One Extra Day
How To Celebrate Leap Day With Your Family
It only comes around every four years, so it’s nice to be a little *extra.*
Leap Day is a pretty special day, whether you get to celebrate your actual birthday on it or not. I know it feels like there are tons of holidays and it can be a little overwhelming to think there’s something else you have to make magical for your kids, but Leap Day really is so fun. And celebrating Leap Day with your family is a fun way to reconnect and really make Feb. 29 feel extra special.
Honestly, less is more. It’s not like Leap Day is a day associated with gifts or anything. And since Leap Day is Thursday, Feb. 29 this year, that most likely means you all have school and sports activities and work and plenty of other weekday things happening. But you can make it a little extra fun with these celebration ideas, and they don’t require a ton of work. Making lasagna for dinner? Make it a four-cheese lasagna to incorporate the number four that’s associated with Leap Day. Have a frog outfit or want to do a family leaping contest in the backyard? Go for it, and then eat four scoops of ice cream.
And if you or a loved one have a Leap Day birthday, it’s time to get real special. With only an estimated 200,000 people in the United States with a Feb. 29 birthday, it’s a pretty big deal to celebrate a loved one’s actual day, instead of a Feb. 28 or March 1 celebration. And these ideas can make you or your little Leapling’s birthday so fun.
Dress your baby and kids in some kind of frog accessory.
Being born on Leap Day is rare — there are just about 5 million people worldwide with a Feb. 29 birthday — so of course there’s a collective name for them: Leaplings. Frogs are known for leaping, and have been associated with the special day for a while now, so lean in hard and bring your baby home from the hospital in a little frog onesie or a frog blanket.
But even if you’re just celebrating Leap Day with kiddos not born on Leap Day, try frog-themed accessories or even ballerina-inspired looks. Leap!
Go for bouncing and leaping activities.
It is a Leap Day after all, so go for bouncy houses, sack races (for leaping), ballet classes where you learn how to do the perfect leap — just any of it. It’s a great theme, even if you head to a trampoline park for a big Leap Day celebration. Just get leaping!
Make it a Yes Day.
Since Leap Day is such a very special day, designate it at as a “Yes Day” for your kiddos. Let them, within reason obviously, call the shots for the day — they get to pick what you all eat, what you do, and how you spend the day because you have to say “Yes!” to everything they suggest. Come on, it’s only once every four years, it can’t be that hard to follow through. And they’ll always remember how magical Feb. 29 really is.
Do everything in fours.
Make a four-layered cake, eat a dinner spread of four different snacks, go for four rounds of a board game — four is the number for Leap Day, so lean in hard to all of the fours.
Do the thing you’re always wishing you had “more time to do.”
You know what the thing is. What’s something that every week you think about, that makes you say at least once a month, “If only I had enough time, I could do this thing!” Do that thing on Leap Day. Is it a family game night? Is it just resting on the couch with your kids and watching a movie? Is it blowing off the housework after school and work to go eat ice cream at the park? A movie night that keeps everyone up past bedtime?
It’s literally an extra day in your life. Spend it how you really want to.
How To Celebrate A Leap Day Birthday
Find the best Leap Day brand celebrations, like at Build-A-Bear.
Because Leap Day only comes around every four years, you can usually find some good deals at restaurants and shopping. But an especially fun celebration is to head to Build-A-Bear. The store is known for doing a “pay your age” promotion where kids can get a stuffed toy and have the price match whatever age they’re turning, but on Leap Day, those with a Leap Day birthday can pay just $4 for a new furry friend.
Have a themed party based on how many Leap Day birthdays you’ve actually had.
I had a friend whose mother had a Leap Day birthday and was turning 64 during a Leap Year, so by their calculations, that meant it was really only her 16th birthday — so they threw her a Sweet 16 party. You can have a lot of fun with this, especially for those who are older.
Leap Day is so special, whether you get to celebrate a birthday or not. Just soak in the extra day with your family and make it a little fancy with some of these fun celebration ideas.
