Activities for Memorial Day: How to Have a Wicked Good Time

Check the website of any of the following:

• your state’s tourism board
• event calendars on local TV stations
• newspaper
• your city or county
• search online for “things to do in _____ (insert your city name) on Memorial Day Weekend”

Movies to Watch on Netflix on Memorial Day 

Feeling patriotic? Salute American sacrifice by watching the best Memorial Day movies honoring the military. Affiliate links used.

Black Hawk Down – Ridley Scott (Blade Runner, The Martian) is an undeniable visual genius and his pummeling action film puts a who’s who of celebrity grunts (Josh Hartnett and Ewan McGregor among them) through their “war is bad, I say!” paces. The subject is the 1993 Mogadishu raid, a military incident of thankless sacrifice. Watch | Buy

Tora! Tora! Tora! – Another 1970 classic challenged the way most war movies were made in old Hollywood. “Tora! Tora! Tora!” attempted to tell the battle stories from two sides, the Japanese and the American, in a sympathetic touch that perhaps owed a bit to the changing cultural tide over the Vietnam War. Clint Eastwood would attempt a similar storytelling experiment by breaking the narrative into two movies: “Letters From Iwo Jima” and “Flags of Our Fathers.” Watch | Buy

Ken Burns: The War – If you fancy a little learning on your holiday, you can binge watch documentarian Ken Burns’ sprawling 2007 series “The War.” The seven episodes run 14 hours and follow the lives of WWII service men from Minnesota, Alabama, California and Connecticut as they’re sent abroad in various military campaigns. Watch | Buy

We Were Soldiers – This Vietnam War epic tells the story of the Battle of Ia Drang, which pitted 450 U.S. soldiers against thousands of well-armed Vietnamese troops. Watch | Buy

The Way Back – After escaping from a World War II labor camp, a band of soldiers undertake a journey to traverse Siberia, the Gobi Desert and the Himalayas. Watch | Buy

Memorial Day Kids’ Activities

1. Talk about what Memorial Day is.
2. Visit a cemetery in memory or to place flowers. (Read: How to Help Your Children Deal With Death)
3. Hang a flag on your home flagpole. When shopping, consider the size/height, material/construction, halyard design, and color and ornaments.
4. Attend a local parade.
5. Research a fallen family hero or another hero.
6. Have a staycation in your city.
7. Watch the National Memorial Parade online at 2 pm.
8. Visit a National Memorial.
9. Watch or attend a concert.
10. Visit Washington, DC. (Read: Things to Do in Washington, DC)
11. Visit a park.
12. Go to the beach.
13. Make Washi Tape Patriotic Stars via Simply Designing
14. Create these fun Patriotic Sailboats via About a Mom
15. Whip up a batch of Patriotic Red, White, and Blue Fudge via A Cultivated Nest
16. Check out a Patriotic Wreath Tutorial  via You Brew My Tea
17. You can totally DIY these Patriotic Mason Jars via H20Bungalow
18. These Celebrate the USA Flag Waffles via Just 2 Sisters look yummy.
19. Have you seen this Easy Mini Fruit Tart Recipe via Sweep Tight?
20. Select one of these 14 Patriotic Recipes for Raise Your Flag Holidays via April Go Lightly
21. Delicious and patriotic White Chocolate Fudge via Hoosier Homemade sounds good.
22. Learn how to Make a Wreath for Memorial Day via How to Make a Burlap Wreath.
23. Your kids will love this Homemade Star Cookies Recipe via Ann’s Entitled Life.
24. My husband is a big fan of this Patriotic Chocolate Covered Oreos Recipe via Sweep Tight.
25. What’s more patriotic than a Red, White & Blue Sour Skewer like this one via Our Family World?
26. There are loads of Patriotic Food Ideas shared by Dreaming of Leaving.
27. Quick and Easy Patriotic Pudding Pops via Coupons and Freebies your kids can even make.