Labor Day is celebrated on the first Monday of every September here in the US. The day of observance has gone from one dedicated to the proper treatment of the nations labor force to more of a day for college kids to mark down as the earliest day off in the academic calendar. In general, to most Americans the day has also come to represent the end of summer more than anything else. Yet despite the shift in ideologies regarding the day, the root is still the same; celebrating the end of summer can also be a celebration of the end of the time when most people take their vacations from laboring, or spend more time doing leisurely activities than they normally would. So at its core the holiday is still about embracing the basic rights that labor unions fought hard to secure for workers more than a century ago. No matter how you want to view it, it is indeed the end of summer and theres no reason not to embrace the day for all it is worth while staying healthy.
The festivities of the day usually include barbecues or cook-outs, each with their own unhealthy traps to fall into.
Labor day delicious celebrations tend to go heavy on deserts and thick side dishes beyond the main courses of hot dogs and hamburgers. How might you be able to incorporate some healthier options into the mix? One way that I particularly like is using
Labor Day fruit bouquets, incorporating freshly cut fruit with fresh Labor day chocolate strawberries into arrangements that can look like flower bouquets or whatever you so desire. As it is the end of summer, these Labor Day arrangements also pay homage to a season generally marked with much higher fruit consumption than the others, with the image of children eating watermelon a few months earlier on July 4th being an authentic part of Americana imagery. There are options and tutorials online with how to go about attempting to make one of these yourself but I think a better options would be go check out the
Edible Arrangement labor day collection. Theyve got Labor day appreciation bouquets as well as a variety of other styles for the day so you can make sure youre getting something that the people attending your party will appreciate (specialty things for kids and the like). I have seen Labor day gift baskets on various web-sites but I dont think theyre anything I would ever buy; they seem like the sort of thing youd send a business associate you dont know personally at all for Christmas because you needed to get his something. If you do plan on buying someone a gift this labor day, do yourself and the recipient of your gift a favor and avoid the stuffy gift baskets; go with something theyll actually use and something with overtones of fun built-in to hold onto the nostalgia of a joyous summer now past.
