Holidays in May are the perfect excuse to add a little extra fun to an ordinary month.
In some parts of the world, spring is blooming beautifully with longer days, fresh flowers, and every reason to get outside.
In other places, cooler mornings and golden leaves are bringing all the cozy seasonal charm.
That mix of busy energy and changing seasons makes May the perfect time to celebrate the little things.
Beyond Mother’s Day and the bigger dates on the calendar, May is packed with quirky, cheerful, and downright delightful moments.
We’re talking pancakes, turtles, dance parties, and wonderfully random reasons to smile.
These fun holidays in May can turn a regular weekday into something memorable without adding stress to your plate.
So if you’re craving easy family fun, simple traditions, and playful ways to connect, this list of May holidays is about to become your new favorite survival guide.
It may even inspire your own May bucket list or cheerful Spring bucket list along the way.
Once you’ve had a look over these ideas, if you’re planning for next month, be sure to take a peek at the fun and silly holidays for June!
A Visual Merriment is reader-supported and this post may contain some product affiliate links. From these, I may receive a small commission if you choose to purchase. Read more about how affiliate links are handled in my Terms & Conditions.
Contents
Why Celebrate These Weird May Holidays Anyway?
May can feel wonderfully full… and slightly chaotic.
There are school events, sports commitments, birthday parties, errands, and the strange feeling that summer is somehow both close and far away at the same time.
That’s exactly why celebrating the smaller special days in May can be such a gift.
These little moments are not about creating more work.
They’re about bringing more joy into days that already exist. A pancake breakfast. A silly dance party. A family burger night. Tiny celebrations that make life feel lighter.
Because kids usually don’t remember the errands.
They remember the funny poem contest, the towel fort in the lounge room, and when everyone laughed together on a random Tuesday.
These small-but-mighty May celebrations can:
- Spark creativity with easy spring crafts for kids
- Break up long weeks with something playful
- Offer little moments of connection and laughter
- Build traditions your family will actually remember
- Give grown-ups an excuse to have fun too
Fun and Weird Holidays in May to Celebrate
May 1: May Day
- Leave surprise flowers or cheerful notes on a neighbor’s doorstep
- Make paper flower crowns using tissue paper, ribbon, or cupcake liners
- Pack a backyard picnic or lounge room floor picnic with favorite snacks
- Dance around streamers or ribbons to create your own mini maypole celebration
- Adults: Buy yourself fresh flowers and call it self-care
May 2: World Tuna Day
- Make fun tuna sandwiches cut into stars, fish, or heart shapes
- Set up a cracker topping bar with tuna, cucumber, cheese, and tomato
- Learn where tuna live by finding oceans on a map together
- Create an ocean snack plate with blue jelly, crackers, and fish-shaped snacks
- Adults: Make a fancy tuna melt on toasted sourdough with sharp cheddar
May 4: Star Wars Day
- Talk like Yoda all day and see who can stay in character longest
- Make lightsabers from cardboard tubes, pool noodles, or wrapping paper rolls
- Build your own droids using recyclables, buttons, and foil
- Have a family movie night with popcorn and galaxy-themed snacks
- Use a Star Wars craft kit or Star Wars Lego set for an easy low-prep afternoon
May 5: Cinco de Mayo
- Set up a build-your-own taco bar with fun toppings for everyone
- Make colorful paper banners or tissue paper flowers to decorate
- Have a salsa dance party in the kitchen between dinner prep
- Try a blind taste test with salsa, guacamole, or taco fillings
- Adults: Enjoy mocktails or margaritas after bedtime
May 8: World Donkey Day
- Read farmyard favorites like The Wonky Donkey or Big Red Barn
- Make donkey ears headbands with cardstock and elastic
- Create a backyard obstacle course and pretend to carry supplies like pack donkeys
- Paint or draw your favorite farm animals using washable paints
- Watch funny farm animal videos together and vote for the cutest
May 10: Clean Up Your Room Day
- Set a 10-minute timer and race to see how much gets tidied
- Play upbeat music and turn cleaning into a dance party
- Use my kids’ reward chart to earn stickers for each task completed
- Fill a donation box with toys and clothes no longer used
- Celebrate the freshly cleaned room with popcorn and a family movie night
May 12: Limerick Day
- Write silly rhyming poems using funny names and nonsense words
- Let kids fill in the blanks to create surprise poems
- Decorate finished poems with stickers, glitter, or markers
- Use a funny poetry book for kids for inspiration
- Host dramatic poetry readings from the couch stage
- Adults: Write one about parenting chaos
May 14: Dance Like a Chicken Day
- Have a chicken dance competition with dramatic wing flapping
- Make paper plate chickens with feathers, googly eyes, and orange beaks
- Play freeze dance using only farm animal movements
- Put on a silly family talent show starring your best chicken act
May 16: Love a Tree Day
- Hug a tree and see who can find the widest one nearby
- Go outside and read a story like The Tiny Seed or The Giving Tree
- Make leaf rubbings using paper and crayons
- Go on a bark, leaf, and seed scavenger hunt around the neighborhood
- Plant a seedling or small flower to celebrate nature
May 20: World Bee Day
- Make fuzzy bee puppets with pom-poms, paper wings, and googly eyes
- Do a honey taste test with toast, apples, or crackers
- Plant bee-friendly flowers in pots or garden beds together
- Use a bee life cycle kit or insect science set for extra fun
- Adults: Add honey to tea, sit in the sunshine, and call it self-care
May 23: World Turtle Day
- Move slowly all day and speak in extra slow turtle voices
- Build turtle shells from cardboard boxes or laundry baskets
- Make turtle cupcakes with green icing and candy shells
- Read turtle stories like Yertle the Turtle or Franklin in the Dark
- Adults: Declare it a slow day and lean in
May 25: Towel Day
- Build the biggest towel fort your hallway has ever seen
- Use towels as capes for races and superhero missions
- Roll towels into funny animals or creatures
- Have an indoor picnic on beach towels with simple snacks
- Adults: Hair towel, face mask, robe on for spa day
May 28: Hamburger Day
- Set up a build-your-own burger bar with fun toppings
- Draw menus and play restaurant with a burger playset
- Make mini sliders that are perfect for little hands
- Turn dinner into a pretend restaurant with table service
- Adults: Gourmet burger after bedtime chaos settles
May 31: Smile Day
- Do a family kindness challenge with one nice thing for each person
- Leave cheerful notes in lunchboxes, backpacks, or on pillows
- Make a photo collage of your happiest family memories
- Share favorite jokes around the dinner table
- Adults: Text someone who always makes you smile
Favorite Spring Activities for Kids
Buy Now → 
Buy Now → 
Mess Free Fingerprint Painting
Buy Now →
Buy Now → 
Buy Now → 
Buy Now → Cozy, Cheerful, and Full of May Fun
May doesn’t need to feel like one giant rush toward summer.
With a few May fun holidays scattered through the calendar, it can become a month filled with laughter, connection, and simple joy that actually fits real family life.
These May fun days are not about doing more. They’re about noticing more. The smiles, the silliness, the five-minute moments that somehow become favorite memories.
So pick a few favorites, add them to your May bucket list, and enjoy the magic hidden inside the smaller moments.
Because those little celebrations often become the ones everyone remembers most.
Other Resources You May Like:
FREE PRINTABLE: Spring Cleaning Bingo Game
FREE PRINTABLE: Family Summer Bucket List
ARTICLE: Spring Quotes for Letterboards
ARTICLE: 22 Bubble Painting Ideas & Activities
MY SHOP: Children’s Chore/Reward Charts
