Inside: Fun days to celebrate in January with a free printable list of our favorite days and fun ideas to celebrate.
It’s the New Year, a time when it seems like all of the holidays are behind us. But guess what you’re in luck there are a lot of somewhat wacky and fun days in January you can celebrate.
These “holidays” aka “National Days” are not federal holidays so work and school won’t be canceled.
Random Holidays in January
These fun days in January are a great way to make memories as a family. Kids think it’s especially fun to know what random holiday it is each day.
You can use these random holidays not only to make special memories at home, but also as classroom activity inspiration or marketing ideas if you have a small business or side hustle.
Fun Holidays in January
Celebrating these fun January holidays doesn’t have to be anything big and you don’t have to celebrate all of them. (There are multiple “holidays” for each date and I don’t even include all the options in this list!)
I personally like to look at the fun days and pick ones I know my kids will love or that are funny and easy to fit in to our day. (Don’t think you need to do something for all of these days!)
Adding a simple activity to “celebrate” these fun days is an easy way to make an ordinary day special.
Fun Days to Celebrate in January
I have included at least one fun day for each day in January. Some days have multiple days that I think could be fun to celebrate.
The printable list only includes one fun holiday for each date.
January 1 – New Year’s Day
New Year’s Day is the first day of a new year. A fun and simple way to celebrate New Year’s Day could be setting some family goals for the year or creating a vision board.
Related Post: New Years Wallpaper for your Phone
January 2 – National Cream Puff Day
January 2nd is not only National Cream Puff Day it’s also National Science Fiction Day and National Buffet Day.
So make cream puffs, read a science fiction book and head to the buffet for this day (or pick one of these fun days to celebrate).
January 3 – Drinking Straw Day
Celebrate Drinking Straw Day by drinking everything with a straw today!
Another fun day on January 3rd is Festival of Sleep Day – a great time to take a nap and catch up on sleep.
January 4 – National Trivia Day
Trivia either you love it or you hate it. Celebrate national trivia day by playing a trivia game or two.
A couple of our favorite trivia games are Wits and Wagers and 5 Second Rule.
Another fun day to celebrate January 4th is National Spaghetti Day! (I know what we are having for dinner!)
January 5 – National Whipped Cream Day
When I found out that there was a national whipped cream day the first thing that came to mind was the game Pie Face.
Be sure to record your kid’s reactions if they haven’t played before and try not to laugh too hard as you play this silly game.
January 6 – National Cuddle Up Day
National cuddle up day sounds like a great day to cuddle up and read a good book or watch a favorite movie.
January 7 – National Bobblehead Day
I always think of Dwight’s bobblehead on “The Office” when I think of Bobbleheads.
Not sure how to celebrate this day but it sounded fun so I had to include it on our list.
January 7th is also Old Rock Day celebrating geology. This could be a fun day to learn a little bit about rocks or maybe try painting some.
January 8 – National Bubble Bath Day
Bubble baths are a favorite at our house. Celebrate national bubble bath day by taking a bubble bath or making your own bubble bath or bath bombs.
January 9 – Static Electricity Day
Every kid loves playing with static electricity at least a little bit. Grab a pack of balloons from the dollar store and have some fun creating static electricity.
Psst…Getting long hair to stand on end using static electricity and a balloon (or the trampoline) is typically a kid’s favorite.
January 10 – Houseplant Appreciation Day
Celebrate Houseplant Appreciation Day by getting a houseplant or drawing a picture of a plant (we love the ones on art hub).
The 10th is also Cut Your Energy Costs Day and National Save the Eagles Day if you want to celebrate those instead.
January 11 – National Milk Day
Celebrate National Milk Day by drinking some milk or better yet visit a dairy and learn a little bit about the process of a dairy farm.
January 12- Kiss A Ginger Day
This is a fun holiday to celebrate if you have a ginger in your family.
January 13 – National Sticker Day
Stickers are one of my kid’s favorite things, we constantly use stickers for crafts, activities and reward charts.
National Sticker Day is a great time to pull out some new stickers.
Other Fun National Days on January 13th are National Peach Melba Day (try this peach and raspberry cheese cakes) and National Rubber Ducky Day.
January 14 – Organize Your Home Day
Gather the family and work together to Organize an area of your home.
Don’t overwhelm yourself by trying to organize the whole house. Instead, pick a small area and work on getting it organized before moving onto the next area.
Related Post: Tips for Cleaning and Organizing the Garage
January 14th is also International Kite Day, so after organizing your house have fun flying a kite if the weather is good at your house.
January 15 – National Bagel Day
Head out to your favorite bakery to grab some bagels or find a recipe on Pinterest and make your own bagels.
January 16 – Appreciate a Dragon Day
Have fun doing some Dragon activities for this fun January holiday.
