Presidents Day Party Guide: Freebies & Fun

The party guide helps plan a themed Presidents Day event with ideas, tips in the food departments, creative crafts, and clever conversation chats, menus, recipes, cookies, cakes and food labels. Free printable games, puzzles, place name cards and coloring pages.

Presidents Day Party Store

Presidents Day Event Music

All hail the chief on Presidents Day, a holiday that�through music, parties and public events�serves to honor those men who have lead our country throughout the centuries.

A Presidents Day playlist should be both festive and respectful, to fit the mood of any �political party.� Songs could include:

Hail to the Chief by James Sanderson
Yes We Can (Obama song) by Will I Am
Abraham, Martin and John by Dion
He Was a Friend of Mine by The Byrds (tribute to John F. Kennedy)
James K. Polk by They Might Be Giants
Solid as Barack by Ashford and Simpson
The Star Spangled Banner by Francis Scott Key
Aside from some fun and downright beautiful songs, the host can set the precedent for a stellar Presidents Day celebration by presenting some presidential party favors. These could include wall art posters and portraits depicting different presidents, campaign buttons from different decades that could double as table settings, a Mt. Rushmore centerpiece made of stone, plastic or rubber, tableware in the classic American hues of red, white and blue, small American flags that could be taken home as party favors, fortune cookies that could contain trivia facts about different presidents, and other novelties. Game idea: take a clear container, then fill with candy, toys or other objects and have the guests guess the number of items inside. Photos provide such lasting memories; take time to designate someone as the photographer at a social occasion. Gather up some leftover brown packing boxes, wrap them in a matching theme color design and place them throughout the event space for instant decorations.

Homemade Presidents Day Party Supplies

Presidents� Day homemade party supplies such as Abe Lincoln hats and beards, along with American flags, handmade red, white and blue banners and red, white and blue streamers are perfect homemade supplies for a Presidents Day celebration. Handmade Presidents Day party supplies such as homemade Presidents Day flower bouquets, handmade patriotic wreathes and Presidents Day centerpieces are a welcomed addition to a Presidents Day celebration.

Most often homemade party supplies will make Presidents Day very special. Homemade Presidents Day party supplies and handmade party goods should be made before the actual Presidents Day event. Many people believe homemade party supplies like Presidents Day flags, Presidents Day t-shirts and patriotic (red, white and blue) balloon bouquets are perfect for this day.

Other Presidents Day homemade party supplies such as handmade Presidents Day signs, colorful red, white and blue party streamers, military uniforms and homemade Presidents Day hats make Presidents Day even better. Homemade Presidents Day centerpieces are perfect for decorating tables or just sitting around. These handmade centerpieces can be made by using a typical vase and filling it with a variety of red, white and blue blowers and adding a few small flags and patriotic noise makers.

Presidents Day homemade party supplies compare a great deal to other popular Presidents day items, but have a personal touch.

Cakes for Presidents Day

One more reason to celebrate is to have a Presidents Day theme cake to both eat for enjoyment and to educate young and old minds a like. The chance to make something that is delicious and education is a bonus, just need to look into the needed party supplies. Here is where the party supplies are going to come in handy with this cake. To begin with consider what possible toppings would work; presidents in miniature candy form or images printed onto the cake, but for really being creative think big. Include in the cake design a mountain to be placed onto the cake, then with fine icing skills try and replicate the images of a few presidents onto the cake mountain. Alternatively if the idea of using icing to make faces on the mountain, then look for already made candies or list the names of various presidents on the cake, written in icing after all. The frosting for the main body of the cake should be tinted green, but the mountain part of the cake would be best served by a grey tinted frosting. Start with a white frosting to make it easier turing into grey.

Presidents Day Parties

This holiday of President's Day originated to offer special recognition to President George Washington, America�s first President, but would soon come to encompass a broader meaning in recognition for Abraham Lincoln and great leaders elect of our nation.

