15 Obscure, Unusual, Unique Holidays January Calendar

January Calendar of Special Days and Holidays

We're always looking for obscure holidays to plan our blog ideas. Here is a list of January holidays to theme your classroom boards or craft activities. Scroll down for a free printable January calendar of holidays for the classroom. Enjoy!

Pin it! Preschool Scavenger Hunt is full of great theme ideas for special holidays and seasonal activities for preschoolers. Hop over, and check it out. Our Pinterest profile also has ideas for classroom bulletin boards and elementary room doors plus great ideas for homeschooling. No matter the special day, I hope you'll look around my site for more ideas for kids' activities.

January Holidays and Special Days Calendar 
to plan activities to do with kids.

• January 1 - while this day is known to everyone around the world as New Year's Day, it is also the birthday of America's beloved Betsy Ross maker of our U.S. flag. (1752) Click for Free American Flag Coloring Page Printables.
• January 7 - Harlem Globetrotters started as the Savoy Big Five. (1926)
• January 8 - National Clean Off Your Desk Day. Maybe if you tell the kids that, they will find it motivating?
• January 9 - National Apricot Day. So find some dried apricots or dry your own and make an apricot doll. Wait. They do that with dried apples. Well, do it anyway - invent that!
• January 10 - Volunteer Firefighter's Day, now that's a good day. It honors some brave folks. How about a little fireman appreciation. Do some crafting with Dalmatians or maybe make some hats or play fireman with an old cut up hose.
• January 11 - Got Milk? Well, you better get some because today is Milk Day. If you want a really obscure special occasion it is also my parent's anniversary!
• January 13 - The Frisbee was invented in Connecticut, because what would we do without the Frisbee really? I mean it was the original boredom buster, right. Dogs love it. I had a boyfriend once who loved it. And then, he got a dog so...
• January 14 - Speaking of dogs, the 15th is Dress up your Pet Day. You could dress your pet up as a Volunteer Firefighter or a Dalmatian; that'd be a hoot.
• January 14 - Speaking of hoots or birds anyway, It is Bald Eagle Day. Do not dress up your bald eagle today. I repeat, do not dress up your bald eagle today. Have you seen their talons. Yep, this is a bad idea.
• January 15 - National Hat Day. Hello, I've got some hat crafts. I can help you with that day! Peruse these walls or these frames, you will find many more hats for holidays.
• January 17 - Ben Franklin's Birthday. How about a fun science project for preschoolers to celebrate.
• January 19 - It is Archery day. No, kids it didn't start with the Hunger Games, it has been around a long, long, time. Why not paint a bull's eye in color wheel colors so you can learn two things at once. You know, kill two birds with one stone. Ahem. One arrow, I mean.
• January 20 - Penguin Awareness Day, although Penguins are birds please don't go throwing rocks or shooting arrows at them. You could color a coloring page for the letter P though.
• January 24 - Global Belly Laugh Day. Celebrate the gift of laughter! 1:24 p.m. (your time) Smile! Throw your hands in the air and LOL for real!
• January 28 - Daisy Day. I have a Daisy Hat Craft, so you can choose do you use it for Hat Day or Daisy Day? Maybe plant a flower seed instead.
• January 29 - National Puzzle Day. Put together a puzzle, glue it onto cardboard, and frame it. That sounds fun. Not. I dislike puzzles. #dislikepuzzles Have the kids draw a picture, glue it to a cereal box panel, let it dry, and let them cut it up. That sounds better; yeah go do that. Give them a baggie so they can take it home and show their Mom. I sure hope she doesn't feel the same way about puzzles that I do.  ;)

Click here to download: Free Printable January Calendar of Holidays.

Add some cool kids' books about snow to your winter activities curriculum. Well, that's all I've got. Want some February Special Days ideas? Oh. Try this page for companion coloring pages and free printables - that will help for now.  See you back in month!

Recommended Reading:

February Calendar of Special Days and Holidays

Children's Book-a-Day Almanac*

January's Sparrow by Patricia Polacco*

Buy a Puzzle for National Puzzle Day:
Melissa and Doug Pattern Blocks and Boards Puzzle*






ADS DISCLOSURE: We've partnered with some wonderful advertisers who may sponsor blog posts or send us samples to test. Some companies pay us to review their products.

*We also use affiliate links, if you make a purchase we get a tiny commission. Kids Creative Chaos participates in the Amazon LLC Associates Program*, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for blogs to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon properties, including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. We also offer Tapinfluence, Google Adsense, SoFab, and Izea ads here. Thanks so much for helping us keep the lights on! :)

Wanting to have the best New Year's Eve Party Celebration with Kids?

