Today is Universal Children's Day!

The goal to improve child welfare worldwide, promote and celebrate children's rights and promote togetherness and awareness amongst all children is a worthy one! And while more and more children are becoming aware of their rights, and can often speak out on their own behalf, unfortunately the world requires children to "grow up" before they should.

Childhood is so important for children because playing and imagination helps them develop essential skills. And, playtime enables children to use their creativity while developing imagination, dexterity, as well as physical, cognitive, and emotional strength. Carefree play is also very important to healthy brain development. It is through play that children at a very early age engage and interact in the world around them.

Why not celebrate Universal Children's Day with an outdoor excursion, perhaps, to one of our Nations Great Outdoors Parks. Or, take the kids to a local park and enjoy a picnic, perhaps fly a kite, take a hike or ride bikes! The younger children might enjoy a trip to the the local playground to meet up with their friends for a play date.

Make this a slow-down-the-fast-paced-lives-day, turn off technology and have time connecting with each other in play and imagination. Time together can certainly make a child feel cherished, loved and appreciated.

Bliss Products and Services has proudly spent over 35 years helping bring the element of play into lives of both children and adults in communities throughout the southeast! From playgrounds to park amenities, shade covers to dog parks, we provide everything under the sun. Check out our store.

National CleanUp Day is an unofficial holiday which raises awareness about cleanliness and reducing litter in the areas we all enjoy. It is all about Cleaning the Outdoors. So if you enjoy going to the local playground, park, beach or local wooded area this is a good way for you to give a little back to our environment that provides a location for amazing adventures and experiences.

This day encourages people to make an effort to reduce littering and to recycle so that the nature around us remains clean and free of garbage. It is a great way to get kids to care about the world they live in especially natural and communal places where we gather.

The Outdoors--be it a playground or a place to walk or hike--provides a higher quality of life for those who go there. The core philosophy of National CleanUp Day is that our quality of life can be widely impacted by the nature around us! Garbage- and litter-filled natural spaces can negatively impact an individual's sense of well-being as well as the environment. So, we get together with friends, family, and co-workers to organize a cleaning trip to the closest park, hiking trail, or beach and make a difference!

On this day, raise awareness against littering and throwing garbage in communal spaces through social media and word of mouth, or you might join or organise a local clean-up crew and help clean up your outdoors or communal spaces.

Let’s pick up the litter and make the outdoors and shared spaces we all enjoy, that much better for all. If you need commercial grade trash receptacles or any other outdoor product Bliss Products and Services has “Everything Under The Sun” for your outdoor spaces. Visit our store at https://blissproducts.com/

National Grandparents Day is celebrated the first Sunday after Labor Day. Today is dedicated to our grandparents. The bond between Grandparents and grandchildren is proven to both make grandparents live longer, and also make children more emotionally resilient.

Grandparents Day is an opportunity to treasure that connection and spend some quality family time together. Bliss Products and Services celebrates family and there is no better place to enjoy time together than outdoors in the sunshine.

We stock everything under the sun to make your times outdoors more enjoyable, from playgrounds to sports equipment, communial area coverings to BBQs and outdoor trash recepticals. If you need commercial grade outdoor solutions which last, check out our website and store.

We love our animals especially our dogs and today on National Dog Day we are so blessed to be accompanied by man’s best friend. Today celebrates all breeds, pure and mixed and serves to help motivate the public to recognize the number of dogs that need to be rescued each year, either from public shelters, rescues and pure breed rescues.

National Dog Day honors family dogs and dogs that work selflessly to save lives, keep us safe and bring comfort. Dogs put their lives on the line every day - for their law enforcement partner, for their blind companion, for the disabled, for our freedom and safety by detecting bombs and drugs and pulling victims of tragedy from wreckage. Take a moment today to see how you can raise awareness for this loyal human companion.

