15+ Fun & Easy Ways To Celebrate Memorial Day With Your Family

From heading to Washington, DC, to visit the White House or planning the classic start-of-summer BBQ over the long weekend, there are several ways you can celebrate Memorial Day and honor America's fallen.

And, while this day is often marked with a long weekend and people heading to the beach, we should also take some time to remember and honor our fallen heroes who lost their lives while serving in the military.

As May 27 rolls out, there's a lot to do to appreciate the courage and remember the sacrifice. In fact, you can explore some of the fun and special activities along with your family to make this day truly remarkable.

That being said, here are 15+ fun and easy activities you can plan with your family for Memorial Day.

Spend a Moment in Silence

While your day may be planned with fun activities and summer-time gatherings, make sure to take a moment of silence at 3 pm (your local time). This will allow you to celebrate the National Moment of Remembrance and send your love, gratitude, prayers and wishes to the soldiers who lost their lives on active duty and their families for their sacrifice.

Pay a Visit to a Soldier's Grave

Another way to honor the brave is to pay a visit to soldiers' graves. You can also pay your respects by purchasing a red rose or the American Flag and placing it next to the grave. Moreover, you can also go for a small donation (like $5) to express gratitude to our fallen troops.

Visit a National Park

You can also take your kids to the nearest national park for a short tour. There are over 400 national parks in the US, and each is full of its own version of history. You can choose to visit your nearest one with your kids and discover some historical facts about this landmark. This can work as a short trip for your kids while still helping them understand our country's history.

Celebrate with a Gathering

You can also call your nearest family or friends and gather around to celebrate together. Following a collective moment of silence, you can end the day with a cookout. You can choose plant-based and compostable tableware to serve your dishes and have a good meal with no contribution to waste generation.

Help a Veteran

If you personally know a Veteran, you can help them out through funds, donations or aiding them to adjust to mainstream life. In fact, you can also choose to spend the day with them and talk about their experiences in the military.

Explore a Veteran-Owned Business

If you have shopping plans this Memorial Day, you can always visit your nearest Veteran-owned business. This would help support a veteran or their family and express your gratitude for their courage and sacrifices.

Listen to a Patriotic Song

Do you know how to play the guitar? If yes, then it's time to dust off your instrument and play some patriotic song. For this one, you can gather around with your friends or family or plan a meal using palm leaf plates. These tree-free and plastic-free plates are entirely plant-based and certified compostable. And, once you are done with them, you can simply dispose of them in your compost bin. These compostable plates will break down on their own and form compost within a few weeks post-disposal.

Watch the Memorial Day Special Concert

Every year, PBS hosts a celebrity-featuring Memorial Day concert every Sunday before Memorial Day. You can watch it with your family. For snacks, you can fill up some popcorn in our plastic/tree-free and compostable bowls to make your gatherings easy to manage and planet-safe.

Visit the White House

To make your Memorial Day special, you can also take a tour of the White House. This would allow you and your family to explore the rich and deep history of the country. However, if Washington is a bit far away from where you reside, you can also explore the White House from the comfort of your house. Just head to the Google Arts and Culture app and choose to take a virtual tour of this historic home.

Listen to a Veteran's

Story If you personally know a Veteran, one of the best ways to celebrate this day is to pay them a visit. You can choose to spend some time with them and ask them to tell you some of their stories. And, when visiting, you can also bake them something. Our compostable bowls are microwave and oven-safe, allowing you to bake some delish goodies without much hassle. However, if you don't know a veteran, you can always recite some veteran stories you can find on Google for your kids.

Choose to Donate to Related Causes

If you want to do something to honor the families, you can research and visit a trusted military organization and choose to donate to one of their causes. These organizations offer many causes, with help for wounded soldiers, grieving families and veterans with PTSD being a few of them.

Ask your Kids to Write Letters

For your kids, Memorial Day might just be another day off from school. However, you can choose to add meaning to it. That being said, you can ask your kids to write letters to the soldiers and families. Make sure to remind them of the power of handwritten notes and how it will make the families feel supported and encouraged.

Put Together Care Packages

There are many ways through which you can support veterans. You can ask your kids to donate some of their toys to kids in combat zones or host a small drive in your neighborhood to collect daily use products like toiletries from surrounding houses and then give them to veteran homes.

Try Patriotic Chalk Art

You can ask the kids in your neighborhood to gather around and create a Memorial Day-inspired mural through sidewalk chalk. They can also write a small message alongside it, expressing gratitude to the veterans.

Attend the Parade

If you are looking for the ultimate holiday experience, you can also take your family to the parade and cheer with Veterans and the band. A small Google search can help you find the nearest parade.

Watch a Movie

We are not talking about just any movie. If you love popcorn and movie marathons, you can fill our plastic-free and compostable cups with soda and our compostable bowls with popcorn and turn on some patriotic movies to watch.

Bake Some Dessert for a Local Family

If you are planning to bake something for kids, you can choose to bake double. The extra dessert can be placed on our palm leaf plates and delivered to local families or veteran families to pay them a little extra tribute.

Go Red, Blue and White with the Theme

If you are hosting a small gathering, make sure to decorate your place with some red, blue and white aesthetics. This will highlight your Memorial Day experience and allow you to honor the brave in a better and more fun way. You can also ask your kids to help you out with decorations or have them DIY small decoration pieces.