Celebrate Today- ceremonies and celebrations to make your days count

In the past, we have celebrated half birthdays with sandwiches cut in half, half filled glasses of milk, half a piece of cake, etc.   In the middle of the celebration, we have also sung “Happy Birthday”, but we stopped singing halfway through the song.  It's actually kind of tricky to figure out exactly where the halfway mark is in the song! :)  We have some friends who celebrate their child’s half birthday by having the child pick a gift they want to give  rather than receive.   This summer, Seth wanted to make “blessing bags” to keep in the car to give to people who are asking for money and food on the street.   As a small group, the kids assembled these bags for his half birthday with bottled water, new socks, pens, pads of paper, granola bars, etc.   The kids all loved the project and it was a sweet way to celebrate Seth's half birthday. one of the notes that the girls wrote to put inside the bags 

This spring when we were volunteering at the food bank, there was a box of random donations that included some gingerbread houses. The volunteer coordinator told us that we were welcome to take these home with us, and I put mine in a drawer to save for when Micah came home from Malawi so that we could have fun with it this summer. When he came over last night for our monthly little baking date together, he remembered that I had shown him a drawer with some things I'd saved for our projects together.  We both agreed that this gingerbread house kit that I'd saved for him was perfect for a Christmas in July celebration last night.  The roof designs were such fun since the kit came with stencils.   I must say that gumdrops make everyday a bit more festive. :)  merry merry! 

I love days like today (Christmas in July) as they are simply excuses to pull out the stops and celebrate just because .  This morning, I had Jason and Taylor come down the steps together to the living room for a fun surprise.   a Christmas banner, a Santa hat, some Christmas lights and a few fun gifts  were part of the decor this morning.      Other years, we've been on camping trips, and it's been fun to bring goodies to put inside some socks I brought for stockings that I've hung by our campsite as a fun surprise, but this year it was a rainy Seattle morning with a bit of cozy time in our living room.  Whatever the decor or wherever we are, it's fun to mark the day on this 25th of July each year.  Merry Merry!