February 26 Is National 'Tell a Fairy Tale' Day

Celebrate the magic of fairy tales. From talking animals to special powers, let the story enfold you into a whole other world.

Who doesn't enjoy a good story? This is your day! February 26, National Tell A Fairy Tale Day, is the day we all get to live happily ever after!

Children all over the world enjoy fairy tales ... tales of adventure, twists and turns, and happy endings. Moms are definitely experts on fairy tales and which stories are best to engage children. In fact, moms.com compiled a list of the 10 best fairy tales:

#10 Rapunzel: Dating back to 1634, a young girl, Rapunzel, is trapped in a high tower and needs someone to rescue her. Her long, golden hair has grown to several yards long, and she lowers her hair for her rescuing prince to climb the tower.
#9 The Ugly Duckling: This classic story includes a duckling, that doesn't look like the other ducklings, looking to his mother for encouragement. The ugly duckling wasn't so ugly (or a duckling) as he grew into a majestic swan.
#8 Goldilocks and the Three Bears: What happens when a young girl visits the home of three bears? She eats their food and sleeps in their beds, of course.
#7 Jack and the Beanstalk: Jack finds a magic bean that grows into an enormous stalk enabling him to climb to the home of a giant who owns a goose that lays a golden egg.
#6 Little Red Riding Hood: A young girl who is visiting her grandmother in the woods is met with a deceiving wolf who tries multiple times to trick the girl.
#5 Puss in Boots: While this original character dates back to the 1500s, the most-recent ideation of Puss is in the film, Shrek. The anthropomorphic cat can con his way into marriage and wealth.
#4 Rumpelstiltskin: A young girl can spin straw into gold (a special skill, for sure), and a fiend visits her in prison and offers to spin gold on her behalf as she rests.
#3 The Gingerbread Man: The tale of a cookie, a gingerbread cookie, breaking out of a bakery and heading into town captures the attention of every youngster.
#2 The Princess and the Pea: A young girl claims to be a princess. To test the claim, the prince orders a pea to be placed under her mattress. Depending on how she slept that night will determine her alleged royalty.
#1 Thumbelina: The smallest of all fairy tale characters, Thumbelina rejects marriage proposals from all sorts of small animals. But then she meets someone her own size.

How to Observe National Tell a Fairy Tale Day

Grab a book and sit down with the children in your life. Read the classics like they were brand-new to you. Engage in the story with strained and sweet voices unique to each character. Let children participate in the story by making sound effects or reading the lines of specific characters. And ask open-ended questions as you travel through the story.
Call or FaceTime a family member who tells a great story. Ask permission to record the video chat, so you can replay the experience in the future. This will be a true gift for your family member as well ... enabling them to connect with other family members.

Write Your Own Fairy Tale

Choose your setting and main characters. Feel free to be creative as not every fairy tale needs to involve a prince and a princess. Be sure to give each character his or her own voice.
Create a challenge for your main characters to solve. Are they in trouble? Is there an antagonist in your story?
Embellish the story with plenty of magic and out-of-this-world fantasy. There's no limit to what your characters can do.
Repeat stanzas or movements throughout your story. This will help the reader (or listener) remember the story and prepares them for what happens next.
Craft an engaging ending. You'll want to consider the "happily ever after" endings, but you're not limited to wrapping up the story in a positive way.
Share your fairy tale with friends and family. You can also explore self-publishing your story for the world to read and experience.

What is your favorite fairy tale? Tell us more in the comments.