Bliss Products and Services stock a whole range of Dog Products for your best friend so if you are thinking of setting up a local Bark Park for their enjoyment check out https://store.blissproducts.com/Dog-Play-_c_78.html or perhaps you need a trash receptacle for your local area check out... https://store.blissproducts.com/Trash-Receptacles_c_22.html

No matter your outdoor requirements from shade awnings, seating solutions and even grand stands Bliss Products and Services stock everything under the sun for your better enjoyment of the outdoors. But whatever your outdoor needs are, we hope you will be enjoying them with your best friend the dog!

Feel free to post pictures of your best friend in the comments...

National Senior Citizens Day recognizes our senior citizens in communities across our great Nation. Given our quickly changing society and fast-paced lives, not to mention the health situation we've been facing, circumstances have make it even more difficult to give our senior citizens the attention they need. With various stay-at-home and isolation orders, life is making our seniors on the whole feel particularly vulnerable and alone. Let's use this day to remind us to reach out, making some time to spend and touch their lives in some form of meaningful way.

Anything from a simple phone call to making an extra trip out to pick up some groceries or other items for the store can go a long way to showing that you care. And, there is never a more important time to remind children how to make time for their elder family members and other senior citizens in our communities. How we teach them to treat our elders will reflect in the way our children to treat and care for us in our twilight years.

Many elder people need to get outside more, into nature and enjoy local parks and open spaces. It's relative safe to spend time outdoors for seniors right now so long as social distancing is practised. Why not explore opportunities to participate in activities like getting out into the garden or adding some flowerbeds together to brighten up their personal spaces.

Bliss products has been providing a wide selection from outdoor recreational equipment and everything under the sun for over 30 years, including commercial outdoor sanitizer stations to ensure your loved ones no matter their age can feel safe outdoors.

Considering all the different fun holidays, National Relaxation Day on August 15 is our favorite! If ever there was a national holiday made for people, it's this day which encourages us all to slow down, unwind, focus on taking care of ourselves, and relax.

Relaxation is very important as we all need a break from the fast-paced and often hectic lifestyles we live. Especially with the last several months with everything that has been going on, most people have experienced an increase in stress.

Today is all about you and your health, and taking time to rest, recuperate and rejuvenate our tired minds and bodies. Not only are the short-term benefits obvious, but most doctors will agree that finding ways to relax and finding ways to reduce stress will improve overall health and boost our immunity.

By the very nature of our business, we recommend the benefits of getting outdoors and enjoying nature at every opportunity. Be it taking the kids to the local playground and enjoying fun and games, or taking a walk-in nature. There are, however, many ways to relax.

If you're stuck for an idea, we came up with some suggestions...

Reading a book
Fishing with a friend
A picnic in the park
Walking along the beach
Taking a drive in the country
Spa
Golfing
Photography
A movie
Window shopping
Lunch with friends
Drinks with friends
Watching sports
Swimming

These are just a few of the many possible relaxation ideas that you may want to use to celebrate this holiday. However, you choose to celebrate National Relaxation Day, take a deep breath, and unwind. No matter what your your favorite relaxation activity is, if it's outside--be it playgrounds, parks, dog parks or other natural spaces--you will probably enjoy with some of our products. We have everything under the sun for the outdoors from awnings to playgrounds, dog parks and site equipment.

It is ironic that someone decided to choose August to celebrate Family Fun Month. For those of us in the Southeast, that is when our vacations end and our new school year begins. It certainly must have been started up in the Northeast, which starts school in September where they have cooler summer nights for camping and other outdoor vacations!

With the start of school, carving out family fun time becomes even more important. And being the hottest month of the year, getting outdoors may be a bit more uncomfortable than other times of the year. But nonetheless, there is always ways to enjoy spending time with family in order to gain a deeper, more fulfilling connection!

This month of August take time to plan spending extra time with family doing fun things. No matter which part of country you live in, your family can enjoy a picnic in your local park or wildness area on one of the cooler days. And, make sure to bring along a frisbee and ball or some added entertainment.

