12 Fun Ways to Celebrate National Donut Day at Work, School, and Home

National Donut Day is coming up on June 5, 2026 — and if you are looking for creative ideas that go beyond just grabbing a glazed ring from your local shop, you are in the right place.

While the National Donut Day event page covers the history, origins, and key facts about this beloved holiday, this article is your practical celebration playbook. Whether you are planning a team event at the office, a classroom activity, or a weekend project with the kids, here are fresh ideas to make the most of the day — plus the original WWI donut recipe, global donut traditions, and gear recommendations for home bakers.

Donut Decorating Party Ideas

A donut decorating station is one of the easiest ways to turn National Donut Day into a memorable group activity. Here is what you need:

Item	What to Include	Where to Get It
Base donuts	2–3 dozen plain cake donuts (no glaze)	Local bakery or grocery store bakery section
Frostings	Chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, cream cheese	Wilton donut frosting kits on Amazon
Sprinkles	Rainbow jimmies, nonpareils, shaped sprinkles	Grocery store baking aisle
Crunchy toppings	Crushed Oreos, chopped nuts, toffee bits, mini chocolate chips	Grocery store
Drizzles	Caramel sauce, hot fudge, peanut butter, honey	Grocery store
Savory options	Crumbled bacon, pretzel pieces, sea salt flakes	Grocery store

Tip: Set up each topping in a separate small bowl with a spoon. Give everyone a plain donut on a plate and let them build their creation. Award prizes for Most Creative, Best-Looking, and Wildest Combination.

Donut-Themed Activities by Setting

For the Office

1. Blind taste test challenge. Buy donuts from 5 different shops — remove all branding and label them A through E. Have team members taste and score each one on taste, texture, and freshness. Tally the votes and crown a local champion.
2. Donut potluck breakfast. Assign each team member a donut style to bring — one person handles glazed, another brings Boston cream, someone else brings maple bacon, and so on. Create a buffet table with coffee and let everyone sample.
3. "Guess how many donuts" jar. Fill a large glass jar with mini donut holes and have employees guess the count. The closest guess wins a gift card to a local donut shop.
4. Donut-themed trivia break. Host a 10-minute trivia session over lunch with questions about donut history, global donut traditions, and pop culture donut references. A quick way to break up the workday and bring the team together.

For the Classroom

1. Read-aloud with a donut twist. Books like "Arnie the Doughnut" by Laurie Keller and "Please, Mr. Panda" by Steve Antony make excellent read-aloud choices. Follow up with a creative writing prompt: "If I were a donut, I would be..."
2. Donut math lesson. Use donuts (or paper cutouts) to teach fractions — half a donut, quarters, thirds. For older students, calculate the area of a donut ring (area of outer circle minus area of inner circle). Printable donut-themed math worksheets are available from Twinkl.
3. Paper plate donut craft. Give each student a paper plate, paint, and glitter to create their own donut art. Add a "menu description" on the back describing the fictional flavor.

For Home and Family

1. Donut shop crawl. Pick 3–4 local donut shops, visit them all in one morning, and rate each one on a scorecard. Categories: Best Glazed, Best Filled, Most Creative Flavor, Best Value. This is a fantastic weekend activity for families.
2. Healthy apple donut snack. Core apples and slice them into rings. Let kids top them with cream cheese or Greek yogurt and decorate with berries, granola, and coconut flakes. A guilt-free way to join the fun.
3. Bake the original WWI Salvation Army donut recipe. Keep reading — the full recipe is below.
4. Surprise delivery. Pick up a couple dozen donuts and deliver them to your local fire station, hospital nurses' station, or teacher's lounge. Write a thank-you note that mentions the history of the Donut Lassies and their tradition of service.
5. Donut movie night. Pair donuts with a donut-themed movie night. Stream "The Donut King" (2020 documentary about the rise of Cambodian-American donut shop owners in California) or simply enjoy your favorite glazed treats during family movie night.

The Original Salvation Army WWI Donut Recipe

Want to bake the same donuts that started it all? The full backstory is on the National Donut Day event page — here we skip straight to the recipe. This makes approximately 60 donuts:

Ingredients

• 2 large eggs
• 5 cups flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 5 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 tablespoon salt
• 1 3/4 cups milk
• 1 tub lard (or substitute vegetable oil for frying)

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients except the oil to make the dough.
2. Knead thoroughly, roll smooth, and cut into rings less than 1/4 inch thick. The Donut Lassies improvised with baking powder cans and coffee percolator tubes to cut their circles — so use whatever you have.
3. Heat the oil to approximately 375°F (190°C). Drop in the rings and turn them slowly several times as they brown.
4. Remove when golden, let excess oil drip off, and dust generously with powdered sugar.
5. Let cool and serve.

Baking vs. frying: If you prefer to bake instead of fry, use a donut baking pan and bake at 350°F for 12–15 minutes. The texture will be closer to a cake donut — denser but still delicious.

Donuts Around the World

While National Donut Day is distinctly American, nearly every culture has its own version of fried, sweetened dough. Here are some of the most notable ones:

Country	Name	When It Is Eaten	Key Difference from American Donut
Israel	Sufganiyah	Hanukkah (December)	Jelly-filled, no hole, topped with powdered sugar
Japan	Mochi donut	Year-round	Made from glutinous rice flour, chewy texture, often bright colors
Poland	Paczki	Fat Thursday (February/March)	Richer dough, filled with rose jam or custard, heavier than American donuts
South Africa	Koeksister	Year-round	Twisted braid, soaked in cold syrup, extremely sweet
Netherlands	Oliebol	New Year's Eve	Spherical with raisins, dusted with powdered sugar
Italy	Zeppole	St. Joseph's Day (March 19)	Topped with cream and a cherry, often piped rather than ring-shaped
India	Gulab Jamun	Festivals and celebrations	Made from milk solids, soaked in rose-cardamom syrup, served warm
France	Beignet	Year-round (especially in New Orleans)	Square-shaped, no hole, heavily dusted with powdered sugar
Spain	Churro	Year-round	Long ridged stick, rolled in cinnamon sugar, often served with chocolate dipping sauce
Germany	Berliner	New Year's Eve and carnivals	Round, filled with jam, no hole — when JFK said "Ich bin ein Berliner," locals joked he called himself a donut

Recommended Gear for Home Donut Makers

If you want to level up your donut game beyond this one day a year, here is the equipment worth investing in:

Tool	Why You Need It	Budget Pick
Donut pan	Bake instead of fry — healthier and easier to clean up	Silicone or non-stick aluminum, under $12
Deep fry thermometer	Oil temperature is the #1 factor in donut quality — too cool = greasy, too hot = burnt outside, raw inside	Instant-read digital, under $15
Donut cutter	Perfect rings every time, with a removable center cutter for donut holes	Stainless steel set, under $10
Bench scraper	Clean dough cutting and easy countertop cleanup	Plastic or metal, under $8
Wire cooling rack	Donuts need to cool evenly — resting them on a plate traps steam and makes the bottom soggy	Standard grid rack, under $12

More Food Celebrations Coming Up

If you enjoy marking food holidays on your calendar, here are more events happening in June and beyond:

• National Bubble Tea Day — April 30
• National Chocolate Cake Day — January 27
• National Coffee Day — September 29
• National Ice Cream Day — July 20
• National Pie Day — January 23

Browse the full food events calendar for every food-related celebration throughout the year.

Sources

• The Salvation Army — National Donut Day
• Wikipedia — National Donut Day
• Hooray Teams — National Donut Day Activities
• Twinkl — National Donut Day Resources