We all look forward to Memorial Day. It’s the unofficial start of summer. We get a much-needed day off work and school. We often get to stuff ourselves with delicious food. It’s also so much more, but this is often lost on many of us, especially kids.
How can we teach our kids to have a meaningful Memorial Day?
Like many families across this nation, we have served in the military. My husband joined the military to advance his education right around the peak of the Iraq War. Because of his placement in the Medical Corps, he had a front row seat to the sacrifices of his brothers and sisters in arms. He would bring the stories of their sacrifices home to me. Even though I never met these brave men and women, their stories really affected me.
Our son was born only a handful of months before the end of my husband’s service, and our daughter came along almost two years after his separation. They do not have memories of our family’s service or first-hand knowledge of the sacrifices of the families with whom we served. It is important to us to let them know from a young age just how meaningful Memorial Day is. But this is easier said than done.
If you too want to make Memorial Day meaningful for your kids (and even for yourself), I’ve come up with five things you can do to get across to your kids that Memorial Day is about so much more than cookouts. These are meant to be conversation starters. You can take them as deep as you think is appropriate for your kids. For the youngest among us, just doing some of these activities might be enough. Where older kids and teenagers are involved, maybe they can jump start a deeper conversation about sacrifice. However you use these ideas, I hope they are helpful ways to make Memorial Day meaningful for your kids.
Meaningful Memorial Day Activities
Read a book
My kids love books. If I want to get something across to them, I find a book that applies. This strategy has worked for everything from potty training (I highly recommend Elmo’s P Is for Potty) to emotional regulation (a gem for this is The Pout Pout Fish and the Mad Mad Day). If your kids are anything like mine, may I suggest using a book to start getting them thinking about the meaning of Memorial Day?
Several books do exist that are very on the nose about the meaning of Memorial Day. It’s also worth considering books that talk about the concepts of service, patriotism, and sacrifice more generally. Here are a few options to consider:
- Blue Sky White Stars – This beautifully illustrated book uses the images of the United States to celebrate patriotism and the story of our nation and our people. This one gets bonus points for also being applicable to President’s Day, the Fourth of July, and Veteran’s Day.
- Don’t Forget, God Bless Our Troops – Dr. Jill Biden’s children’s book tells the story of service through the eyes of a child with a parent serving overseas. Although not about Memorial Day in particular, this book focuses on the sacrifices of a child, so it might be a more relatable way to teach kids about sacrifice.
- A Day for Rememberin’ – This book walks through the events of what was likely the first Memorial Day in 1865. It’s another one that is told through the eyes of a child, so it could hit a little closer to home for kids and help them understand the meaning of Memorial Day.
Donate to veterans
If you haven’t served in the military and you don’t know anyone personally who has served, donating to veterans is a good way to introduce your kids to a veteran. It also is a handy way to explain the concept of service to your kids.
If you have a veterans home nearby, consider buying some flowers or baking some cookies and taking them to the home (call first to ask if they have rules about what you can bring!). You and your kids can deliver your donations to veterans living there, thank them for their service, and brighten their day and yours.
If you don’t have a veterans home near you, or if your local veterans home doesn’t accept drop-in donations, many veterans organizations have thrift stores to which you can donate. Have your kids gather up their old toys and clothes and whatever else could use a new home and take a trip to the donation center. While you’re there, take a spin around and see if you can give new life to someone else’s donations and give some financial support to the veterans. They deserve your help!
Send a card
We should remember service members who are deployed overseas on Memorial Day, even though that’s not exactly the point of the holiday. Even if they aren’t being hurt in the course of their duties, they are sacrificing to be there. They are away from their families and the comforts of home.
A small way we can remember these men and women in uniform and ensure a meaningful Memorial Day for our kids is to send a card to a deployed soldier. There are many programs that facilitate this show of appreciation – A Million Thanks and Operation Gratitude are just two examples.
Participate in the National Moment of Remembrance
Perhaps the simplest way to show your kids the true meaning of Memorial Day is to join in a moment of silence with your fellow countrymen to remember those who have sacrificed for your freedom. The National Moment of Remembrance takes place at 3:00 pm local time each Memorial Day and lasts for one minute.
I love this idea. The National Moment of Remembrance didn’t exist when I was a young child, having only started in 2000, so it was not a staple of my Memorial Day memories. I absolutely want to make it something that my kids remember when they grow up. It couldn’t be easier to achieve! Wherever you are, whatever you’re doing, you can simply stop and take a breath and remember all of those who have died in service to the U.S.A. Then it’s back to your cookout or your kids’ favorite outdoor toys.
Bake a flag cake
Who doesn’t love a themed dessert? I sure do, and so do my kids!
The great thing about a flag cake is that it’s super festive and also super easy.
- Get yourself a cake. You can buy one at the grocery store, you can make one from a boxed mix, or you can make one from scratch.
- Get yourself some white frosting. You can buy a can of frosting, make a homemade frosting, or even buy a good old tub of Cool Whip.
- Get yourself some strawberries and blueberries. Wash them and cut the strawberries into slices. Arrange the blueberries into a square at the top left corner of the cake and make lines of strawberry slices that alternate with lines of plain frosting. Voila! You have a flag cake! (If you need help visualizing how to arrange the fruit, Well Plated has one that is super doable.)
I hope you all have a good, meaningful Memorial Day! Share your flag cakes with me by tagging me in your pictures on Instagram – I’m @sarainseason.