Presidents Day is a special day that was official on the date of recognition which was chosen to commemorate the birthday of George Washington which was February 11th of 1731 according to the Julian calendar. Britain shifted to the use of the Gregorian calendar and so shifted everyone�s birthday by jumping ahead the sum of 11 days, which now left George Washington with the new birthday celebration on February 22 and gave a new date to President�s Day. In 1885 President Chester Arthur signed a bill declaring George Washington�s birthday of February 22nd a federal holiday.

This date confusion was only a minor glitch and easily compensated for until Abraham Lincoln came along; another great president in deserving of recognition and as luck would have it another February birthday as well. Although Lincoln�s birthday was never to be declared a federal Presidents Day holiday, it did become recognized as one of significance at the state level where many of the governments observed February 12th as a legal holiday.

In 1968, a bill was passed to change several of the federal holidays to make things a bit easier on the calendar schedules of federal employee�s observance of holidays. Moving several of the declared holidays to the Mondays of a specific week, three day weekends promote easier schedule accommodations for the observance. In the case of President�s Day observance, it is held on the third Monday of the February calendar.

We refer to this holiday as President�s Day to honor both presidents and election day but officially it still remains to be called Washington�s Birthday. Congress rejected the proposal to change the recognition to President�s Day which is ironic as it always tends to fall after Lincoln�s birthday and before Washington�s. Confusion surrounding the official name change of the holiday caused quite a stir; many leaders believe Lincoln was short-changed while others believe all presidents are deserving of recognition.

Seasonal Parties

4th of July Parties
Flag Day Parties
Independence Day Parties

Can't find it in Our Store?

If you can't find what you are looking for in our store, then try this store:

Mouseover to view store

Presidents Day
Party Supplies

Presidents Day History, Facts and Educational Resources

Add an educational twist to any birthday party, holiday celebration, or theme party. Share the history of the Presidents Day theme to the guests. Play some free printable educational party games. Shhh don't tell the kids that they are learning!

Presidents Day History & Facts

The Presidents� Day history dates back to 1880. Also known as Washington�s Birthday, it was originally established by an Act of Congress for the government offices in D.C., and then it expanded to include all of the federal offices in 1885. It was a federal holiday and the first to honor an American citizen, so it was decided that February 22nd, President Washington�s actual birthday would be the date that the holiday was celebrated.

On January 1, 1971, the holiday was changed by the Uniform Monday Holiday Act to be the third Monday in February.

It was first thought that Presidents� Day should honor the entire office of the Presidency and that March 4th should be the date of celebration, since it was the original inauguration day. But that bill was stalled, since Lincoln�s birthday and Washington�s birthday were both holidays too close to each other, and that another one in the same general timeframe would be burdensome.

The Uniform Monday Holiday Act drafted a proposal to rename the holiday Presidents� Day to honor both Lincoln and Washington, but it failed and Washington�s Birthday remained as the title of the holiday.

By about 1985, Presidents� Day began to win some popularity as the new name of the holiday. And today it is celebrated as a sale day for many merchants and stores. Car dealerships as well hold sales on this weekend.

At first, many establishments closed to observe this day. But by the late 1980�s, with advertisers pushing their sales, more businesses remained open on the holiday. Even the postal services are now running on this day. And bus lines and other transportation services just recognize it as a regular day.

Some schools close for an entire week to celebrate both Lincoln�s birthday and Washington�s birthday, separately, and they call it the mid-winter recess. In New York City, the school districts began this practice in the 1990�s. Decorations help transform a room into something more for that special day so look forward to learning some exciting and creative ideas. If you specify the type of clothing for a social event like summer causal, give a few examples of what is acceptable and more importantly what isn't. Decorations help transform a room into something more for that special day so look forward to learning some exciting and creative ideas. The history of Presidents Day has different interpretations by each person, so use your own judgement. Share these facts with friends at a celebration.

Educational Presidents Day Resources

The Party Supplies Hut has more free elementary educational teacher resources for Presidents Day to use in the classroom for active learning to create lesson plans with trivia questions, games and fun activities.

History of Presidents Day
More Presidents Day holiday educational teachers classroom resources: