We aren’t heading to any exotic locations this summer and we don’t have any plans that could really be considered exciting. It would be easy to let these months roll by without fanfare, but I’ve found that taking the time to make a Family Summer Bucket List helps us to really enjoy the season. Not only do we accomplish more and set aside more time for fun and adventures because we’ve put them on a list, marking the things down that we would do anyway (like go to the Farmer’s Market or to the Splash Pad) helps us to pay more attention to the fun we are having. Having a Family Summer Bucket List really makes summer feel like summer.
This list is a simple one. Most of the activities on this list are free or very inexpensive. We planned our summer to be outdoorsy, relaxing, and simple so that we can enjoy each other’s company, the time spent with friends, and all that warm sunshine. Copy our list, come up with your own, but I promise you, writing down even just a small list of summer activities really will make the summer more enjoyable!
1. Visit all the Libraries in our area. There are 21 nearby and so far we’ve hit 6. This is an inexpensive summer adventure that is turning out to be even more fun than I even anticipated. I’ll share more about this soon.
2. Go Camping. This is a classic summer activity and for good reason – it’s fun, it’s cheap, and it’s so relaxing. Check out Aimee’s guide to good camp food.
3. Go to the Pool. Truthfully, I hate public pools and taking four kids to the pool stresses me out like you wouldn’t believe. Still, the kids insisted that this show up on the list.
4. Splash Pad. Easier than the pool if you’ve got little ones, but I find that it’s still appealing even to my almost 10 year old. We’ll be here a lot more often than the pool this summer. Just pack lot’s of snacks.
5. Something Historical. We haven’t settled on exactly what this will be, but we’re leaning towards the Salinas Pueblo Missions.
6. Shakespeare on the plaza.
7. Watch a movie outside. All around town here there are different parks hosting movies outdoors and we plan to make it to one or two of them. Remember when there used to be Drive in Movie Theaters – ah, the good ol’ days.
8. Hike.
9. Catch a Fish.
10. Geo Caching. I know this has been around for ages now, but we only started getting into it a few months ago. It is such a fun, and inexpensive way to have an adventure in our own little area. We’ve found almost 10 geocaches now and we hope to double that number this summer.
11. Pick a Summer Theme Song. We settled on the Sound of Sunshine by Michael Franti as our summer anthem and I swear, blasting it on the way to all of our summer activities really does make everything seem more fun (and kind of unofficially more official.)
12. Picnic, picnic, picnic.
13. Eat at a Food Truck. We did this last week – best burritos ever.
14. Go Berry Picking.
15. Find a Waterfall.
16. Sleep on the Trampoline. Remember how everyone sinks to the middle by morning time?
17. Build an epic Lego creation. Items like this come in handy on hot, lazy summer afternoons.
18. Eat Columbian Food.
19. Buy Ice Cream.
20. Make Ice Cream.
21. Tie Dye. We did this with pillow cases on the Fourth of July last year and determined that it needed to become a tradition.
22. Climb trees. We put this on the list every year, and every year we are so glad we did.
23. Ride a train.
24. Plant flowers.
25. Find a Lake.
26. Kayak.
27. Have friends over.
28. Watch a parade.
29. Go to a Baseball Game.
30. Visit the Farmer’s Market.
31. Have a Contest (watermelon seed spitting? three legged race? best lemonade recipe?)
32. Feed the ducks. This is one is for the toddler because he can’t get enough of those ducks.
33. Go to Tinker Town. If you’re ever in Albuquerque . . .
34. Go to the Jemez Mountains
35. Go the Sandia Mountains
36. Go to the River.
37. Root Beer Floats. Of all the things on this list, I might be the most excited about this one.
38. Smores – with homemade marshmallows this year too.
39. Get Lost. This was Esme’s addition to the list and I think she really means lost. We’ll see.
40. Go to a concert.
41. Barbecue. This one is tricky because we don’t even own a grill. Anyone want to invite us over?
42. Make Lemonade.
43. Art Project.
44. Host a dinner.
45. Backwards Day. Do all of our normal daily activities backwards all day long. Breakfast for dinner!
46. Bowling. Another one that I wrinkle my brow about, but the kids insisted.
47. Go to a Museum.
48. Sew Skirts.
49. Bird Watching.
50. Make a pie.
51. Hammock time. If you haven’t had the pleasure of a nap in a hammock recently, I highly recommend this one.
52. Family Service Project.
What’s on your Summer Bucket List?
Brenda says
Makes me want to play!
Lindsay says
I love this list! I seem to remember us sleeping on a trampoline when we were kids, my friend 🙂 Happy summer to you and yours!