It’s leap year once again. Every four years, we get that magical extra day in February known as leap day. Because a solar year is actually 365.242189 days, every four years we add an extra day to the end of February to make up the difference and keep our calendar accurate. So, instead of 365 days this year, we will have 366. What are you going to do with your extra day? Here are some ideas.
Celebrate a Friend’s Birthday
In the event that you have a friend that was born on leap day, they most likely celebrate their birthday on February 28th or March 1st. This year make sure to celebrate them in style on their actual birthday. Pack 4 years’ worth of partying into one party. For fun, you could go with a leap year theme such as celebrating their “leap age” by counting their age as if they only have birthdays every 4 years. For instance, someone turning 20 could have a 5th birthday party with all the unicorn cupcakes and preschooler party games that go with it. However you choose to celebrate, just make sure to go big because they won’t get another “real” birthday for 4 more years.
Self-Care
Since people often neglect self-care and it can seem hard to find enough time to pamper yourself, consider this extra day as a gift you can devote to taking care of yourself. What does that look like? It could look like spending a day at the spa experiencing a hot stone massage, body treatment, and facial. It could be sitting at home wrapped up in a blanket on the couch reading a good book. Maybe it’s playing 18 holes on the golf course. We could all stand to do this more often but if you feel like you never have the time, consider leap day and extra day that won’t count against you and your busy schedule.
Leap
If you want to be literal, you could celebrate leap day by actually leaping. You could do it in a simple way and post a video of it on social media to entertain your friends and get them in the leap day spirit. If you’re feeling a little more ambitious you could spend the day at a trampoline park. It’s not just an apt way to celebrate, it’s good exercise too. If you want to go big and try something outside of your comfort zone, go bungee jumping, skydiving, or even cliff diving. Consider it a day to mark something big off your bucket list and take the plunge.
Volunteer
Since leap day is an “extra” day you could use this day to do extra for others. Some ideas include volunteering at a shelter or soup kitchen, handing out care bags full of snacks and warm socks to the homeless in your area, leaving envelopes of change on the washers and dryers at a local laundromat to help pay for someone’s laundry, or just paying for the car in line behind you at the drive-thru. Doing something extra for others is a great way to honor this extra day of the year.
Time Capsule
Create a 2020 time capsule. Include things like local articles. If you don’t get a newspaper you can always print articles off from the internet. Write a letter to your future self about how your life is right now. Throw in pictures of yourself and your loved ones. Add anything that speaks to the current time that you think will be fun to open years from now. This is a great activity to do with kids. Letting each of your children contribute to the time capsule can make this a meaningful event both on leap day and on the day in the future when you open it. Instead of opening it on the next leap day, which is only 4 years away, consider opening it on leap day 2040. The longer it’s been, the more rewarding the opening will be.
Rare Disease Day
February 29th is Rare Disease Day. Use this day to learn about a rare disease and donate to research for a cure. There are events taking place to raise awareness about rare diseases all over the world on this day. Even though these diseases are rare, there are many of them, so you may even find that you know someone touched by one of these diseases. This is a great time to make them feel seen and supported.
Happy Leap Day
Don’t let this leap day pass you by as just another day. Make the best use of this day possible and celebrate it as the special time that it is. Happy Leap Day!
