There are few days that give me that “Christmas morning as a kid” type of feeling, but the first day of summer is one of them! There is something about letting go of routine and structure and giving in to bare feet, late summer nights, and forgetting about time as you feel the sunshine on your face. It’s a few months of creating your own agenda and memories, especially with your kiddos. The possibility of summer activities is exciting and endless, and as mommas who want to be intentional, we tend to want to soak it all up.
It’s amazing though how fast those weeks of summer fly by, isn’t it! School quickly starts back up and the lazy days of summer are once again gone for another nine months. I hear many moms say, “I just feel like I didn’t get all the things in I wanted to.” I would say the same thing… until a few years ago when we started a new tradition of creating a summer bucket list.
On the first day of summer, we all wake up late, grab breakfast from Starbucks, and excitedly start dreaming up our summer wish list.
I always let my kids pick what they want to do (swimming, lemonade stand, watch a movie, sleep outside), then I throw in things that I know we are committed to (a wedding or family vacation), and then things that I want to do (farmers market, hiking, etc.).
Every summer is just a little different than the one before. We keep our homemade list on the fridge and check off items as we go. By the end of the summer, instead of feeling the blink of time gone by, it’s fun to go back to the list and remember all the things that we enjoyed doing together and reminiscing about the precious summer moments.
Everyone’s family is different and unique, so everyone’s summer bucket list should be too! A rule that I stick to is make it all doable. Maybe going to an outdoor concert sounds fun but is just not going to happen in your neck of the woods. Don’t add it. The key is to make this simple and fun.
Just to share with you some ideas as to what you could do this summer, our list usually goes something like this… have a great one friends!
Our list usually goes something like this… I hope it triggers some great thoughts for you and your family. Have a great one friends!
- Go to the swimming pool five times
- Visit a museum
- Attend Vacation bible school
- Play with sidewalk chalk
- Go on a hike
- Vacation to Colorado
- Visit cousins
- Have a family nerf gun fight
- Play flashlight tag with the neighbors
- Hold a new baby
- Learn how to play a new game
- Go to an outdoor concert
- Visit the zoo
- Create an art project
- Go to a soccer camp
- Find a new place to eat breakfast
- Go on an RV trip
- Play corn hole
- Fall asleep outside
- Make Smores
- Go to a fair
- Go to Grandpa’s farm
- Make Rice Crispy Treats
- Try a new kind of slush
- Jump in a lake
- Go to a splash pad
- Have a picnic in the park
- Read 5 new books
- Play the License plate game
- Visit a new park
- Pick wildflowers
- Play paintball
- Watch an outdoor movie
- Pick strawberries
- Look at the stars with a telescope
- Go to the farmer’s market
- Have a water balloon fight
- Make homemade ice cream
- Celebrate National Donut Day (First Friday in June)
- Watch fireworks
- Meet a new friend
- Help at an Open Door mission
- Finish something that took a lot of grit
- Go to a baseball game
- Explore downtown
- Play in the rain
- Kids make dinner
- Find and follow a hot air balloon
- Slip ‘n Slide
- Homemade Blizzard night
- Have a family game night
- Catch lightning bugs
- Celebrate a birthday
- Watch the sunset
- Make a giant fort
- Have a lemonade stand
- Grill out with friends
- Go to the zoo
- Blow bubbles
- Write a letter to a friend
