Happy August to You!
Here are 20 fun ideas and ways to celebrate August.
August is National Golf Month! It's time to hit the golf links. If you are a new golfer, head to your local driving range and practice hitting a bucket of balls. If you are a golfer, this list of 18 ways to celebrate National Golf Month should keep you busy. I just learned that balls travel further on hot days. For each increase in air temperature of 25 degrees F, a golfer swinging a club around 100 mph will carry the driver up to eight yards longer!
Attend an Outdoor Concert this month! If there is a place to watch an outdoor concert - by all means go! Check it out and enjoy the ability to listen to live music outdoors. In our neck of the woods, outdoor concerts are provided all over the state from "Concerts in the Park", county and state fairs to zoos and gardens. Most require a small cover charge or ticket requirement, but many are free. We were able to catch an Ingrid Michealson concert at the Edgefield, an outdoor concert venue in Troutdale, Oregon. There is just something to be said for a warm summer evening with a light breeze, a picnic to feast on and a live concert to watch.
August is "Admit You're Happy Month" - I'm happy! Happiness is a choice. Every day we can wake up and decide our frame of reference for happiness.
August is also Family Fun Month. Check out these fun ideas for Family Date Nights or 30 Budget-Friendly Summer Family Date Night Ideas
The first week of August is "National Simplify Your Life Week"! Several years ago, I learned from three women focused on simplification. Tsh Oxenreider's Organized Simplicity approach focused on 'removing the mess to add more meaning to your life'. Aby Garvey's Simplify 101 provided tangible action steps on how to get organized and simplify life with solutions to remove roadblocks keeping systems in place. Julie Morgenstern's Organizing from the Inside Out forced me to analyze my natural habits and personality quirks to simplify (reduce) and to organize each area of life. Julie's approach took my previous organization systems to the next level and helped me prioritize what I value most and organize and simplify accordingly.
Week 2 of August = National Smile Week This article shares 11 surprising reasons we should smile every day and the great power in a smile. Smiling boosts productivity, creativity, strengthens the body on a cellular level and obviously promotes happiness. But did you realize that smiling is contagious?
Week 3 of August = Friendship Week - Let's be honest, friendships take time and effort, but the gift of friendship at every age is critical to happiness and help shape who we become. Psychology Today had a great article on why friends shape our lives, with 15 reasons we need friends. On that note, call up an old friend that you have not chatted with for a while or plan to make a new friend this month in honor of Friendship Week.
Week 4 of August = Be Kind to Humankind Week (BK2HK) has become an annual celebration of kindness recognized globally from August 25th - August 31st each year. Each day has a unique theme throughout the week including:
- Sacrifice Our Wants for Other Needs Sunday
- Motorist Consideration Monday
- Touch-A-Heart Tuesday
- Willing-To-Lend-A-Hand Wednesday
- Thoughtful Thursday
- Forgive Your Foe Friday
- Speak Kind Words Saturday
The group organizing Be Kind to Humankind Week encourages sharing experiences with social media and using the hashtag #bk2hk in communication. To offer suggestions, send ideas to [email protected].
August 3 - National Watermelon Day Coined the unofficial fruit of summer, watermelon gets its own day of celebration! Food Network chefs have compiled a list of creative, yet simple, recipes incorporating watermelon and Southern Living shares 24 of their Best Watermelon Recipes.
August 7 - National Lighthouse Day Did you know that lighthouses are among the oldest standing historic structures in the United States? Lighthouses played a significant role in the development of our nation and the reminder of America's rich maritime traditions. This list covers lighthouses existing today spanning the United States with Michigan home to the most lighthouses of any state.
National Forgiveness Day to be followed later in the month by Kiss and Make-up Day in case you didn't take care of the forgiveness issues earlier in the month.
August 9 - National Book Lover's Day - Between Amazon reviews, the GoodReads website, and a collection of Pinterest Book Club reading lists I have been able to discover some wonderful books. Where do you go for book recommendations?
August 10 - National S'mores Day - My sister-in-law Jessica prepared this amazing S'mores Dip that she made famous at our family reunion/camp out when there was a "no fire ban" where we were staying. The combination of melted chocolate swirled with toasted, broiled marshmallows and then dipped with graham crackers appealed to every s'more lover. Although we missed the process of roasting our marshmallows, this dip exceeded many other expectations!
Skillet S'mores Dip Recipe
Line a skillet or baking dish with 2 and a half Hershey's chocolate bars, topped with 12 large marshmallows. Pop it into a 450-degree oven for about 5-6 minutes. Use graham crackers to dip the melted goodness and enjoy!
August 15 - Relaxation Day - Sign me up for this one! Who doesn't need an excuse for a day of relaxation? Having just returned from a family vacation at a lake, I can speak first hand that quiet time outside, floating on the water or reading a good book, is therapeutic for the soul, even if it is just for a short time. Many of us have to "force ourselves" to take the time to slow down, unwind and stop the daily rushing from here to there. Days like today MUST be observed more than just once a year!
August 16 - National Tell a Joke Day -
"The human race has only one effective weapon, and that is laughter." - Mark Twain
"Laugh at yourself for a man is most comical when he takes himself too seriously." - Og Mandino
It seems like everyone in my family are naturally funny, to include my kids. However, I am not a natural jokester. I am the one who is always laughing at everyone's jokes. For a little help on how to tell a funny joke with a step-by-step tutorial, this article breaks down the anatomy of a joke and its formula for people like me who need a little help in that department.
August 17 - National Thriftshop Day - My girls have "shopping at thrift shops" listed on their summer bucket list so we will need to make a point to celebrate this day by supporting area thrift shops. I love the good causes these stores support and the concept of repurposing/reusing items is for the environment as well.
August 19 - National Aviation Day honors the birthday of aviator Orville Wright, pioneer aviators in the United States and the first person to successfully fly an airplane. His inaugural flight, December 17, 1903 at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, changed transportation forever. Perhaps this would be a fun day for a paper airplane contest?
August 26 - National Dog Day - This day honors dogs and serves as a date to call attention to dogs needing rescuing from homelessness. Created by the National Dog Day Foundation whose motto is "Saving 10,000 Dogs, One Dog at a Time". I am a HUGE dog lover if you didn't catch on already and I am, like any other dog owner, partial to my sweet Labradoodle, Buddy. Dogs play such a critical role in our lives beyond the love and companionship. I am continually amazed at stories of dogs serving in the role as police dogs, leading the blind, watching for their owners safety and the list continues on. I am so grateful for my dog's companionship and care. He is so intuitive when a child cries or seems distressed, he runs to their side, wanting to help.
August 29 - More Herbs, Less Salt Day - I am going to take this as a challenge to cook with minimal salt today. What a perfect time to harvest fresh herbs and incorporate them into recipes. I also want to add a few herbs to my herb garden that has been overtaken by rosemary and mint bushes.
August 31 - National Trail Mix Day - The salty-sweet combination of flavors of trail mix has warranted a National Trail Mix Day. With recipes all over the internet ranging from those with nuts to those with M&M's or chocolate chips - the good old-fashioned peanut and raisin trail mix of my youth has definitely morphed into a plethora of trail munching mixtures! I love how this Greatist article breaks down the different components and provides creative mix and match options.