Draw a dragon picture, read a book about dragons (Dragons Love Tacos is a popular picture book option) or do a dragon craft.
January 17 – Benjamin Franklin Day
January 17th is Benjamin Franklin’s birthday and a great day to learn a little bit more about this great guy.
The 17th i also Kid Inventors’ Day and Popeye Day.
January 18 – National Winnie the Pooh Day
Winnie the Pooh is a character most of us loved as young kids. The chubby, tubby little old bear that was filled with wisdom.
Celebrate Winnie the Pooh day by watching your favorite Winnie the Pooh show (have you seen the Christopher Robbin move? It’s so good!)
Don’t forget to check out these adorable Winnie the Pooh quotes.
January 19 – National Popcorn Day
Popcorn is a favorite snack at our house, so you know I can get behind this holiday.
We usually keep the popcorn simple at our house with melted butter and salt as the standard toppings.
But for National Popcorn day you could find a yummy popcorn recipe on Pinterest or you could even do a Popcorn bar with a variety of different toppings.
January 20 – National Penguin Day
I love it when National days involve animals. It’s always so fun to spend some time learning about different animals.
We love watching the Wild Kratts show to learn about animals.
Today is also National Cheese Lover’s Day if you want a foodie day to celebrate instead.
January 21 – International Playdate Day
There are several great holidays to choose from for January 21st. National Hugging Day is probably the most well known.
International Sweatpants Day is the perfect one to celebrate if you want to relax.
If you have kids like I do than you’ll probably want to celebrate International Playdate Day by scheduling a playdate if it works with your schedule.
January 22 – National Hot Sauce Day
National Hot Sauce Day is the holiday for my husband. He loves adding hot sauce to just about everything.
Celebrate this fun national day by trying a new hot sauce or trying hot sauce on a new food.
January 23 – National Pie Day
There are a few pie day holidays throughout the year and I’m not complaining. Pie is such a yummy dessert.
Our family’s favorite raspberry cream cheese pie is really quick and easy to make plus it’s delicious.
National Handwriting day is also celebrated on January 23rd and is a great time to write in a journal or handwrite a letter.
January 24 – National Peanut Butter Day
National peanut butter day is a great day to enjoy a peanut butter snack or to make a craft using peanut butter.
January 25 – National Opposite Day
I remember as a kid loving to play that it was opposite day. I never knew that an opposite day actually existed. But it does!
Have some fun saying the opposite on this wacky holiday. Young kids might enjoy watching the Bluey Opposites (Opposites Day) episode.
January 26 – National Spouses Day
Celebrate National Spouses Day by doing something for your spouse.
It doesn’t have to be anything big, just a little something to let them know you’re thinking of them.
January 27 – National Chocolate Cake Day
I know you needed another reason to have a cheat day. Go enjoy some chocolate cake and you can thank me later.
January 27th is also Holocaust Remembrance Day a good time to reflect and possibly learn more about the Holocaust.
January 28 – Lego Day
Legos are a favorite at our house so you can guess that national Lego day is a day we are really excited to celebrate.
If we still lived in Florida we would probably celebrate by spending the day at Legoland.
But since we can’t all go to Legoland for Lego Day a fun way to celebrate is by building with Lego blocks or watching Lego Masters.
If you have a little builder and are wondering what type of blocks you should start out with check out this post comparing Lego Duplo vs Mega Bloks.
January 29 – National Puzzle Day
Puzzles are not only a lot of fun to do they are a great brain activity for those young and old.
If you’re looking for some puzzles for your little ones check out this guide to Melissa and Doug Puzzles.
January 30 – Croissant Day
Croissants are always so tasty as my 4 year old says. Croissant day is a great time to try a new croissant recipe.
We love getting croissant dough and rolling up our favorite pizza toppings inside for quick and easy pizza bites.
January 31 – National Hot Chocolate Day
Yay, for hot chocolate, especially in January when it’s cold at our house.
Celebrate hot chocolate day by enjoying your favorite chocolate drink. Or try one of these 18 yummy hot chocolate recipes.
Make it extra fun by having a hot chocolate bar with a variety of fun cocoa toppings.
Federal Holiday in January
Federal Holidays are those that close schools and some jobs for the day.
In January there are two federal holidays New Years (I shared it at the top of the post) and Martin Luther King’s Birthday.
Martin Luther King’s Birthday
Martin Luther King Jr day is a holiday that is always celebrated on the 3rd Monday in January. Since the date changes each year it’s not in our numbered list above.
Spend some time on this day learning about Martin Luther King and why we celebrate him each year.
Free Printable Holiday List
I hope you have a great start the new year and enjoy celebrating some of these fun holidays in January.
Don’t forget your free printable list of Fun January Holidays.
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