Holiday of the Month Club

Using Silvana Clark’s great resource, Every Day a Holiday, as the basis, select a holiday (or two or three…) from each month and make a little gift bag for that month (see photos).

Since my grandchildren were not nearby, I wanted them to know that I was thinking of them all year long. I could have selected many holidays each month, but I had to pay to ship the box! So I narrowed the list down to about two per month and gave them one or two items to get their celebration started. The year-long packages cost me about $40-45 per family; cost will vary according to which holidays/items you choose to include.

Another fun option would be to send the packages at the beginning of each month, like a true “Holiday of the Month” club might. This works well if (a) you live nearby and can hand deliver or (b) have unlimited funds for shipping.

• National Thank You Day – thank you notes
• National Popcorn Day – popcorn

• Pancake Day – pancake mix
• Tootsie Roll Anniversary – tootsie rolls

• American Chocolate Week – M&M’s
• Big Bird’s Birthday – Big Bird pencils, stickers, and notepads

• International Moment of Laughter Day – book of clean jokes for kids
• Jellybean Day – flavored jelly beans (gourmet type, for taste testing!)
• International Children’s Book Day – small paperback children’s classic

• Physical Fitness Month – stopwatch
• Adhesive Tape Patent Anniversary – roll of adhesive tape

• Gingerbread Day – gingerbread mix (or for my health-conscious ones, a recipe and the spices pre-mixed in a baggie/envelope)
• “Happy Birthday” was written – funny candles, sprinkles, and decorator icing in tubes

• Cheer Up the Lonely Day – cheerful notecards and stamps
• Amelia Bedelia Celebration (author Peggy Parrish’s birthday) – Amelia Bedelia book

August

• Weird Contest Week – award ribbons from the dollar store
• National Toasted Marshmallow Day – bag of marshmallows

• National Play-Doh Day – Small variety pack of Play-Doh
• Johnny Appleseed’s Birthday – containers of applesauce

• National Pasta Month – spaghetti noodles and marbles (for an activity in the book)
• Dictionary Day – book of word games, alphabet pasta
• Silly Day – Silly Putty

• Good Nutrition Month – calorie counter book
• National Bible Week – Bible study book for kids, Bible trivia booklet

• Hanukkah – chocolate “gelt,” menorah candles
• Christmas – gingerbread boy/girl cookie cutters & sugar cookie recipe

• Eric Carle’s Birthday – Colored tissue paper variety pack and hole puncher
• Eat Cereal Day – individual serving boxes of cereal, oatmeal toppings
• Homemade Bread Day – yeast packet and Vicki’s Bread Recipe
• Dr. Seuss’s Birthday – Green Eggs and Ham or Fox in Socks (On this day,

         we all took turns reading pages from the book as fast as we possibly could – they can be real tongue twisters!)

I included a copy of Every Day a Holiday so they could look up the activity to go with the bag’s contents, and could come up with additional activities (this particular assortment would have included 26 white lunch bags). Each bag was labeled with the month and the date to celebrate (the children would not know the holidays being celebrated). Mom would open the bag a day or two before the appropriate date so she could be prepared. Note for next time: It would help to include a calendar with the holiday dates “starred,” to save mom from weeks of “Is it a holiday yet?” inquiries!

Additional resources: 
Let’s Make a Memory by Shirley Dobson and Gloria Gaither
Homespun Memories for the Heart by Ehman, Hovermale, Smith