Your ultimate bucket list for all things Family and Summer!
Make a Plan:
Just as when any new season or holiday approaches, it’s smart to have an idea of what kinds of activities you’ll try to do as a family.
Plan ahead, or you’re planning to fail.
Ben Franklin
Ask yourself a few questions to start your planning.
- What does our work/home schedule look like over the next couple of months?
- When will there be some chunks of time for family?
- What events are already set in stone, such as an out-of-town birthday party, wedding, work deadline, or family vacation?
- What does our budget look like?
With these answers in mind, you’ll have a framework for what activities you can work in to your {already crowded} schedule.
You may see that you’ll have Thursday afternoons off, for instance, and you’d like to plan something you can do that’s active/outdoors but close to home.
I’ve got several suggestions for you, below.
Or, you might want to do several day trips instead of one larger holiday. Well then, you’re in the right place!
I’ve compiled 52 ideas for your family summer bucket list.
Remember, these are here to spark ideas in your own mind of what will work for you. I hope it’s really helpful.
Here they are!
Must do:
These are the ones that it’s just not summertime without these things happening…at least for us.
Also, if you include your must-do’s first, then they’re defnitely on the list.
Priorities!
- Celebrate the 4th of July! Independence Day is an important holiday for us Americans.
If you’re in a different country reading this, first of all welcome to kennedyfamfive!
And secondly, I hope that you’re enjoying freedoms in your country as well and that you get to celebrate them.
For our family, we have several traditions. We usually grill a nice dinner such as ribs or hamburgers. We eat outside on our deck and enjoy the weather. And we watch fireworks!
I’m a sucker for some good fireworks. I really have to check myself because I’m as awe-inspired by it as a kid in a candy store..and my ooh’s and ah’s probably get annoying to the people around me. 😀
2. Commit random acts of kindness. These take a little planning, but it’s summer. What else do you have to do? Just kidding.
These can be simple or complex, but don’t discount them. These are the kinds of things that build character in kids and grown ups, and will be the things you’ll remember for years to come.
And the people you serve will remember as well.
When my kids were little, we were in a fast food drive-thru, and we realized our hairdresser was in line behind us.
We love her. That woman is just awesome. So we paid for her meal when we got to the window.
The next time we went in for haircuts, she said she couldn’t believe we did that. And, much later, when we were both living in different locations, different states no less, and hadn’t seen each other in years…one of the first things she said to me was how she still remembered us doing that.
Now this is a lady who lives a really wonderful, full life and didn’t need for us to pay for her lunch that day. It was just a way of saying that we care.
And it made an impact.
As we were putting this post together, I asked my 16 year old for some ideas, and she remembered this experience. She couldn’t have been more than three years old at the time.
All right, now that we have the biggies out of the way, let’s jump into some truly fun summertime ideas!
The Great Outdoors:
3. Go fishing. Keep it simple with a cane pole and some worms or go all out or somewhere in between.
If you haven’t taken the kids fishing before, I suggest keeping it super simple, as in:
- Have everyone wear life jackets even though you may only plan to stand on the side of the pond.
- Wear bug repellent.
- Keep your expectations low. As in, don’t expect that you’ll actually be able to fish yourself, lol.
4. Go canoeing. Our closest state parks rents these by the day or hour, so you don’t have to commit to a major purchase.
5. Take a hike.
6. Camp in tents. If you’re going to shop for a camping trip, remember to click through from a money saving app. Whether you’ll shop at Cabela’s, Bass Pro Shops, or even Walmart or Target, it’s worth checking to see if there’s a discount first.
The link takes you to a description of the apps we use and have saved hundreds of dollars through.
7. Ride bikes.
8. Go for a swim.
9. Pick fruit at a farm. Here in Georgia, we can pick strawberries, blueberries, and peaches…all within a few minutes of our house.
Have I convinced you yet that Georgia’s just the best? 😀
Most places tell you to grab a bucket and you pay when you’re finished, by the weight of your haul.
10. Start a garden of your own.
Y’all. We have planted our first garden, ever, this year!
It’s only ten plants, but they haven’t died!!
