January Holiday Resources (the FEATURED stuff)
Like in December, I decided to post the full list of holiday resources for the month of January (yesterday) and then "feature" a few resources (either brand new, newly-updated, or unique holidays) in a separate post with more details or examples to give you a better idea what to expect. As I mentioned yesterday, the January holiday post has a LOT of new content (mostly because so much of last year's Jan/Feb content was from February) so I had to "pick and choose" for this post!
Jay LeBlanc
1/8/20263 min read
Economic Blog Article - U of Chicago's Economics for Everyone, "Perfect Pairing: Popcorn and a Movie" for National Popcorn Day - January 19th
This is just an informative article from two months ago, but I liked the economic connection to National Popcorn Day. This is also from a resource provider I am just getting to know - doing a couple of workshops with them in the next couple of months. So looking forward to learning more about their curriculum and what they are trying to offer schools.
“Perfect Pairing: Popcorn and a Movie”, Economics for Everyone (from the U. of Chicago), Nov 2025, https://econ4everyone.uchicago.edu/perfect-pairing-popcorn-and-a-movie/
Economic Blog Article with Lesson Plan - Monday Morning Economist and the Foundation for Economic Education on "You Shouldn't Feel Bad About Quitting" (for National Quitting Day - January 9th)
I have mentioned before this partnership between Dr. Jadrian Wootten (the economist behind "Monday Morning Economist") and the Foundation for Economic Education. Each week Jadrian writes a blog article, then FEE creates a lesson to go with the economic concept featured in the blog article. I also thought this was a nice contrast with the resource following this one - the value of resolutions, and the value of giving up on a resolution when needed:
“You Shouldn't Feel Bad About Quitting”, Monday Morning Economist, Jan 2025, https://www.mondayeconomist.com/p/you-shouldnt-feel-bad-about-quitting
Lesson Plan for "You Shouldn't Feel Bad About Quitting", Foundation for Economic Education, Jan 2025, https://docs.google.com/document/d/19kEw_eqzuDqBg8lySpPP-uqXD7r9e3KRrBCk5kXHVQE
Video (w/discussion questions) - NGPF Fincap Friday - "You Just Gotta Habit"
If you are not already familiar, Fincap Fridays is NGPF's weekly series, with 3-5 minute videos covering financial literacy current events topics. Beyond the video, NGPF also provides a Kahoot quiz (can also be found in a no-tech version) and extended resources on the topic. This is a video from last January on New Years resolutions and how to instill good financial habits. Below I have links to the YouTube version of the video, as well as a link to the blog article (which will lead you to the other resources mentioned above).
“FinCap Friday: You Just Gotta Habit”, Jan 2026, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMDPAXZI7Lo (video) and https://www.ngpf.org/blog/fincap-friday/fincap-friday-you-just-gotta-habit/ (blog article w/links)
Economic Blog Article - Econlife.com on "Which New Year’s Resolutions Do We Keep?"
This article came out early last year, so I am including it as "new" in this year's list. Most of you know I am a big fan of Elaine Schwartz's website - she does such a good job of taking difficult economic concepts and finding ways to relate them to current events and examples from real life. She also backs up her assertions with solid economic research and data (which teachers can then "borrow"):
“Which New Year’s Resolutions Do We Keep?”, Econlife, Jan 2025, https://econlife.com/2025/01/new-years-resolutions-4/
A few other new resources on January “holidays” (just so you don't lose them in the long list):
“The 15 Year Battle for Martin Luther King Jr. Day”, National Museum of African American History & Culture (Smithsonian), https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/15-year-battle-martin-luther-king-jr-day
“Bobblehead boom has giveaway toys selling for hundreds of dollars” (for National Bobblehead Day – January 7th), Axios, Jul 2025, https://www.axios.com/2025/07/26/bobblehead-giveaway-baseball-game-ebay
“Korean American Day: Celebrating Culture and Heritage” (January 13th), Massachusetts Immigrant & Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA), Jan 2025, https://miracoalition.org/news/korean-american-day-celebrating-culture-and-heritage/
“Society's $21 Billion Problem” (for National Use Your Gift Card Day – January 17th), Monday Morning Economist, Feb 2023, https://www.mondayeconomist.com/p/gift-cards
“What Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Taught Us About Finances”, Johndrow Wealth Management, Jan 2023, https://www.johndrowwealth.com/blog/mlk-finance-lessons
