in white garbage bags to build a snowman.
First Frost/First Snow of the Season
Because we don’t get snow in our neck of the woods, I keep my eyes peeled for the first frost. That’s the closest we will be getting to actual snow here in the Sunshine State. We bundle up (usually in layers because in reality, we own nothing warm), run outside, roll around, attempt to gather it up, and come inside for hot chocolate.
It doesn’t take a lot of effort to make an ordinary day more than just another day.
What is one day this week or month you can make just a little more memorable for your family?
