There’s no rule out there stopping you from celebrating whatever you want. You could go the traditional route and celebrate your birthday, your pet’s birthday, that promotion at work you’ve been angling for these last few years, or finally getting your twelve-part rollercoaster ride of a fantasy novel series published.

Though you could embrace the fun even more and find a reason to celebrate more often. For instance, to mark an entire month of exercising and eating well. Or to observe your 37-week workaversary for no real reason at all. Or even that old favorite of ours—surviving yet another Monday! We make the occasions, not the calendar.

Having a small celebration just for fun is a great way to seize the day and enjoy life more. It forces us to be more aware of what’s going on in our day-to-day lives and find reasons to be grateful.

Yes, life isn’t all sunshine and rainbows, but there’s always a silver lining to be found, even when it's dark, dull, and dreary. Like Albus Dumbledore, said, "Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light."

Practicing gratitude means shifting your perspective to how someone else might see your life. Taking on a stranger’s point of view means that we’re more objective about the positive things we have going for us. Yes, your career might not be going exactly in the direction you hoped it would, but maybe you’ve recently gotten a raise to help dampen the effects of inflation and you don’t have to worry about providing for your family.

Or you might find that you struggle keeping in touch with your friends now that you’ve all grown up, however, your relationship with your parents has only improved since you’ve moved out.

You might be thankful for your health, your supporting relatives, or your understanding partner. Or you might be glad that you have a stable job in these turbulent times or that your rescue pet is finally coming out of its shell in its new forever home.

Meanwhile, when times are especially tough, even something seemingly small as getting out of bed and washing the dishes is something genuinely worth celebrating.

Making a physical gratitude list can work as a physical reminder of all the wonderful things going on in your life. Whenever you’re feeling down, you can take a glance at it and maybe even add a few more things. Acknowledge your achievements. Let them remind you of how successful, persevering, and resilient you are.

Now, we’re not going to tell you how you should or shouldn’t mark important events and achievements. However, we’ll remind you that an important part of living a healthy and happy life means avoiding overeating and staying away from refined sugary treats as much as possible.

Enjoying a slice of triple chocolate cake with ice cream on top is perfectly fine if you do it every once in a while—denying ourselves our little tasty treats can make us crave them even more, after all.

But if you’ve got an entire social calendar full of birthdays, anniversaries, and weddings lined up for this year, you might want to start watching how much you indulge. If you feel that you’re eating desserts more often than you’re making home-cooked meals, you might want to skip a few slices of cake or opt for a healthier option. We find that it’s often easier to say ‘no’ to a small snack than it is to burn off those excess calories jogging or at the gym.

In these economically uncertain times, celebrating birthdays can add a lot of additional stress. Especially if there are high expectations. According to a survey conducted by OnePoll, most children know exactly what they want for their birthdays. 73% of parents noted that their kids aren't easy to impress. Meanwhile, 67% of children expect their favorite foods to be served during the party. Moreover, 56% expect clowns or costumed characters, 44% expect inflatables, and 43% want laser tag. 

However, birthdays don't have to cost you an arm and a leg. You can cut costs by organizing things slightly differently. First of all, you need to let go of the desire to impress all the other parents in the neighborhood. Then, you can save a lot of money by sticking to simple food like hot dogs, pizza, chips, fruit, and veggies. Meanwhile, you don't necessarily have to rent out an expensive playroom for all the kids. Having the birthday at the local park works perfectly well, too!

We’d love to hear all about the fun celebrations you’ve recently had, dear Pandas. Maybe you’ve marked a special anniversary or baked a doggy-friendly dessert for your best pal? Perhaps something’s gone gloriously right at school, the office, or at home? Drop by the comment section and share your joy with everyone else!