Summer Family Bucket List

Summer means school is out and it's time to have a blast! While it's easy to get stuck in the same old routine, it's important to make the most of the longer days and take advantage of the sunshine and warmer weather. To help you beat boredom, make lasting memories, and have the best summer yet, we created this summer family bucket list. Below, we share 30 creative activities to do before your favorite season comes to an end.

Summer Bucket List for Families

Embrace the adventure and try to check off every item on our fun-filled summer bucket list! 

1. Rent tandem bikes for a family ride around the neighborhood. 

2. Go on a night swim at the local pool and dive for glow sticks. 

3. Play flashlight tag with friends in the backyard after sunset. 

4. Take a road trip and have a staycation at a quirky Airbnb.  

5. Host a Summer Olympics featuring popular summer Olympics sports like 3x3 basketball, skateboarding, tennis, trampoline, and volleyball. 

6. Make your own fishing poles and nets and test them out at a local lake or pond. See who can catch the most fish. 

7. Learn a new magic trick and put on a show for everyone to enjoy. 

8. Have a "Yes" day where parents have to say "Yes" to everything their kids want to eat, see, and do. 

9. Plant seeds for plants like sunflowers, carrots, and cress, and guess whose will sprout first. 

10. Make your favorite flavor of homemade ice cream. Add Pop Rocks to the mixture for a surprisingly cool treat. 

11. Go berry picking at a nearby farm and use the fruit to make homemade popsicles, pies, and jam. 

Get a run-down of the best berries of the season, when and where you'll find them, good uses, and fun facts! 

12. Fill up a few dozen water balloons and recruit friends to play water balloon baseball.  

13. Capture a caterpillar and watch it transform into a beautiful butterfly in about four weeks. 

14. Build a backyard birdhouse out of popsicle sticks. If you're lucky, you'll see birds like robins, bluebirds, and woodpeckers. 

15. Make a kite and fly it on a particularly windy day. 

16. Set up your own drive-in movie theater with a blank wall and projector. Don't forget to serve popcorn and snacks! 

17. Create cards with kind messages and drop them off at a local nursing home to make someone smile. 

18. Get a group together and attempt to break a Guinness World Record.

19. Cook a traditional recipe from a country you want to visit in the future. Want to go to France? Try to make crepes for breakfast. Want to go to Italy? Take a stab at making pasta and sauce from scratch. 

20. Watch the sunset and sunrise on the same day and take pictures and videos of the stunning scene. 

21. Head to your local library and read books with covers from every color of the rainbow; then, rank them from your favorite to least favorite. 

22. Have an outdoor A-to-Z scavenger hunt. Start with acorns, berries, and cats, and get all the way to the end of the alphabet! 

23. Sing songs and tell funny tales and scary ghost stories around a campfire with s'mores. 

24. Stargaze from a clear spot and try to find planets or constellations. 

You don't need fancy equipment or special knowledge to appreciate the celestial theater! Here's how to start stargazing and more. 

25. Take one picture a day, print them out, and make an end-of-summer scrapbook to remember the highlights of the season. 

26. Tie-dye t-shirts, bandanas, or sweatshirts and wear them on an outing the next day. 

27. Make smoothies with fresh fruits and have a blindfold taste test. (We love these smoothie recipes for kids!) 

28. Dig through old family photo albums and do a modern-day recreation.  

29. Get artsy with a day of face painting. Transform your face into a tiger or add some pretty gems or flowers. 

30. Treat your pets to an at-home spa day. Pamper your furry friends with a good brushing, bath, and blow dry. 

Keep the Fun Going all Summer Long! 

With our summer bucket list for families, your summer is sure to be nothing less than spectacular. If you want to keep the party going, consider hosting an event with the whole neighborhood! Here are six unique neighborhood events that aren't your average block party.