Try these 5 New Year's Eve Ideas with Kids to have a fun and memorable Party Celebration!

There are so many fun ways to include your kids in the New Years Celebration! Here is a round up of some of our favorites New Year Party ideas you can use to have the best New Year's Eve Party ever with the kids. Enjoy!

Have the best New Year's Eve Party Celebration with Kids.

1) Double the Fun Parties wrote about her fabulous, kid-oriented, teal and silver New Year's Eve Party!

Silver and Teal New Year's Eve Party

She has fantastic ideas from the decorations to the food. She also includes some very fun activities - like "Name that Oreo." Her re-purposed coffee drink glass bottles as adorable milk bottles for the kids are my favorite! Seriously, how cute is this?! She has popcorn balls, veggie and dip cups, and other finger foods! The color theme with the clocks is just darling!

2) The Real Thing with the Coake Family posted this clever party plan! There are several variations online with other ideas but her plan is really cute and fun.

Here are some more party ideas for kids.

Ring in the New Year with Hourly Bags!

Each bag is labeled with an hour (she includes a free printable on her site) - to be opened on each hour leading up to midnight (or whatever you deem to be your "ringing in the new year time"). She has a clue for an activity and something in each bag - hop over to her site for more details.

So fun! If you are crafty and prefer a craft activity for each hour, check out these 16 ideas a clever New Year Activity with kids! 

3) The Crafty Crow shared some ideas and this one is especially awesome! The picture is form flickr by Art Yowza.

Memory Strings

What a great way to use art in helping your children to reflect on the activities, events, and favorite moments of the year. You can provide art supplies, perhaps some number printables, and string and let them go to town in creating a keepsake craft project!

4) Savvy Sassy Moms has a wonderful round-up of New Year's party ideas!

Fun DIY Hats for New Year's Eve.

Birthday ideas for girl's slumber party

This is an especially cute idea from their list - these festive and fun party hats made from poster board. Pair these with little goodie bags filled with noise makers and you will have a rockin' party! All of the instructions are over on Spoonfull for these diy NYE hats for kids.! 

5) (cool) progeny has perhaps my very favorite theme - New Years Around the World!

Ideas for New Years Around the World,

There are several countries with their New Year's traditions listed! It would be such a fun way to incorporate a little history and geography into an evening of fun! You can find printable maps and coloring pages online as well as traditional recipes. Perhaps include traditional costumes or a learn a greeting in another language. You can compare when they ring in the New Year compared to where you live and perhaps celebrate several New Years!

However you decide to celebrate - we hope that it will be a memorable and fun time with family and friends! Be creative in including your children - there are so many fun ideas! 

We would love to hear your ideas for New Year's Eve for kids. Do you stay up until midnight? Try this Midnight Care Package for your New Year celebration. Do you let your kids stay up? Any traditions that you must absolutely include?



Recommended Reading:

Paper Crafts for Chinese New Year *

P. Bear's New Year's Party: A Counting Book*


Find more ideas for New Years Eve.

ADS DISCLOSURE: We've partnered with some wonderful advertisers who may sponsor blog posts or send us samples to test. Some companies pay us to review their products.

*We also use affiliate links, if you make a purchase we get a tiny commission. Kids Creative Chaos participates in the Amazon LLC Associates Program*, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for blogs to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon properties, including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. We also offer Tapinfluence, Google Adsense, SoFab, and Izea ads here. Thanks so much for helping us keep the lights on! :)

6 Easy PINTEREST Fourth of July Activities to Celebrate Independence Day

You can have your own Independence Day parade this July 4th with these Pinterest Fourth of July holiday projects

Make these easy, fun crafts and activities with your kids and march around the house for a sparkler free holiday.

1. Build a Felt American Flag for Fourth of July ~ Easy for Preschoolers (Tip: You can make it with construction paper too.)  This craft from Little Family Fun is easy and giftable too!

Felt Flag Craft for The Fourth of July.

2.  MeloMomma has a super cute Uncle Sam paper craft perfect for Preschool Kids.


Sorry, this website is no longer active. This is a good blogging lesson. Save the images and upload them with links. If you copy the url of an image and it gets removed, you have broken links. We'll make our own soon and replace this image.

3. Craft your own RED, WHITE, and BLUE windsock from plastic tablecloths and hoop. This easy Fourth of July craft is from Multiples and More.

Make a windsock from strips of plastic table cloths like this one from Multiples and More.

