Thanks to a friend, I have discovered a new holiday that I have been completely neglecting’ Global Belly Laugh Day! The holiday is celebrated internationally on January 24th at exactly 1:24pm. When I heard about this ‘holiday’, I had the “not another day named something ridiculous for no reason uuuggghh” thought. Then I decided to look it up online.
(photo via Stacy Mae Photography)
One of the first things to pop up was a quote from the founder of this day, Elaine Helle, which stated:
“Global Belly Laugh Day is about celebrating with the people in your life, past and present, who laugh with you and help you laugh and smile”.
What a beautiful concept when you think about it. I am often encouraging my children to smile, laugh, enjoy and connect with others. As it turns out, there’s an entire day dedicated to just that. I’ve decided this year, for the first time, the Pecile gang will be celebrating Global Belly Laugh Day as one of our official holiday’s. I am always looking for ways to weave our family values into our daily lives and this holiday helps me do that. Kindness, enjoyment and connecting are super important values that I love to highlight in our family so this will be a meaningful and fun celebration.
This year, Global Belly Laugh Day happens to fall on a Sunday, which helps ensure everyone will be around for the festivities. Since this is a new day that we currently have no family traditions for I thought it would be fun to come up with a couple of things we could possibly do. When I think of places we have laughed and had fun as a family there are quite a few that come to mind, so I am going to keep it to ones that are pretty local, toddler-friendly and wallet-friendly. In addition to the places we may visit, I will also included a few Global Belly Laugh Day activities I plan on doing during some of our meals or car rides to ensure we are laughing throughout the day.
Pancakes For Breakfast
My kids are huge pancake fans so I am sure this will be the breakfast of choice on our First Global Belly Laugh Day breakfast. The kids can choose between making pancakes at home in silly shapes, and staying in our most mis-matched pajamas, or taking a visit to a local pancake house such as Country Pancake House in Ridgewood. Just looking at how big and delicious the pancakes are makes us smile and we always laugh at how many fun flavor choices they have.
Activities
After breakfast, the kids can choose between The World of Wings in Teaneck or the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City. Both places have tons of opportunities for family fun, laughs and memory-making. They both also have great opportunities for hands on learning which always creates some smile-worthy moments.
Throughout the day I will be focusing our conversations on things that make us laugh, times we can laugh at ourselves and some of our silliest family memories. I’ll bring a bag with riddles and knock-knock jokes written on index cards so we can pull one out at any time throughout the day to share a family laugh. We will also be taking silly face family selfies so we have fun pictures to remind us of the day.
Cheers to a very happy Global Belly Laugh Day! Smile, laugh and connect with your loved ones as the day was intended!