Perhaps you might even devote the end of your day to picking up any trash you might find, leaving the park cleaner than when you arrived. What better way to teach your children the importance of taking responsibility for the cleanliness of their local natural environment?

Maybe a visit to the local playground right before sunset as an extra special activity for kids while mom and dad watch them play. Nothing says someone is more important than just sitting and watching the kids while they are swinging or sliding or simply running around. Kids can tell when they are the center of your attention, even from afar!

For older kids, taking a hike or spending the day out on the lake can be extra special. Or maybe cooking lunch over a firepit or BBQ can make a meal more exciting. Luckily, our country has so many possible venues of natural beauty within our National Park system. And, many have opened back up after lockdown but, of course, check first before embarking on any long journey.

If your area's temperatures allow for it, you might consider planning and planting a late summery vegetable garden to inspire your kids and develop their green thumbs. What a great fun activity for everyone in the family from toddlers to teens! There is a plethora of YouTube videos and other information available online that will help your family home grow some vegetables. Vegetables like carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower all do well when planted in August. And, being able to watch the "fruits" of their labor flourish can inspire all family members to eat more veggies.

In summary, there are so many fun activities you can undertake with your family. Why not take the time now to plan a few to celebrate this month? And when you do, you can be sure that when you are outdoors in the parks or on the playgrounds (or even at the beach), Bliss Products and Services products will be handily available as we sell everything under the sun for enjoying outdoor spaces, from play structures to shade structure, from park amenities to outdoor hand sanitizer stations.

Check out our new online shop for interesting independent play products or even replacement parts! If you need any commercial grade park and playground structures or equipment, we can be sure we have it! Find a representative in your area to help you design a new project today!

Today is National Ice Cream Day!

Did you know that some studies have shown people buy and consume more ice cream on a Sunday than any other day of the week? That makes it incredibly synchronistic that this year's National Ice Cream Day lands on Sunday! Why not take the kids out to get their favorite flavor ice cream cone and visit their favorite playground!

Officially proclaimed by President Ronald Reagan in 1984, this holiday was supposed to only be celebrated on July 15 of that year. Of course, the ice cream industry seized the opportunity to continue the tradition every year thereafter. Now, not only is today declared to be National Ice Cream Day, July has been designated as National Ice Cream MONTH! This too has now become a tradition.

Traditionally made by freezing a mixture of cream or milk, sugar, and some kind of flavoring, ice cream is often eaten as a dessert after a meal or sometimes as a midday snack. Ice cream treats have a long and varied history, although not much is known about its true origins. Some historians have attributed ice cream to the Chinese, while others suggest that the Romans were involved, mixing snow with honey and fruits to create the first ice cream prototype.

Either way, the early types of ice cream were nothing like the ice cream we are familiar with today. They were only for the Royals back then. And, in olden days, before refrigeration, ice cream was a food reserved for the royals and the rich only, eaten on special occasions. Refrigeration technology quickly made ice cream a commonly enjoyed dessert around the world. Today, people make ice cream rather easily at home through the use of portable ice cream makers.

So, how is National Ice Cream Day celebrated?

--Many ice cream parlors and stores offer discounts on their ice cream on this holiday. Why not get a discounted ice cream cone?

--You can have ice cream for all your meals and considered it as a nutritional food group for this day.

--Why not make your own ice cream and serve it to family and friends.

--Use this day to get creative with your flavorings. What about adding mint to your strawberry ice cream? Or bacon bits to caramel flavored ice cream?

--How about using cookies and making some ice cream sandwiches or make an ice cream cake?

So this Sunday when you are out enjoying your favorite ice cream flavor if you are in the park or at your local playground there is a good chance you will be sitting on one of our benches or throwing your ice cream wrapper away into one of our trash receptacles .  And if your local area doesn't have enough benches or trash bins in good working order you could start a collection to buy another or make a donation to the community and buy one yourself.

