June is the official beginning of summer and time to celebrate Pride. That’s right, the entire month of June is dedicated to uplifting the LGBTQ+ community and celebrating diversity, equality, and visibility. There are many ways to celebrate Pride, from learning the movement’s history to supporting the diverse array of queer voices, to supporting local LGBTQ+ businesses and charities, to simply being an ally to your friends and family who identify as LGBTQ+. To help get you in the spirit, we’ve put together a list of ideas that capture the joy and self-expression of Pride Month, however you choose to observe it.
One way to express love, share joy, and celebrate community is by capturing your everyday Pride in personal ways, like sending out custom Pride Month cards to family and friends. Our vibrant Pride greeting cards allow you to connect creatively with your LGBTQ community. The simple act of saying, “Happy Pride” with cards can make a hugely positive impact. The ability to personalize your cards with messages, photos, and other elements make them treasured keepsakes. You can also create different Pride Month personalized gifts and decor to make celebrating more festive and bright. Though Pride is celebrated in June, the memories you create this month will last throughout the year and beyond.
1. Learning The History Of Pride
While everyone from school children to grandparents celebrates Pride, not everyone knows its history. Pride Month began as a way to honor the LGTBQ+ community every year during June in a month-long celebration of LGBTQ+ rights and to remember the fearless trailblazers. They paved the way for the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement in America in June 1969 during the Stonewall Riots in Greenwich Village, New York. Not only is Pride Month historically-significant, but it also allows us to celebrate all kinds of love and personal expression and uplift our queer friends and family by showing them (and the world) support.
In addition to recognizing the decades-long, and still ongoing fight for equal rights in the LGBTQ+ community, the Pride movement is meant to be an affirming celebration of all that the community has accomplished. Regardless of how you celebrate Pride Month, knowing its history can give you a broader experience of the month and its origins. Whether you spend some time reading, watching a documentary, or visiting a museum, there many resources to help you learn something new about Pride Month and LGBTQ+ history.
2. Decorate Your Home With Pride-Themed Decor
Pride Month is the time of year when LGBTQ+ folks and allies can celebrate their identity and embrace self-love. Want to express that spirit at home? Surround yourself with love by decorating your home with Pride-themed decor. Proudly hang a rainbow flag in your front yard and windows. Or design a custom yard sign supporting the LGBTQ+ community. Use this month as a way to show connection and allyship with personalized home decor that expresses your Pride in every shade and style to make this time of year stand out as something special. These visual reminders are an important cue to reflect on the evolution of Pride and what it symbolizes for all people.
3. Attend Pride Month Activities
Pride parades are a much-loved tradition in cities with a strong LGBTQ+ community and history of advocacy, such as San Francisco and New York City. But lots of cities across the globe hold Pride events like parades where celebrities, artists, politicians, and other influencers appear. While there are many great ways to celebrate Pride Month, many love the diversity and inclusion found at parades. These events give you a real sensory experience of what Pride is all about. It’s also an excellent opportunity to provide children an inside look into the rich spectrum of diversity in the members of the LGBTQ community worldwide, as well as showing solidarity with Pride’s guiding slogan, “love is love.” Pride parades offer many learning experiences, not to mention they’re just fun! Other great Pride events include happy hours and drag queen shows — look up Pride celebrations near you to get started on the fun.
4. Discover LGBTQ+ Films, TV Shows, And Literature
Another great way to celebrate Pride Month is by developing a greater understanding of the LGBTQ+ experience through films, TV shows, and literature. For an entertaining, informative, and comfy evening, we recommend snuggling up in fleece photo blankets and enjoying an LGBTQ+ movie marathon. Or put together a special queer book club for Pride; there are so many incredible movies, shows, and books by LGBTQ+ creators that you and your loved ones can watch, read and discuss. So, assemble your personal queer favorites: the most influential books, films, and TV shows or make a point to consume something you’ve never seen or read before and celebrate Pride Month by diving into the world of LGBTQ+ media.
5. Donate To LGBTQ+ Organizations
Since Pride is all about celebrating the strength, resiliency, and beauty of the LGBTQ+ community, consider giving back to the causes that support just that. Activism is the epitome of celebrating the queer community as it not only allows you to get involved with an organization that you care about or are interested in what they’re doing for the community, but an easy way to support and celebrate all year round. Choose an organization that works with the issues close to your heart. Remember, you can donate money, food, and even knowledge. Whether you’re shopping for a good cause, volunteering with LGBTQ+ organizations and nonprofits, or showing your support to these organizations on social media platforms, there are many ways to support the work of people fighting for the advancement of transgender and gay rights.