4.  Use recycled shopping bags (Target is cool)  to make an Independence Day Parade like this one from The Zui Blog.

Make a baton from plastic retail bags like this one from The Zui Blog.

5.  Make a Firework Hat go to Tippytoe Crafts for the How to.

How to make a Firework hat craft for Independence Day.

6.  We've got two easy crafts from toilet paper rolls (cardboard tube crafts). Both can be filled with candy and goodies for party favors.  Uncle Sam Hat craft and Rocket Popper craft.

How to make a rocket craft for kids.

How to make an Uncle Sam hat.

Recommended Reading:

Patriotic Crafts for the Fourth of July

Primary Art: It's the Process, Not the Product

Paper Crafts for the 4th of July (Paper Craft Fun for Holidays)

KCC Kids Make Native American Art and Crafts in honor of the Wampanoag Indians contribution to Thanksgiving

Studying Native American Art and Crafts? 

Get crafty with Alex Toys and celebrate the Wampanoag Indians.  Without them, we'd have nothing to celebrate. Here are companion activities for your lessons on Native American History.

Native American Footprint Headband Craft

Mayhem wanted to go outside and collect stones and leaves in her pouch like a real  hunter-gather. "Indian Dress" paper grocery bag tutorial.

What a fun word, Wampanoag. Here is a site with fun facts about the Wampanoag. We learned some Wampanoags are from Natick, Massachusetts where the Daddy was born.


Wampanoags today  See the real Mayflower here. See our version here.  Daddy is not Native American, but Mommy is related to Pocahontas about five different ways- her Indians are known as the Powhatan or Virginia Algonquian. One day, we'll write a post about this relationship.

Tie Dye Fashion Groovy Tote Kit from Alex Toys ~ Fun way to learn about dyeing clothing.

Alex Toys has great products for your Thanksgiving celebration or to help teach Native American ways and honor their contribution to our country in the classroom.

I wanted to teach dyeing with the Tie Dye Fashion Groovy Kit and teach weaving with their Native American Loom, but the projects seemed a bit daunting for a six year old, eight year old, and an OCD Mom. So, I kept  putting it off. 

We'll do that post next week. We can do it tomorrow. It just has to be done by Thanksgiving...

The Tie Dye kit by Alex Toys is awesome, super easy, and nearly mess free ~ we did most of it in a tub in the kitchen sink.

Soaking items to dye before tying off with rubber bands and twist ties.

Knotting off patterns with bands included in the kit and recycled bread bag twist ties.

Projects ready to dye. The included, Groovy Tote and some of our old, stained t-shirts.

I've done some tie-dyeing in the past, but this was so much easier. Although, the kit was for one tote bag we had enough dye to dye several things. I wish we had prepped more items. We decided to use some of the dye to make super messy, water color paintings in the sink.

Leave lots of white space for better contrast and to keep colors from bleeding together.

This is our only mess! How great is that?

Squirting dye on paper and blending with plastic spoon.

Secure your items in plastic bags for 24 hours.

Patience is a virtue. Enclose in plastic bags for 24 hours to set the dye, remove bands, lay flat to dry for another 24 hours, and then wash and dry.

The bag was included in the kit and we did three shirts and several paintings.
All bottles are still half full! This would be great for a birthday party or classroom. 

Tie Dye Paper Art  ~ Less Squeeze is Best

Tie Dye Paper Art ~ Learning Phase

The loom? Oh my the loom, it was far too daunting for this post. See our weaving experiences in Jake's Journey in Art ~  Home-school Weaving. 

Native American Fruit - Persimmons

Weaving is tedious work that takes time. Imagine if you were a Native American making clothing to keep warm.

Popsicle Stick Indian Craft for Preschoolers

Next month, celebrate the spirit of giving with Santa's Elves of Indy as we collect, wrap, and donate gifts for those needing a little extra help this Christmas season.

AlexToys.com donated these toys for our unbiased review.
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Thanksgiving Activity: Broomstick Toss Craft and Game for Parties

Broomstick Toss Craft and Game for Kids for Fall Parties

You are busy working in the kitchen; your kids need something to do. Take a minute to turn some plates and a broom into a fun Thanksgiving Activity. This Broomstick Toss game is perfect for preschoolers and family parties. Bring on the holiday fun! Enjoy.

Thanksgiving Game for Parties.

Jake is happy he got to use scissors, nevermind he did not follow the instructions. Let your kids experiment. Give them a plain piece of paper and a pair of kiddie scissors, and you've just earned twenty minutes of freedom. Cut the center from your mini-paper plate. Grab your broom. Dessert Plates work best.