I’m hoping to have the first little tomatoes today! Haha, so exciting. 😀
11. Plant flower seeds.
12. Play tennis. As with canoes, if you don’t own rackets, your local rec center is likely to rent them to you. Our neighbor puts on summer tennis camps for reasonable prices…ask around for something similar in your neighborhood.
13. Fly kites.
Bonus Summertime Challenge! How many state parks can you visit this summer? Bonus points for taking {safely distanced} photographs of wildlife at each one.
Day trips:
14. Beach trip. This is absolutely my favorite place to be.
We have a rather unusual tradition with our day trips to the beach.
Well, it’s probably fairly unusual to take a day trip to the beach when you live almost 5 hours away. But if we are anything as a family, it is unusual. 😀
The tradition is that we like to leave during the night. That way, we get to the beach just before dawn, using flashlights to make our way along the boardwalk, all in an effort to watch the sun come up over the far horizon of the ocean.
It’s so beautiful and peaceful. And traffic is great at 4 am, lol.
I’m so sorry if you live too far away for this to be practical!
15. Lake day
16. Go to see someone in your family that you haven’t seen since Christmas! Maybe you’ll meet up somewhere that’s halfway between your homes for an outing or lunch. Maybe you’ll do the driving and head to their house.
Either way, you’re making the effort to strengthen a long distance relationship and build great memories.
If you have a large family and lots of options, I vote that you visit those who would have the most difficulty in coming to see you.
Lots of times, but not always, that’s relatives in the older generation, who may not have as much mobility as you enjoy.
Before the day of the trip, find out if there’s a particular activity they’d like to do when you arrive. They might want to…
- Make a purchase at a particular store because you can assist with getting the items in the house.
- Go to their favorite restaurant.
- Visit a cemetery and leave flowers, spend a moment in meditation, or tidy up the area around a loved one’s grave.
Offer to do a household task while you’re there such as…
- Changing light bulbs.
- Putting up or getting down things that they can’t access.
- Cleaning something that’s difficult for them.
- Checking the batteries in the smoke detectors.
If you’re concerned about running out of things to talk about, do a little research…
- Call another family member who spends lots of time with him/her to find out some of their preferences.
- Think about what decade the person was in high school. Come up with some ideas from that time period, such as music, movie stars/movies, cars, fads.
- Bring old family photos or ask if they have any. Photos can bring up all sorts of memories, great for conversation.
This could turn out to be your favorite bucket list item of the summer!
17. Day trip somewhere in your state that you’ve never been before. Google the name of your state + tourism guide. You’ll likely find a number of places you’ve either forgotten about or never knew existed. It’s a fun and different experience to be a tourist in your hometown or “homestate.”
Bonus Summertime Challenge! How many new towns or counties can you visit this summer? Mark off each visit by coloring in a state outline printable (waterproofpaper.com seems to have good ones). Bonus points for getting a picture of yourselves at the county line (if that’s safe) or in the town.
Around the House:
18. Bonfire and s’mores. We got our fire pit at Home Depot (affiliate link). Simple and perfect.
19. Pajama day–family day in your pj’s–games, movies, etc.
20. Have a meal outside on the deck, porch, or patio.
21. Make a picnic and have it in your back yard–or front yard! Make sandwiches, grab a picnic basket or make one out of something you do have, and even get a blanket so the picnic has the true picnic-y feel. 😀
22. Family game night. I wrote a whole post about this!
23. Family movie night. Popcorn. Comfy couch. You know what to do.
24. Make homemade ice cream. Amazon, of course, has a bunch of options. We’ve never had one of our own, so this is on our bucket list for this summer!
25. Have a yard sale.
26. Set up a lemonade stand.
27. Make homemade pizza. Try grilling it instead of using the oven. Or, use English muffins and let everyone add their own toppings. Stick them under the broiler for a couple of minutes, long enough to melt the cheese. Yum!
28. Play charades. You can be as high tech or low tech as you want to be with this. Get ready to make some memories, because once you get into this, it’s a lot of fun.
29. Have a family car wash in the driveway. Be prepared to get wetter and cleaner than the car.
30. Make your own board game. Here’s a lesson in negotiating and cooperation. Will you use a game board from another game? Make your own pieces? This is a great rainy day summertime activity.
