When a huge sampling of people were polled, almost unanimously they said they LOVED July—the time to celebrate freedom. Comments included: “I love all the picnics, camping, family gatherings, and fireworks.” “We really enjoy the parades and festivities our surrounding communities hold in honor of our country’s birth.” “Fireworks, great food, and friends—it’s the best month ever!” Wouldn’t you agree?

But not to slight one of the most major holidays of the year, there are a few other things to celebrate as well. I share these only because folks aren’t all that aware of how cram-packed July is when it comes to reasons to have a party.

For instance, July is National Blueberry Month, National Hot Dog Month, and National Ice Cream Month. No surprises there. But did you know that July is also National Cell Phone Courtesy Month and National Anti-Boredom Month? I’m not gonna address the cell phone courtesy issue and how desperately we need some everywhere we go (movie theaters, restaurants, meetings, airports, elevators and escalators, air planes, grocery stores, even Church, for crying out loud!), although I could rag on for hours on this topic.

Nope, what I want to focus on is this business of boredom and how in the heck this country actually has so much of it going on that someone felt to designate a month to help us wake up and avoid this pathetic state.

The timing is good though. Back to the idea that July is so loaded with reasons to party—boredom ought to be the last thing we’re dealing with this month. Anyway, here’s an idea: How about we do our part to celebrate the idea of not being bored? We could throw a neighborhood party, maybe towards the end of the month for everyone not on vacation (vacation’s a perfect boredom-buster, by the way). We could come up with ideas for activities, games, and food that are anything but typical for the season or month.

For instance, when it comes to activities, we usually bob for apples in October for Halloween parties. But think about it, wouldn’t bobbing (for whatever) be fun during the hot month of July? And we usually decorate sugar cookies during December as part of our Christmas celebration. But why not bake and decorate star-shaped cookies, or firecracker-shaped cookies, or just simple rectangles that could be decorated like the flag?

And then there’s the food. We usually cook up a turkey for Thanksgiving, but how about barbecuing turkey, or cooking one up and serving it as part of a summer sandwich bar? And cranberries are typically part of winter holiday meals, but they are so versatile that you could do a lot of yummy things with them in July—compotes, smoothies, pies, breads, and so on.

If there’s anything that can shake off boredom it’s the unexpected. So let’s band together and celebrate no more boredom—drop in on bored neighbors, give someone a gift of deliciousness from your kitchen, or dare to throw a party and serve up some surprises—it’s the perfect month for celebrating. Do throw in some ice cream and hotdogs though—some of us like to know what we can count on!