Leap Year Day is a great opportunity to spend more time with your family, friends, children, grandchildren, your spouse, and at senior living near you, you can make other adult friends as well! Or you can still enjoy the day by yourself as well. We’ve got something on this list for everyone at Ocean Hills Senior Living to enjoy.
Leap Year Day is only once every four years. Why is that?
What is a Leap Year?
The leap year occurs every 4 years. However, it’s uniqueness goes beyond the fact that it’s rare. There are lots of pieces of trivia and facts that make this day special and easy to celebrate for anyone. But what makes this day so special? And why does it occur on February 29th?
Why Does Leap Year Day Exist?
Every Leap Year adds an extra day to the calendar: February 29th. The reason why this happens is because of the fact that there aren’t actually 365 days in a year; the exact number is around 365.242190. Therefore to make up for this extra amount of time, every 4 years, 1 extra day must be added to the calendar. So if you’ve never done anything to celebrate this day, then look forward to Saturday, February 29, 2020!
Declutter and Donate
Why not put the extra day to good use? Bring your family members (ideally kids or grandkids) and have them help you clean out your closet. If they are old enough to have opinions ask them what they think you should throw out and what you should keep. You could even make it like a fashion show and have your family select which pairings go well together. When it’s all finished, donate the remainder to a good charity or the local homeless shelter.
Throw Yourself a Party
Make this special day devoted to yourself; you deserve it! Take a leap forward in your life and do something big. Get a massage, Pedi/Mani, or book your tax appointment. Take this day as an opportunity to destress or to get stuff done. If you want to spice up your life, try doing meditation. Meditation can carry similar benefits as antidepressants, according to the American Medical Association.
Do Some Stargazing
There’s no better way to celebrate this day than to stargaze. This day is all about the earth’s orbit and the effect it has on the calendar, so why not get your telescope out and see it with your own two eyes? While there won’t be a last quarter moon in North America (according to Space.com), you can still see the zodiacal light, which is a faint glow that expands up from the horizon in the shape of a cone.
Go Hiking
Leap Year Day is a great day for trying new things. After you’ve tried some new food at a new restaurant, why not go for a hike? According to research from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, going for a walk and literally change your brain. You will go down a walking path outside and later find that your mental health has improved. The reason why is that you won’t be dwelling on the negative aspects of your life as much as you were before your walk. As long as your weather permits it, start exploring your neighborhood or that hiking trail you haven’t traversed yet. You should be feeling happier afterward.
Have a Recipe Party
Remember all of those cooking videos you’ve liked bookmarked or pinned? Well, now you can finally have an excuse to cook one of them yourself. Invite your friends who have also been doing the same as you and make it like a potluck of new foods that everyone hasn’t tried before. Another idea is to bake some cupcakes to honor the birthdays of people who were born on Leap Year Day. Remember to add the number “29” or frogs on them.
See the Movie “Leap Year” and Relax
What better way to celebrate leap year than by the namesake movie itself? This flick stars Amy Adams, and while it has just 21 percent on rotten tomatoes, it might be bad that it’s actually good for you to watch.
Address Letters to Yourself in the Future
A leap year only occurs every four years, so it’s a fitting time to think about long term goals that you have. Create a letter to your future self predicting where you think you’ll be in life by the time the next leap year rolls around. Store it away safely somewhere and at the next leap year, dig it back up and see whether or not it came true.
Propose Marriage
While It may sound crazy, it’s traditional in some countries (Ireland, for example) for women to propose to men on Leap Year Day. According to legend, the tradition began after a royal man in the 5th century hosted an important lady who had complained to him about the process of proposal. No doubt that she wasn’t the only woman who was unhappy with the proposal process. The royal man’s solution probably made countless women feel liberated and ecstatic. Today it should be perfectly fine for a woman to propose to a man, but regardless, proposing to your dream guy on Leap Year Day would be a cute and significant gesture. It would also be a great story to tell your family and future kids. You can include your surprise proposal at a party.
Frogs are Fun
Frogs are fun and cute creatures, but especially so on Leap Year Day! After all, when we picture leaping, frogs often come to mind. That’s why they make a great inclusion for Leap Year activities and parties. One fun activity you can do is musical lily pads, which works the same way as musical chairs. You can craft green lily pads using green construction paper. Place them on the floor and tape them down so that nobody slips on them. Another frog oriented contest is a frog-croaking contest. The person with the longest or loudest croak is the winner!