Until the pandemic, the NHS, the National Health Service, I think was often overlooked and taken for granted. The NHS was created on the 5th July 1948 making healthcare accessible to everyone who needed it.

Over the last 3 months there has been a huge outpouring of thanks for all the work our health care, social care and key workers do on a daily basis. From the weekly Clap to Carers, to home sewers making up uniform bags, and donations of food and home comforts, it has been heart warming to hear how people have helped the NHS.

Did you know that this year will mark the 72nd anniversary of the NHS? People are being encouraged to come together on the birthday of the NHS, Sunday 5th July, to thank not only NHS staff but all key workers, good neighbours and all those helping others through the coronavirus pandemic.

The NHS has been working with the newly founded /Together coalition to build a national moment to thank everyone who has helped them – and one that aims to reinforce the social connections we will need to get through the next stage of the crisis.

On the evening of Saturday 4th July there will be a minute’s silence when people will be asked to light a candle in their window in remembrance of all who have died during this time.

At 5pm on Sunday 5th July there will be one last country-wide clap of thanks, and hopefully we will stay out to have a cup of tea with our neighbours.

5 ways to celebrate the birthday of the NHS

Obviously we can take part in both of these things but I thought it would be fun to see if there were any other crafts to celebrate the NHS. There are hundreds of Doctor and Nurse crafts on Pinterest but not many specific NHS ones. You may enjoy the following crafts and activities:

One of our favourite crafts over the last 3 months has been to paint an NHS rock. I wrote a post about NHS rocks and Comfort Pebbles which you can read here. We added most of our rocks to our fairy garden and decorated some more NHS rainbow rocks to add to our local rock snake last week.

Make a big Thank You banner to hang outside your house. I’m tempted to put out the rainbow banner we made. It’s been outside our house for the last 3 months cheering on our neighbour who works for the London Ambulance Service.

Teens would enjoy this NHS papercutting template from GoodGooseDesigns on Etsy. It’s a gorgeous design and perfect for displaying our thanks in a window.

We’ve done a lot of colouring over the last few weeks and our front window is full of Thank You posters. The /Together website has some lovely Thank You colouring sheets for your window.

Another craft you can do it to sew a face mask. This is an easy craft for tweens and teens and a great way to learn how to use a sewing machine – stay alert and safe!