Use Sensory Motor Skills to make this craft.

Easy Thanksgiving activity game for kids to make and play.

Thanksgiving Game for Parties  

You will need:

6 -10 paper plates, scissors, and a broom.

• Start by poking a hole in the center of your plate and cutting around to form a ring.
• Repeat with all plates.
• Divide into two teams, each team taking half the plates to opposite ends of the room.
• Get your broom, decide which team goes first.
• Unlike the traditional ring toss the player holds the broom and actively tries to catch the rings. It can be a boisterously fun game for preschoolers.
• We found when you toss your plate upside down it flies better, but it is nearly impossible to catch on the broom. So, toss your plates under-handed with the eating side up.
• When a player tosses all of their plates, tally the 'ringers' and switch sides.

The winner catches the most plates with the broom.

 

Jake beams after catching a plate- Don't tell Amanda we let her cheat!

Action!....

The kids really like this game and it is so SIMPLE.  It is a great 'busy' activity while you cook Thanksgiving Dinner. They needed very little moderation, although I can see the broomstick turning into a weapon quickly in a dispute, so don't leave them unattended for too long. :-)



Recommended Reading:

Thanksgiving Song for Kids

Thanksgiving Song for Kids

Easy Christmas Tree Decoration : Kids Popsicle Stick Christmas Crafts

Easy Popsicle Christmas Tree Decoration: Kids Christmas Crafts

Get Crafting! Use popsicle sticks to make these easy puppets or fridge magnets. Make several holiday shapes, and glue them to popsicle sticks. Have the kids design their own stage with an old shoe box and use these as mini-puppets. Go ahead and glue the magnet to the back. The fridge make's the perfect storage keeper to organize all your kids craft projects. Enjoy!

Christmas Tree Puppet or  Magnet or Pin.

Cool craft for preschool kids.

  Materials:

  Popsicle Stick

  Old Advertiser Fridge Magnets, Cut up or pin back 

  (Michael's or JoAnn's)

  Felt

  Pipe Cleaners

  Hot Glue

  Earring Stickers or Sequins for decorations

 Kids can play on the fridge too. Color a scene on a piece of construction paper. Attach it to the fridge, and move the "puppets" around the scene. Now, that is a fun holiday project for kids!

Recommended Reading:

Snowmen

Bridges: Amazing Structures to Design, Build & Test (Kaleidoscope Kids)*

Indians and Turkeys

Loew Cornell 1021254 Woodsies Craft Sticks, 1000-Piece*

Santa and Reindeer

ADS DISCLOSURE: We've partnered with some wonderful advertisers who may sponsor blog posts or send us samples to test. Some companies pay us to review their products.

*We also use affiliate links, if you make a purchase we get a tiny commission. Kids Creative Chaos participates in the Amazon LLC Associates Program*, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for blogs to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon properties, including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. We also offer Tapinfluence, Google Adsense, SoFab, and Izea ads here. Thanks so much for helping us keep the lights on! :)

Sensory Game for Children with Marshmallows: Fun for Kids!

Marshmallow Sensory Game for Kids

Need a few minutes of peace and quiet, Marshmallows are fun game for kids and this SENSORY game for children is the perfect fix. Kids can't talk with the straws in their mouths!  Everyone is intent on winning and they all loved it! Looking for more marshmallow activities for kids? In the sidebar, enter marshmallow(s) for a list of our posts with Things to do with Marshmallows. Enjoy!

Fold the straw in half and use it like chopsticks 
to pick up the marshmallows. This way is easier for preschoolers.

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Marshmallows make great sensory games for children.

How to play Sensory Marshmallow Game

• Open up a bag of mini-marshmallows and spread them in the center of a cloth covered table. Give every kid a cup and a straw. (The teenage counselors liked it too.)

• Start with a stop-watch to increase the excitement. Let the Marshmallow Games begin!  Ready, Set, Go!  It is a race to see who can suck up the most marshmallows and place them in their cup.  No hands allowed. Suck and hold until you drop into the cup.

• I quickly realized no stop-watch was needed and let them play until all marshmallows were gone. We counted who had the most.  The winner got stickers and candy and everyone else got to eat the marshmallows!

Aren't marshmallows fun?

For another sensory element, poke marshmallows with straw.
Then, try to pick up and place into the cup before they fall off.

Recommended Reading:

The Marshmallow Incident

Fun with Marshmallows

Marshmallow Math; Early Math For Young Children

Owen's Marshmallow Chick by Kevin Henke

Turkey Marshmallows