Celebrate Sweetest Day with your sweetheart by doing something special together. Sweetest Day falls on the third Saturday of October each year. The holiday started in the Great Lakes Region as a way to remember and honor those who are elderly, infirm or orphaned. Commemorate the holiday by carrying on the tradition of remembrance, and celebrating your relationships with friends and family.

Take your sweetheart out to a romantic dinner. Choose a favorite restaurant that gives back to charity or a restaurant that offers Sweetest Day specials. Certain restaurants will give a portion of your check, or offer donations to charities, that support the elderly, sick or orphaned when a couple dines on Sweetest Day. Other date options include taking your sweetheart to do a favorite activity, such as mini golf or hitting baseballs in the batting cages.

Swap gifts with your sweetheart for the holiday. Sweetest Day traditions typically include a woman giving her husband or boyfriend candy. While the day is not as commercialized as Valentine’s Day, women can find candy year-round at the grocery store or specialty candy stores. Wrap the gift and attach a thoughtful note. A man can also give his wife or girlfriend candy, or another type of gift, to commemorate the day.

Spend Sweetest Day in the kitchen making sugary sweets to give to your sweetheart, friends and family. Mix up chocolate-covered strawberries, s'mores and various hard candies to box up and give away. In addition to your family and friends, take the candy to a nursing or retirement home. Spread the sweetness at a children’s hospital or children’s orphanage. Attach a note of sentiment to the package.

Observe Sweetest Day in a homeless shelter or orphanage, lending a helping hand. Talk with the volunteer coordinator at a local shelter within your city limits to help serve food to the homeless, or assist in a hospital. Organizations are always looking for people to volunteer their time, and extra hands, within shelters and hospitals.

Take a walk around your neighborhood with your significant other, or alone, and check on the elderly residents. Sweetest Day is about remembering the aged; therefore, spend time talking or playing games with an elderly neighbor. Like homeless shelters and hospitals, retirement centers and nursing homes will always welcome people to come in and just visit with the residents. If you have a gift, such as playing the piano or singing, then visit a center to play a tune or sing a song.

Bring a smile to a child’s face by spending time playing with him. Check with orphanages, or children’s homes, within your community to volunteer your time. Another option for Sweetest Day is committing yourself to a specific time with a program for children, such as Big Brothers Big Sisters.