31. Have a cooking contest and let the kids {or the parents} judge
32. Have vespers. This has different meanings, so here’s what I mean: Vespers is an end-of-day time of reflection usually done at overnight camps. It includes a Bible verse or section read aloud, sometimes a song, and a short “moral” lesson for everyone to ponder individually. It ends with a prayer led by one of the participants. More ideas from Tim Challies can be found here.
33. Cut a locally grown watermelon. If summer had a taste….
Bonus Summertime Challenge! How many books can you read this summer? Have a {friendly} competition to read the most words, chapters, or books.
Free or Cheap Outings:
34. “Check out” the library summer programs for kids and families. Ours has guest readers, author visits, and usually special events with a magician, puppeteer, and animal shows. They’ll have a schedule out sometime in May, so check your local library’s website.
If you have teens who love to read, see what programs they have for their age group. It’s often a little known gem in local culture.
35. Attend VBS at a nearby church. Kids will learn fun songs, do crafts, have recreational game time, and learn about Jesus’s love for them. Win-win!
36. Watch the sunrise at a nearby scenic overlook, or just in your backyard.
37. You guessed it! Watch the sunset–also at a nearby scenic overlook, or just in your backyard.
38. While you’re at it, do some stargazing later in the evening. An open field or area away from artificial lights is the best place for this. Space.com has a whole section on skywatching, and has guides for upcoming nights in your area when stargazing will be best.
39. Watch fireflies…or lightning bugs, as I’ve always called them. If you’re lucky enough to live in an area where they frequent, then take advantage of this beautiful display of nature!
Lightning bugs have always fascinated me. In Georgia, they come out around Memorial Day and continue lighting up the late afternoon/early evening for weeks, on into July.
As reported by the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Georgia has more species of lightning bugs than any other state!
{And if you read it there, it must be true! Ha!}
40. Go to a farmer’s market. You might be amazed at what varieties of foods, flowers, and other products are grown in your area. Even if you’re not a big veggie lover.
41. Have a Cousin Camp. This can be as big or small as you want (or have time) to make it. If you’re keeping it small, plan on 3 main activities that are typically done at a day camp and can be completed in a morning or afternoon.
If I had to pick just 3 ideas, I’d probably go with…
- Get or make a slip and slide. Keep the kids well stocked on popsicles to keep them hydrated while they play.
- Have the kids pose for fun group and individual pictures using a Polaroid (so that they’re instant), and then let them design and create a picture frame to take home with them as a souvenir. *The link is for the camera we got Rees. She loves it.
- End with make-your-own banana splits, bananas optional. Give the kids the basic ice cream and various toppings and let them be as creative as you can handle without stressing too much.
Cousins are often a child’s first friend, so do your part to nurture that connection. It’s never to late to start.
More Outings:
Most of these need little explanation. They’re grouped here because they’re a bit pricier than most of the previous ideas.
I hope you’ve seen there are tons of ways to have a full summer without spending much money. But for whatever amount of money that you do have budgeted, consider these suggestions.
42. Go karting.
43. Play putt-putt.
44. Go bowling.
45. Go to the zoo.
46. Go to the aquarium.
47. Go to a museum. When you’re looking at tourist spots in your state, you’re likely to find ones you’ve never heard of before.
48. Go to a baseball game. This doesn’t have to a professional team (Go Braves!). It could be a minor league team or local college.
If you’ve never been to one in person, it’s very different than watching on tv. I know lots of people find that boring…but an in-person game is really entertaining. Look for specialty nights, like a bobblehead giveaway or a music concert after the game.
49. Go to a water park.
50. Go to an amusement park, like Six Flags.
51. Go to the movies at the movie theater. Summer is known for its blockbusters. If you’re going to splurge, personally, this is one I like.
52. Go to an arcade. Skee ball is the bomb. Nothing else needed.
Whew! I hope you found these to be out-of-the-box ideas that you won’t find anywhere else.
We even have a printable calendar that you can download and fill in as you’re reading and brainstorming your own summer family bucket list.
It’s free. Enter your name and email address in the form below to get it.
You’ll have access to all of our free downloads and you’ll receive {sporadic} emails from me when I have something to say. I hate spam and won’t share your info.