National Popcorn Day & Fun Ways to Celebrate
National Popcorn Day is celebrated on January 19th. If you love popcorn and want to celebrate the holiday, these activities and ideas are fun and easy!
Popcorn has become one of our favorite snacks to enjoy. There are so many creative things that you can do with it. From creating delicious flavored popcorn recipes to using it for arts and crafts, popcorn is everywhere and loved by many.
Why is National Popcorn Day celebrated?
Did you know that we Americans consume around 15 billion quarts of popcorn? That’s a lot of popcorn! Source: Popcorn.org
Popcorn is a treat that deserves its holiday which is how National Popcorn Day came about. Now, each year we come together on January 19th to enjoy that special treat in a fun, sweet, and savory way.
When is National Popcorn Day?
National Popcorn Day is celebrated each year on January 19th.
Creative Ways to Celebrate National Popcorn Day
To celebrate one of America’s favorite snacks, here are some creative ways to celebrate National Popcorn Day!
National Popcorn Day Ideas
These National Popcorn Day ideas will help you celebrate and share the day with friends and family.
1. Make popcorn crafts and activities!
Popcorn crafts are always popular, especially with the kiddos. If the holidays are close by, we like to string popcorn to put on the tree. That always makes a fun craft project and makes a budget-friendly Christmas activity.
- Milk Paint Popcorn Rainbow from Kids Activities Blog.
- Popcorn Sheep Craft from In the Playroom. A fun and cute popcorn craft for kindergarten, the kids will have fun making this cute sheep.
- Popcorn Hyacinths Craft For Kids from I Heart Crafty Things.
- Do a science and math popcorn activity like KC Adventures did.
2. Make some special popcorn treats!
In addition to making some flavored popcorn, you can use popcorn to create a unique sweet treat. For instance, these popcorn brittle brownies and this buttered popcorn brittle are both special popcorn treats you can make and enjoy.
If those don’t catch your fancy, maybe this caramel corn cheesecake from Maria’s Mixing Bowl is for you!
3. Play Popcorn Games
It may seem silly, but when the kids were younger, one of our favorite things to do on movie night was to play popcorn games. We’d set up a little cup or one of those inside mini basketball hoops and play popcorn basketball. This usually happened while everyone was getting ready to sit and watch the movie or once the movie was finished.
The kids also enjoy playing popcorn hockey, having a popcorn race, and popcorn catch. I could never catch that piece of popcorn after throwing it up in the air. My son on the other hand always caught the popcorn pieces.
4. Make creative popcorn desserts for birthday parties.
For just about any birthday theme, a popcorn treat can be made. Here are a few of our favorite themed popcorn recipes:
- Under the Sea Mermaid Popcorn from Ever After in the Woods. It will be a great mermaid party treat for your party.
- Galaxy popcorn from Mom Skoop.
- Popcorn Balls with M&Ms from Hunny I’m Home DIY.
- For Sesame Street themed parties, this Cookie Monster popcorn is great.
- Unicorn popcorn from Barefoot in the Pines. Don’t forget the unicorn gifts!
Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mom shares these helpful tips for creating a popcorn bar that will work well for birthday parties.
5. Enjoy popcorn as a healthy snack!
Popcorn is a healthy snack that you don’t have to feel guilty about eating. That’s what is so great about it!
- One way to enjoy a popcorn snack is by making a trail mix with it. Delicious Meets Healthy shared a recipe for a healthy popcorn trail mix that you can try.
- You can also try this healthy air fryer popcorn from This Healthy Kitchen.
6. Give popcorn as gifts
Homemade popcorn can make a wonderful and inexpensive gift for friends and family. You can get creative with the gifts, make popcorn balls, or make traditional popcorn and give them to friends and family on National Popcorn Day.
If you’d like to make a popcorn gift to give to friends and family, these sweet popcorn treats will be perfect.
- White Chocolate Christmas Popcorn from The Kitchen is my Playground.
- Grinch Popcorn from Kim Schob. You certainly can’t celebrate Christmas without this tasty Grinch popcorn!
- Christmas Crunch Popcorn Mix from Erhardts Eat. Want a popcorn snack for Christmas? This Christmas crunch mix is delicious and easy to make.
- Peppermint Bark Popcorn from Art from My Table. The refreshing peppermint flavor and chocolate are used to create this peppermint bark popcorn.
- Christmas Popcorn from Hungry Healthy Happy.
- Gingerbread popcorn from Hunger Thirst Play
- Dark Chocolate Peppermint Popcorn from Cocktails and Appetizers.
7. Serve as snacks during holiday parties.
No matter what holiday you are celebrating, there is a popcorn treat that you can make! A few ideas for your next holiday party:
- Valentine’s Day Popcorn Mix from Barefoot in the Pines.
- Popcorn cupcakes for any holiday from Frugal Mom Eh.
- Halloween popcorn balls from Maple and Mango. These would go great with a fun game of Halloween bingo!
8. Enjoy National Popcorn Day with a movie!
Whether you choose to go out to see a movie or stay in to have a movie marathon, the perfect snack is popcorn.
I don’t know about you, but when we head to the movie theatre, that tasty bucket of popcorn is a must-have while we enjoy the movie.
If we stay in and watch some of our favorite movies, we make popcorn, curl up with a blanket, and watch a movie or two. It’s one of our favorite things to do. It’s also a tradition for us to enjoy some popcorn as we do our Halloween movie marathon.
9. Celebrate with a Popcorn Bar
Just like an ice cream bar or taco bar, you can celebrate National Popcorn Day with a popcorn bar.
Make your favorite popcorn and set it on a table with a variety of different topping flavors, chocolate candy, cheese powder, and more. Each person will be able to create their custom popcorn snack.
10. Host A Popcorn Flavor Testing
A popcorn flavor testing activity is easy to put together and can be fun for the whole family. Just make up a variety of different flavors and have each person taste them.
If you’re doing this for a party or a group of people, have them vote to see which is the most popular. You can use store-bought popcorn or have guests put together their own National Popcorn Day recipes for the testing.
11. Host a Popcorn Art Contest
Going off the idea of putting together some fun National Popcorn Day crafts, you can host a popcorn art contest. Each person can put together a creative art piece using popcorn. Then, have everyone vote on the art pieces to see which one wins the competition.
12. Have A Popcorn Trivia Game
This is a great National Popcorn Day activity to do if you want to bring some education into the mix. Create a popcorn lesson with tidbits of information about popcorn and how it became one of the most popular snacks.
Kids and adults will find the history of popcorn interesting. Share facts about popcorn or make it a trivia game to celebrate National Popcorn Day.
A popcorn trivia question example: “Which states grow the most popcorn?”. Answer: The Cornbelt States. This includes Nebraska, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Kentucky, and Missouri.
National Popcorn Day Ideas
Hopefully, you can participate in some of these fun National Popcorn Day ideas and activities! It’s such a fun holiday to celebrate and an excuse (as if we need one) to enjoy some delicious popcorn!
Do you celebrate National Popcorn Day?
If you celebrate National Popcorn Day, I would love to hear some of your favorite ways to celebrate the fun holiday. Do you do activities? Have a special popcorn treat you enjoy? Make a neat craft?
Pin this post so that you can come back to these fun National Popcorn Day activities to celebrate the holiday!
