What to Celebrate April 1 to 7, 2019
Celebration Ideas for April 1 – 7, 2019
So we’re roughly a quarter of the way through the year. Are you making the most of every day?
Even taking a few moments to celebrate a silly day can brighten your mood. Or helping raise awareness of a serious topic can make you feel like you’re making a difference (and you are!).
So if you’ve been missing out on the power of these unofficial days, weeks, & months (and some official ones too!), change that now.
Jump in to take a peek and plan your week.
And as always …
Enjoy!
Celebrate All April Long
For April we’ll be practicing acceptance, getting ourselves and our dogs moving more to be healthier, and helping make sure the natural beauty that is America stays that way.
Autism Acceptance Month: For April learn more about autism and the people who have it. Celebrate them, listen to them, & accept them as perfectly normal people who just happen to be a bit different from you. And really, isn’t everybody different from everybody else in some ways? Some differences are bigger, but that doesn’t make the people with them anything less. Acceptance helps create a more loving world.
Move More Month: By now we surely all know that exercise is good for us! But many of us don’t put that knowledge into action. At least not often enough. But all during April we can create exercise habits to carry us through the year. And it doesn’t even have to be “formal” exercise. Moving more can include parking farther away from the door & taking the steps instead of the elevator. C’mon … Let’s get moving!
Canine Fitness Month: Can it be a coincidence? Move More Month & Canine Fitness Month are the same month?! We think not. Getting your dog more active will get you more active, too! So get out & take a walk (or even a run) with your pooch. Play fetch too. FitPaws, creator of this month, offers more ideas for getting your dog moving.
Keep America Beautiful Month: This month is all about … well, keeping America beautiful of course! We can all do our part, too. Recycle more. Litter less (as in don’t litter). Help protect our waterways & native plants. Plant native plants in your garden. There’s all kinds of ways to preserve our country’s beauty.
Weekly Celebrations for April 1 thru 7
This week is all about health (both directly & indirectly). Leaving dog poop lying around is not only unsightly & inconsiderate, it’s actually unhealthy. So scoop that stuff up!
But laughter is good for you. Do more of it.
But don’t laugh off the importance of testicular cancer awareness & medication safety. Take those seriously. Do self exams (if you’re male, anyway). And understand the medications you take & any interactions between them (and make sure they’re not expired).
aPaws International Pooper Scooper Week (April 1 – 7, 2019): This week is all about reminding dog owners of their responsibilities when walking their pooches. And that means picking up the poop! Now we’re sure all our wonderful readers already do that. Right? But lots of people don’t. And that’s a problem. So help spread the word. And anyone who can’t pick up their dog’s waste for some reason should hire someone who can. aPaws offers Professional Pooper Scoopers! Yes, seriously. You can see if there’s any near you here.
Laugh at Work Week (April 1 – 7, 2019): On the 1st we have April Fool’s Day & Have Fun at Work Day. But the day also kicks off Laugh at Work Week. Of course April Fool’s & having fun at work often involve laughter. But it doesn’t have to stop there. Inject humor into your day all week. In fact, laughing is good for you, especially for your mood (and maybe even your health). So use the week to start a habit that’ll last all year!
Testicular Cancer Awareness Week (April 1 – 7, 2019): Just like women should do monthly breast self-exams, men should do monthly testicular self-exams. By checking yourself you’ll learn what’s normal for you and be more likely to notice when something’s different & should be checked out. This week is part of Testicular Cancer Awareness Month all April.
Medication Safety Awareness Week (April 1 – 7, 2019): Have you done your spring cleaning on your medicine cabinet yet? Have you ever truly cleaned out your medicine cabinet? Expired medications (both prescription and over the counter) should go away. Along with drugs you’re not taking any more. Those things can be unsafe. And whenever you start a new drug you should make sure you keep any follow-up visits your doctor wants. Some medications need monitoring & adjusting to make sure you’re getting the benefits while minimizing side effects. Learn more about medication safety here.
Celebration Days coming up for Apr. 1 thru Apr. 7
April 1st is all about fun! Of course there’s April Fool’s Day, but it’s also a day to have fun with co-workers. And for showing your kids that reading can be not only fun but funny.
As the week goes on we celebrate a couple of unusual (but not uncommon) pets. We take a walk, make amends, and enjoy lots of good food. And we raise a beer to the end of Prohibition (sort of).
How will you make your week fun-tastic?
April 1:
Fun at Work Day: Work isn’t necessarily fun, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have some fun while you’re there! And April 1 is the day to do that. But this isn’t the same as April Fool’s Day, which usually involves fun at someone else’s expense (like your co-workers). No, this is about everyone having fun together.
Reading is Funny Day: This is the day to show your kids that reading can be funny. Especially any child who finds reading “boring” & prefers video games. Arm yourself with books of funny stories, jokes, riddles, & similar fun subjects. Then sit down with your kids & read!
National Sourdough Bread Day: On this day we celebrate the bread-making technique that uses “wild” yeast kept in continuous cultivation. This long, slow fermentation creates a bread with a slightly sour taste (thus the name!). Whip up or buy a loaf to celebrate. If you don’t already have starter you’ll have to go the “buy” route. But you can also celebrate by starting some starter! It’ll take a couple weeks before you can use it. Learn all about starter & how to use it here.
National One Cent Day: Celebrate the one-cent coin! Yes, that’s the penny’s official name. We’re pretty sure we’ll keep calling them pennies. And you probably will too. Did you know there’s no 1815 pennies?
April 2:
National Ferret Day: This day is for ferret lovers! If you have pet ferrets give them some extra love for the day. If you don’t but you’d like to, learn about the care they need before jumping in. Or just watch some funny ferret videos. How you celebrate these goofy little critters is all up to you.