6. Wear Your Pride On Your Sleeve
What better way to display your support of Pride Month than to rock LGBTQ+ friendly clothing? At Shutterfly, you can create your own Pride gear with our custom apparel to create personalized style signatures that radiate the fierceness and joy of authentically being exactly who you are. Get Pride ready and find everything you need to celebrate with custom socks, t-shirts, and custom hoodies. Imagine the fun you’ll have and the solidarity you’ll feel when your entire group of friends or your whole family wears matching custom apparel. The best part is that all of our apparel is made of high-quality materials and designed to last, so your Pride display will stand the test of time. Make it personal and design your own product using LGBTQ+ designs or grab something from our ready-made Pride collection in our Art Library. Half the fun of attending Pride Month is letting your creativity run wild and getting all decked out in your finest getup. It’s all about expressing your identity and wearing your Pride out loud and out proud!
7. Send Love & Show Support With Custom Pride Month Cards
As more people celebrate Pride month, sending cards is becoming popular, too. Shutterfly stands apart with cool customizable options, meaningful messages, and the vibrant colors of the Pride flag. Capture Pride by showing support and connection with friends and allies by customizing your own Pride Month greeting cards for friends and family. Our Pride collection features cards that celebrate the LGBTQ+ community and are a great way to remind those around you how much you love, support, and appreciate them. Shutterfly makes it easy to send a card for Pride Month or any month. Send a Happy Pride Month greeting to loved ones as a “thinking of you” card that will make them smile. You can even customize a special coming-out card for yourself or as a congratulations card to a friend or family member. Just pick your favorite card, type out your message, personalize it with photos or art, and send it to your favorite couples, family members, or friends. By the way, your recipient doesn’t necessarily need to identify as LGBTQ+ to warrant a card. Pride’s messages of inclusivity, acceptance, and love are for everyone.
8. Host A Mini Pride Parade Or Party
Don’t leave all the parades and parties to the pros! A fun way to celebrate Pride Month is by hosting a mini-Pride parade or party. Whether you’re celebrating with immediate family or friends, here are some Pride-themed ideas to try:
- Serve up a rainbow-themed array of delicious finger foods and treats—display rainbow-colored decor and queue up a Spotify playlist of queer artists.
- Host a mini-parade throughout your neighborhood. Create party decorations like selfie frames, custom garden flags, vinyl banners, yard flags, or bunting banners. Wear your best Pride outfit as you take to the streets to show support.
- Invite your loved ones to open up and discuss whatever queer topic they feel most passionate about or tell a defining story from their own life.
- Choose a Pride message, such as “love wins,” or “love has no gender,” and have each person discuss what it means to them.
9. Share Your Favorite Pride Memories With Custom Photo Books
Capture Pride Month by sharing photos of your favorite moments, highlights, or how your community is still celebrating Pride today. If you’ve celebrated Pride in the past, take your best moments from those experiences and turn them into personalized photo books that you or a loved one can treasure for longer than a scroll. Creating custom photo books is a great way to preserve the stories of what Pride looks like in your world––whether it’s an unforgettable dance party you were part of, an incredible brunch you’ll never forget, or just fun photos of your personal Pride besties and cheerleaders who’ve always been there for you. You could even make a photo book as a Pride Month gift to an LGBTQ+ loved one who means a lot to you.
10. Create DIY Pride Art & Gifts
A creative way to celebrate Pride Month, especially with children, is to have them make DIY artwork and gifts supporting the LGBTQ+ community. A quick search on Pinterest reveals an endless assortment of colorful project ideas, including rainbow headbands, jewelry, banners, dreamcatchers, posters, and more. If you and your kids create Pride-themed works of art, you can take photos of the pictures, upload them to Shutterfly, and make personalized gifts like tote bags, wine glasses, can coolers, pillows, tumblers, wall art, and other custom pieces. If you’re far away from loved ones, a long-distance art/DIY session for your LGBTQ+ pals on Zoom or FaceTime is a wonderful way to celebrate Pride together. For easy DIY projects, you can glue sequins to a cloth face mask, make your own Pride T-shirt, or paint your nails.
Closing Thoughts
Your identity is who you are, so love big and love proud. Wear your individuality and self-expression proudly, celebrate it with your favorite people and chosen families. No matter how you celebrate Pride Month, it is a time to get together and stand together with the LGBTQ+ community in its fight for equality.
Pride is much more than a month, it’s how you honor and celebrate your everyday moments, big and small, from transitions to coming out to honoring your chosen family or starting one of your own. It’s a time to capture all the unique and simple life moments that make your one-of-a-kind, out loud, out pride life more colorful, meaningful, and remarkable.
Additional Resources:
