A Yes Day – Have You Heard About This?

Is it possible that there can be one day during the year that your kiddo will think is better than Christmas, way more fun than their birthday, and has twice as many goodies than Halloween?  It is possible, and it’s called a Yes Day.  A what day?  Hopefully, I’m not the only one who has missed out on this super day!  So, let me fill you in on the details.  (This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.  Read my disclosure policy here.)

Read about what happened during our TWO Yes Days here:  A Yes Day Experiment – How Would Your Family Do?

Yes Day!

Back in 2009, there was a children’s book published that is called “Yes Day!” written by Amy Krouse Rosenthal.  The story is told by a little boy who explains what a Yes Day is, and tells the readers to watch as his every request is answered with a “yes”.  He asks for pizza for breakfast, hair gel in his hair, an ice cream cone, and the one thing that probably every child will ask for…to stay up late.

Somehow I missed this cute little book, and I’m wondering if I was too busy saying “no” to my kids every time we were in a library or bookstore so we didn’t even see it?  If they had heard about this book, I know they would have grabbed it as fast as they could and shoved it in my face.

Click on the photo to see the book on Amazon

Now that it’s more than a few years after the book came out, are you ready to hear what the source of information was that brought the Yes Day concept to my attention?  Well, it was a selfie that Jennifer Garner posted on Instagram of her make-up free face, and stating how important coffee was after a Yes Day.  I came across this major headline while scrolling through MSN.com and I’m not sure if I clicked on it to see a make-up free Jennifer Garner or because I was curious about what a Yes Day was.  And now, fast forward to 2021, Jennifer Garner is starring in a movie with the same name, and I predict that quite a few families are going to try out having a Yes Day!

How Would a Yes Day Work in the Real World?

There would have to be rules for a Yes Day to work.  Some families set dollar amounts to spend, distances to drive, and how much is too much junk food.  These rules will make the Yes Day just a little bit better for everyone, and allow your kids to get creative within those boundaries.

Some parents may not want to let their kiddos know that they are in the midst of a Yes Day.  I can just imagine the smiles on your kid’s faces when they can go to the park in the morning, spend the afternoon at the beach, and have ice cream before dinner!  Movie night?  Yes!  Can we make cookies and eat the dough?  Yes!  Can we play with markers?  Well…  Anyways, you’ll have some happy kids!

I’m considering a yes day for our household, because that would be a first, and I’m afraid I can guess how it will go.  The first questions would be “can we have ice cream for breakfast”, and next would be “can we go to Target”.  We would get to Target and then I would have to start saying no, and that’s not how the day is supposed to go.  I think that if I emphasize experiences and food firsts over buying things, we may be successful.

Go Ahead, Pick a Day

I am going to set our family’s Yes Day to be Saturday October 14.  I’ll set some rules, and wait for the fun to begin.

Want to find out how our two Yes Day’s went?  Yes, we had two whole Yes Day’s because I conducted a little experiment.  Read all about our Yes Day’s here.

Has your family had a Yes Day before?  If so, what happened?  What should the rules be?  What do you think they will ask to do?

A Yes Day

October 14 – Yes Day! Join us!

Your complete guide to a Yes Day full of family fun!

14 Comments

  • Stacey S January 27, 2022 at 9:29 am

    Thanks for your post. We did our first Yes Day last year after watching the movie with Jennifer Garner twice (the 2nd time with Daddo). Then our (then 8 year old) son and i sat down and wrote down what would be his favorite things to do on a Yes Day. Here’s the list…
    Crepes for breakfast
    Go to the bookstore and do our “date” thing
    Candy
    ice cream
    pizza for dinner

    We marked the day on the calendar after to give him time to save up.

    The day of, we went to Perkins for breakfast (to get crepes for him and eggs Benedict for me and pancakes for Daddo)
    Then we picked up our son’s new, 1st set of glasses and while at the mall, we went to Barnes and Noble. We got hot drinks and a cookie. As he picked out several books to sit and read, I went around finding books to take a picture of to see if the library might have them and Daddo secretly bought the boy 3 books and suprised him.
    Then we went to the food court for lunch. Panda Express for the boy and Chickalay (Chick fil-a) for Daddo and I.
    Afterwards, we went through a car wash and to a convenience store to pick out our favorite candy (1 per person).
    Had pizza for dinner.
    Got in our jammies and drove to Dairy Queen to get ice cream.
    Then watched the movie together, again.
    We plan to do Yes Day every year.

    Reply
    • Vicki February 6, 2022 at 9:19 pm

      Sounds like so much fun! Great memories for the whole family!

      Reply
  • Emma Conrad January 2, 2018 at 9:34 am

    This can be applied even without kids, I think! I bet my husband would love a Yes day as well! Thank you for sharing 🙂

    Reply
    • Vicki January 2, 2018 at 12:26 pm

      Definitely! Everyone deserves a Yes Day!

      Reply
  • Lacy January 2, 2018 at 7:05 am

    Oh this is a great idea! I would love it if each person in our family got a yes day with a budget 🙂 I think I would pick a day trip.

    Reply
    • Vicki January 2, 2018 at 12:26 pm

      Thanks Lacy! It’s a great way for the family to try something new!

      Reply
  • Karlee November 9, 2017 at 11:16 am

    A 20-something friend of mine has started doing something like this more in her life. I think it’s a good concept to incorporate more into all of our lives not just our children’s. If we all say yes to more things in life we might all start to enjoy ourselves a little bit better!

    Reply
    • Vicki November 9, 2017 at 11:28 am

      Yes, I totally agree! Thanks for reading, Karlee!

      Reply
  • Kaylyn November 8, 2017 at 1:03 pm

    I don’t have kids but I learned this from watching a TV show… I think it was New Girl. They just decided to only say yes to things and they ended up having an amazing day. I do this like once a month with my boyfriend and it’s so fun!

    – Kaylyn
    http://www.createwithkay.com

    Reply
    • Vicki November 8, 2017 at 9:11 pm

      It’s so fun to do something different for the day!

      Reply
  • Kaytlyn November 8, 2017 at 9:31 am

    I am going to do this!

    Reply
    • Vicki November 8, 2017 at 9:10 pm

      It really is a lot of fun for everyone!

      Reply
  • Kim @ HappyPrettyBlog October 10, 2017 at 12:56 pm

    My kids would LOVE this! What kid wouldn’t? Haha!

    Reply
    • Vicki October 10, 2017 at 1:14 pm

      I know! I might have a Yes Day just for myself!

      Reply

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