National Equal Pay Day: This day brings awareness to pay inequality between men & women. We observe it on the day each year when women will have earned the same amount as men doing the same job during the previous year. That means that for men & women doing the same job for all of 2018, the women needed an extra 3 months of 2019 to earn the same as the men earned by the end of 2018. Keep in mind these are averages … it says nothing about your specific job or situation.
Autism Acceptance Day: Learn more about autism for this day, which also helps kick off Autism Acceptance Month. When we understand something (like autism) or someone (like an autistic person) we’re more likely to be accepting of that thing or person.
National Reconciliation Day: There are a few of these days throughout the year. This one appears to have been started by advice columnist Ann Landers, who started it in 1989 as part of her response to a reader letter (of course!). Use it to make amends and try to repair relationships.
April 3:
National “Find a Rainbow Day”: There’s no symbolism here. You’re literally supposed to go find a rainbow. When you do, take a picture! Can’t find a “natural” rainbow? Use a sprinkler or hose to create one. Of course you’ll want to share your rainbow pictures!
National Walking Day: On the 1st Wednesday in April we walk! It’s part of Move More Month, created by the American Heart Association. Technically Walking Day came first, in 2007. Eventually the AHA decided we needed more than one day to get moving. So start with this day. Continue on Friday with Walk to Work Day. And then just keep it up all month! By then you’ll want to keep it up all year. Hopefully. (Yes, that makes it sound easier than it is, but you have to start somewhere).
Chocolate Mousse Day: Mmmmm … chocolate mousse. A delicious, creamy treat. And one you deserve after spending the day walking & chasing rainbows! Try this simple, 15-minute recipe. Just remember to leave enough extra time for chilling! (the mousse … not you ;) ).
April 4:
World Rat Day: Did you know that rats make awesome pets? They do! Not the rats dining in dumpsters in the alley, of course. But domesticated rats are quite sweet and loyal. Learn more about them for this day! And if you already have a pet rat or 2, give them some extra treats or a new toy to celebrate.
National Vitamin C Day: Celebrate this important vitamin that helps keep your body in good condition, protect your eyes, and keep your immune system humming. It may also minimize your cold symptoms (but only if you’ve been taking it regularly before getting that cold). How to celebrate? Enjoy lots of vitamin C-rich foods!
National Burrito Day: Enjoy your favorite burritos! How can you possibly go wrong? Go out to your favorite little hole-in-the-wall (they always have the best burritos!). Or see if restaurants near you are offering free or discount burritos in honor of the day. Or make them at home. If you don’t already have a favorite recipe, try this one with ground beef. Or this one with shredded chicken.
April 5:
National Walk to Work Day: Hopefully it’s a nice day! Because you’re going to get some exercise on this day. Walk to work or to your train/bus stop instead of driving, if possible. If you can’t do that, find some other time get in some walking. Maybe at lunch. Or after work. If you do drive, park farther from the door than usual.
National Deep Dish Pizza Day: After all your walking you deserve a treat! A slice or two of deep dish pizza ought to do the trick.
National Caramel Day: After your deep dish pizza enjoy a sweet caramel treat. Make some caramel sauce to use on … well, pretty much anything! (But probably not on your deep dish pizza). Or make these amazing-looking caramel-filled chocolate cookies (the recipe uses chocolate covered caramel candies). These cookies would have been fantastic for Chocolate Caramel Day, too!
National Flash Drive Day: Ah, the flash drive. So useful and easy to use. But so easy to lose! Transfer some data onto or off of a flash drive in honor of the day its inventors filed for a US patent.
April 6:
New Beer’s Eve: Celebrate the (almost) end of Prohibition in the US. If you were to travel back in time to the evening of April 6, 1933 you’d swear the newest iPhone was hitting the shelves at midnight. People were lined up all over the place! But nope, it was legal beer sales that were just hours away!
National Caramel Popcorn Day: You know that caramel sauce you just made to celebrate Caramel Day? Use it to make caramel popcorn! It’s so simple to make, and this recipe makes it simple to understand too. If you didn’t make caramel sauce already, that’s also included in the recipe. Of course you could always just buy caramel corn too!
National Twinkie Day: April 6 is a sweet, sweet day indeed! In addition to caramel popcorn, you can snack on that childhood favorite, Twinkies! If you remember the panic when Twinkies vanished from store shelves for more than 6 months, you know we must prevent that from ever happening again. How? By celebrating them! And eating them, of course. So do your part. Prevent another Twinkie extinction by celebrating this day. :D
National Sorry Charlie Day: Do you remember StarKist Tuna’s “Charlie the Tuna”’s earliest commercials? Poor Charlie just didn’t taste good enough to be Starkist Tuna. He was constantly hearing “Sorry, Charlie,” but that didn’t stop him! He just kept trying. And for this day we remember that message and evaluate our own response to rejection. Can we stay as upbeat as Charlie?
April 7:
No Housework Day: Skip the housework for one day. The world won’t end. And you deserve it!
International Beaver Day: Beavers! They’re not just cute, they’re important to the health of our nation’s wetlands. Those dams we sometimes find so annoying are actually good. And not only by keeping the water in the land. The dams also filter the water, keeping our rivers cleaner. But like many animals, their numbers are a fraction of what they used to be. So let’s take at least one day to learn more about these useful animals and how we can keep them around.
National Coffee Cake Day: Start (or end) your Sunday enjoying a piece 0r 2 of coffee cake and a cup of coffee. Enjoy your cake & coffee alone if you need some “me time.” Or invite a few friends & just enjoy each other’s company. Along with that cake & coffee, of course! If you have time, make the coffee cake. This recipe for cinnamon coffee cake looks scrumptious.
