Summer is almost here! You’ll have about 70 glorious days of summer to create lasting memories with your family. Let’s make the most of them. The sun is shining, the air is fresh, and the pool is open!
How will you and your family spend all this extra time? Do you need some new ideas to keep your kids occupied all summer long??
I’ve got a few ideas up my sleeve that you should try with your family this summer! In this blog post, you’ll find the ultimate summer bucket list for kids and families.
Grab your sunscreen. Put on those swimsuits. Buy plenty of snacks. Whether you’re planning a summer with your only child or you have 5 little humans, I guarantee you’ll find plenty of creative ideas to have an enjoyable summer.
Here’s my list of 35 items you should add to your summer bucket list for a summer full of fun!
The Ultimate Summer Bucket List: 35 Things you Should Do this Summer
- Go to the duck pond and feed the ducks.
2. Play in the rain. I mean, actually let your kids play in the rain. Let them get as wet, as muddy, and as messy as they want. They will LOVE it and it will be worth the clean up afterward, to see the smiles on their faces.
3. Have a water balloon fight but forget those disposable water balloons that make a mess everywhere. Try THESE instead, reusable water balloons!
4. Plant flowers. Or plant seeds and attempt to grow your own flowers or vegetables, fruits, or herbs. It may not pan out exactly how you want, but you may have great success. You never know unless you try!
5. Friday night pizza and movie night. This has been our tradition for years, not just in the summer. Make homemade pizzas. Pop some popcorn and snuggle up together for a family movie night.
6. Make popsicles. You could even try multiple different flavors, depending on your children’s preferences.
7. Go to a local “attraction” that is popular in your town (or a neighboring town). Our town has a Stonehenge replica. Does your town have a unique landmark that you can share with your kids?
8. Build a fort. We have a Nugget couch, which makes it much easier to build a fort. Gather up all the blankets and pillows. The kids may even decide to play in the fort all afternoon!
9. Ice Cream Tuesdays (or whatever day of the week you choose). Go out for ice cream or make ice cream sundaes at home on that same day every week. Your kids will look forward to that day, knowing ice cream is within their reach.
10. Spend the day at the beach. It can be any beach: at the lake, the ocean, or any body of water will do! Our closest beach (Gulf of Mexico) is about 7 hours away, so we are planning a 4-day trip there this summer. I don’t really consider it to be a beach if there’s no sand 🙂
11. Visit all the parks in your town. You can go to a new one every week. Invite friends to join you and bring along a picnic lunch or plenty of snacks.
12. Go to the children’s museum or science museum. Or any other museum that will keep your children entertained, especially on a HOT summer’s afternoon. They will have fun AND probably learn a thing or two.
13. Visit a Splash Pad or water park.
14. Participate in your library’s summer reading program. Go weekly (or bi-weekly) to check out new books and participate in any fun summer activities the library is hosting. Then, have a daily reading time set aside each day (even 15 minutes will be perfect).
15. Go to Dollar Days at the movies. Ok, so the snack prices will get you, but at least the ticket prices are much cheaper!
16. Go on a hike in nature. We have a local nature preserve that we sometimes visit. Encourage your kids to explore and enjoy being outdoors in nature. Soak up the sun and fresh air!
17. Visit the zoo or a petting zoo. My girls LOOOVEE animals. Go check out all the animals but make it a learning experience for them as well. They can learn new facts about their favorite animals.
18. Make lemonade. Even have a lemonade stand if you want.
19. Go swimming. Of course, it’s not even summer if you don’t jump in a pool or a lake. Make up a new game to play in the water.
20. Go to a kids workshop hosted by Home Depot or Lowe’s. This is completely free, but you need to register beforehand. You build something together and then paint and decorate it. Home Depot has their workshops the first Saturday of every month.
21. Have a family game night/afternoon. Struggling to keep everyone occupied on a rainy day? Why not pull out the board games and have a little friendly competition? A couple of our favorites are Sequence for Kids and Hedbanz.
22. Do science experiments. There are plenty ideas floating around on Pinterest, which use basic household products. Learning and having fun, I love to find every opportunity to combine the two.
23. Relax in a hammock and read. Ok, so maybe this one is for the adults out there! But for your book loving children, this would be a great way to spend the afternoon.
24. Do drawing videos. This YouTube channel, Art for Kids Hub, has over 2,000 step-by-step drawing videos catered towards kids.
25. Go on a bike ride or scooter ride (why not do this every day?!)
26. Go strawberry picking (or whatever fruit is in season in your area). My kids enjoyed this way more than I thought they would. Plus, who doesn’t love fresh strawberries?!
27. Make a new summer dessert. You can go with the red, white, and blue theme and make a patriotic dessert. My kids requested to make cake pops. Decide on a dessert that everyone in your family will enjoy and get baking!
28. Collect things in nature (like flowers, sticks, acorns, stones) and make nature art.
29. Play at a local trampoline park or gymnastics gym. Your kids will be sure to burn a lot of energy and be ready for a nap later (or not).
30. Go on an overnight road trip. Our plan this summer is to go visit some friends who moved out of state. It’s about a 6-hour drive, so a “perfect” length for a road trip with kids. Be prepared with plenty of snacks, activities, and electronics to keep those kiddos entertained.
31. Celebrate Christmas in July. You could watch a Christmas movie or play Christmas music. Make Christmas cookies or even assemble a small Christmas tree. If Christmas is your favorite holiday, you’ll definitely want to try out this celebration this summer. If Christmas once a year is plenty for you, skip this one!
32. Go mini golfing or bowling (or something similar that interests you and your family). Have you heard of the Kids Bowl Free program? All summer long, kids can bowl two free games every single day at participating bowling alleys. You just pay for the shoe rental! Check to see if your local bowling alley is taking part in this program at the Kids Bowl Free website HERE.
33. Go camping. It doesn’t have to be tent camping! No matter how much my kids insist, I won’t do it. You could rent a little cabin or something similar. Just have the firepit, so you can roast hot dogs and make s’mores.
34. Make sand angels 🙂 Obviously the younger your child is, the simpler the activities need to be to entertain them.
35. Draw using sidewalk chalk or sidewalk chalk paint!
Create your Bucket List Now!
Make your own family summer bucket list! Ask your kids for their own ideas. What do they want to do this summer? My daughter came up with making the world’s largest pizza! As well as go on a shopping spree. You never know what kind of amazing ideas they’ll come up with.
I included a combination of free activities and cost-effective activities, so hopefully you can choose a few that fit your interests and your budget.
Our biggest plans are to go to the beach (East Texas!) and go camping (although this might be more towards the fall).
Next, check out my blog post all about our daily summer schedule! It will explain how I balance spending time with my kids and taking the time for myself as well.
Have an amazing summer making wonderful memories with your family! Make the most of every day and try to incorporate some new experiences into your summer. But don’t forget to relax and have slow days as well.