In summary, even if you don't live in the United States, that shouldn’t stop you from celebrating this awesome holiday. After all, ice cream is a delicious treat in every culture.

Did you know that today is Teddy Bear Picnic Day?

The first Teddy bears, invented in 1903, may not have been as cute as the one's made today, but interestingly enough were invented by two different people at around the same time. One person lived in the U.S. and the other in Germany. Obviously, with the lack of communication as we have today, they were not even aware of each other.

Named after President Theodore Roosevelt, whose nickname was Teddy, teddy bears became so popular that many toymakers started to make them. By 1906, they were so popular and there were so many different kinds of bears, even grown women used to carry around bears like little children. The president even used one as a mascot!

Celebrated mainly in the United States, Canada, Australia, and in some parts of Europe, the origins of this unofficial holiday are unknown. However, the holiday appears to owe its name to a song of the same name by American composer, John Walter Bratton, and Irish lyricist, Jimmy Kennedy.

It is also unclear what the holiday aimed to achieve. It could be that the anonymous creators of this holiday wanted parents to encourage creativity by taking their children out with their bears for a picnic in the outdoors. Maybe toy manufacturers created the holiday to encourage teddy bear purchases. Who knows?

What we do know is that today is the perfect opportunity to get out to the park with your children and their favorite stuffed bear to have a picnic!

How to Celebrate?

Today with stay at home orders ending, why not arrange an outing with friends and family, to enjoy the summer sun, fun and games, and creativity with your children and their favorite toys? Take the kids outside to your local park for a picnic, along with their stuffed bears. If the picnic must be at home, what about setting a pillow tent in the middle of your living room and treat your kids’ teddy bears to a picnic?

In public spaces you might see our latest product offering - outside hand sanitizer stations which are perfect for public spaces - be they playgrounds, parks, sports arenas, schools, office buildings, industrial parks, courthouses, apartment buildings and many more. They come in automatic or manual versions, stand alone or fence/wall mounted. Have look at our special offer at https://promo.blissproducts.com/hand-sanitizers if your playground or building need one.

For our selection of Park Picnic Tables:
https://store.blissproducts.com/Picnic-Tables_c_21.html

For our selection of Shades & Shelters:
https://store.blissproducts.com/Shade-Shelters_c_113.html

For our selection of Playground Equipment:
https://store.blissproducts.com/Play-Equipment_c_13.html

Celebrating the National Park & Recreation takes a whole month! This July, let's pay tribute to the men and women who manage our majestic national parks and recreation areas. These unsung heros provide essential services that make our communities better places to live, work and play. These frontline staff are confronting our most pressing health, environmental and social challenges on a daily basis. These issues include homelessness, substance use disorders, the obesity epidemic and other chronic health issues like Covid-19, and other flus and viruses.

During the stay-at-home orders over the last few months, we can all agree how important the outdoors and nature are. Where would we be without those who help us establish and maintain our quality of life by contributing to the physical, economic, and environmental well-being of us all.

This month, let's celebrate our local parks and recreation centers by encouraging the exploration of our national parks to enjoy outdoor activities. Parks not only support the enviroment by cleaning water, preserving wildlife and offering refuge to animals throughout the seasons, they also create connections across communites. Parks encourage people to congregate (easy to practice social distancing in a park!), explore nature, enjoy sports, beaches, trails and a host of other recreational activities.

Take time to go to your local park with your family and raise awareness about the important contribution that parks make to our enviroment and communites. Join us in celebrating throughout the month by sharing your park and recreation story with pics using the hashtag #WeAreParksAndRec.

On that note, Bliss Products and Services is proud to introduce our solution to keeping outdoor parks and playground visitors healthy! Stop the spread of flu and other viruses with our new outdoor hand sanitizer stations. They are built to last and can handle the heavy foot traffic of outdoor recreation areas. To find out more about this durable and reasonably priced product, visit: https://promo.blissproducts.com/hand-sanitizers.