The day offers an opportunity to write a letter to the White House, cook up past presidents’ favorite foods, and dig into American history.
To many Americans, Presidents Day brings the luxury of a three-day weekend and the chance to snooze late on a Monday morning or lounge around the house in pajamas until noon. For consumers, this federal holiday features some of the
best deals of the year, with brick-and-mortar retailers and online outfits both looking to clear their inventories on big ticket items such as appliances, mattresses, and electronic devices.
With no special obligations attached to this holiday and with many kids off from school, Presidents Day is also a great time to have some fun while learning more about our country’s chief executives and our history. A multitude of online resources are on hand to help young and old make the most of this celebration.
Let’s take a look.
Treats and Eats
What’s festivity without food?Thanksgiving brings to mind turkey with all the fixings. Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day send millions of people off to restaurants for a special meal. Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, and Labor Day find Americans across the country grilling burgers in the backyard.
This year, we can easily add presidential food favorites to this docket of dining.
Conner Prairie, a living history museum in Fishers, Indiana, offers an extensive
list of foods and recipes enjoyed by past presidents. Here, we find Dwight Eisenhower’s Old-Fashioned Beef Stew, Calvin Coolidge’s Favorite Apple Pie, Herbert Hoover’s Sweet Potatoes, and more than a dozen other dishes. Some of the comments, such as “[Ulysses S. Grant’s] fondness for simple rice pudding was almost a mania,” bring a smile while also explaining a little about the man.
Brian Amick’s “Hail to the Sweets: The Favorite Desserts of U.S. Presidents”
lists the favorite treats of all presidents from Washington to Biden. John Adams, for instance, relished Abigail’s Apple Pan Dowdy, Theodore Roosevelt liked Fat Rascals, “a sort of sweet biscuit,” and Ronald Reagan was a fan of coconut macaroons and Jelly Belly jelly beans.
In her 2023 “The American Presidents Cookbook: 45 Recipes Celebrating U.S. History,” Jenine Zimmers
includes not only the favorite recipes of some presidents, but also an array of patriotic-themed dishes such as her “Red, White & Blue Delight,” a yogurt-based dessert topped with strawberries and blueberries.
Adults who would like to raise a glass to a favorite president can explore Mark Will-Weber’s
article, “A complete list of every president’s favorite drink.” For readers wanting more details and drink recipes, the Kindle version of Will-Weber’s 2014
book on this same topic remains available.
President Donald Trump famously avoids alcohol, but his favorite meal is easily replicated and will be a special hit with the younger crew. All you need to do is pack those kids in the car and head out to McDonald’s for some Big Macs, fries, and a small chocolate shake.
Books and Letters
While you’re enjoying your presidential dessert, it’s a good time to share some books with the children about the presidency or the individuals who have occupied the White House. Public libraries generally have an excellent collection of stories for kids about the likes of Washington, Lincoln, Reagan, and others. Search online for “books for kids about the presidents lists,” and you’ll find plenty of help for making your selections.In her post “Teaching US Presidents: resources and books,” for example, homeschool mom Jess Collier
provides some fine recommendations based on her experience and expertise. In addition to books such as “
George Washington” by Ingri and Edgar Parin d’Aulaire and “
Thomas Jefferson Builds a Library” by Barb Rosenstock, Collier has suggestions about games, puzzles, videos, and even place mats designed to introduce children to past presidents.
Several sites online recommend having your children write a letter to the president. The UC Berkeley Library
website gives the address for both the president and the vice president, as well as some good tips for how to write the letter—ranging from forms of address to the length. Help is also available for how to send emails to the White House, along with sample letters.
Under the category of Educational Resources, the National Archives offers a
variant on this activity by providing a letter written by third graders to President Gerald Ford, asking the president for a “Kids’ Day,” similar to Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. Students are encouraged to read and discuss this handwritten composition, and then write a letter of their own to the president.
Resources for the Rest of Us
The National Archives is a
gold mine of other material, both for older students and for the rest of us. Besides its videos, articles, and blogs, you’ll also find links to 11 presidential libraries, each replete with its own treasures.
For high school and older students, the internet offers list after list of excellent presidential biographies, many of which are also available in your local library. One of my favorites is David McCullough’s “
Mornings on Horseback,” which tells the story of the young Theodore Roosevelt up until 1886. McCullough’s vivid account of the deaths of Roosevelt’s wife and his mother, on the same day and in the same house, and how he bore his sorrow and pain, offered some consolation for me in my own time of mourning.
And therein lies a profound reason why we should read the stories of men such as Washington, Lincoln, and all of the others. From them, we can learn everything from lessons in leadership to the importance of virtue.
Further Suggestions for the Day
To the books and online resources listed, I would add two other ways to commemorate Presidents Day.First, make a vertical timeline of the presidents in chronological order. Students can easily do this project in a notebook, listing the president along with his years in office and then reserving three or four lines below each name to record important events that occurred during his time in office. I can think of no better way of ordering American history.
Moreover, by connecting historical events and presidents, such as the Louisiana Purchase with Thomas Jefferson’s administration or Woodrow Wilson’s signing into law the federal income tax in 1913, we will vastly expand our knowledge of our country’s history.
About 10 years ago, a friend told me that she prayed daily for our president and our government. Her remark surprised me, for she was a staunch conservative, yet her explanation made sense. She loved our country, and her prayers for it included our leaders, whichever side of the political spectrum they represented. I failed to put her example into practice, but on this Presidents Day, or any other for that matter, prayer for our nation and its leaders is another way that we might support our country and honor its past.
We can all benefit by engaging with Presidents Day. In my own case, for instance, I discovered within minutes of researching this article that “Washington’s Birthday” remains this holiday’s
official title, at least in the eyes of the federal government. Because we celebrate it on the third Monday of February, a date that falls between Lincoln’s birthday on the 12th and Washington’s on the 22nd, we took to calling it Presidents Day. I also discovered that the presidential anthem “Hail to the Chief” has lyrics, although they are rarely sung.
So, try some of Grant’s rice pudding, treat the kids to some jelly beans a la Ronald Reagan, and have some fun learning about our presidents, both past and present.