Summer Bucket List Ideas

Heading into summer can feel daunting for many busy parents. While our children are thrilled to have the school year end, many parents are feeling the pressure to create a super fun, activity-filled summer for their kids. Try making a Family Summer Bucket List! Find out how in this post and get a free printable Summer Bucket List Ideas page to help you get started.

To make summer a little easier and a whole lot more fun, try creating a Summer Bucket List. This is a list of things that you would love to do during the summer break. It can have big events or small activities.

We usually go into summer with excitement and big expectations. That excitement often begins to slip away when we get a few weeks in and the kids are already complaining that they don’t have anything to do. Creating a summer bucket list is an easy way to have a list ready to go when the kids cry, “We’re bored!”

Why Should You Create a Summer Bucket List?

It helps to have ideas when kids are board

Having a visual reminder like a summer bucket list is helpful for parents. It gives us a collection of ideas when we are struggling to keep the kids entertained.

It’s fun!

Having the kids involved with creating the list and checking off the activities gets them involved, they will get excited about the things on the list. It’s a great reminder for your kids that you DO actually have fun things planned. So when there are boring days, they can be reminded that more fun is around the corner.

Let’s be honest, who doesn’t like crossing things off a list? The kids can take turns crossing off each activity when you do them.

Helps alleviate stress

Knowing that you always have a list of ideas ready to go can really remove the stress that you would otherwise feel when trying to plan each week.

What to Include in your Summer Bucket List

Vacations and trips – This is an easy one. If you have any big trips planned for the summer be sure to add them to your list.
Birthdays, Holidays, and Celebrations
Craft activities
Outdoor activities
Movies
Live music events
Sports or exercise
Acts of kindness
Silly things
Quick and easy activities
Break-the-rules activities – like wearing pajamas all day – having ice cream for dinner – Staying up all night, etc.
Fun food activities – ice cream trucks, trying new unique cuisine, having a picnic,

Where to Find Ideas for Your Summer Bucket List

You might have lots of great ideas for your bucket list, but what if you need a little extra help? Below are a few places you can check to find new and fun ideas for your list.

Local newspapers

If you have access to your local newspaper or magazine they will likely have a local events section that is regularly updated.

Local Business Community Boards

Many cafes and local shops allow the community to advertise events and services on corkboards in their store. This is a great place to find businesses and non-profits that are hosting events during the summer.

Online community calendars

This is one of the best ways to find out what is happening in your area. Most towns or cities have an online calendar of events.

Looking for more Summer Posts?

Libraries

Don’t forget about your neighborhood library. Libraries are great resources for activities! Most libraries also host a summer reading challenge that you can add to your list.

Movie theaters

Contact your movie theaters, many have events or specially discounted tickets for kids in the summer. Our local movie theater now has a drive-in which sounds fun!

Local theaters

Many communities have local theater programs that host camps and put on fantastic performances.

Google maps

This is my go-to! You can look up parks or hiking trails nearby, lakes and rivers to visit, new bookstores, unique restaurants to try, new parks to play, and so much more!

Be sure to include new ideas that your family may have, they might come up with some more fun and sometimes goofy ideas!

Ask your kids

Gets the whole family involved. Including the whole family will get them even more excited and invested in the items on the list. Whenever possible I loved to get the kid’s input on things so that they feel included and excited.

When we include even our littlest in planning they will feel super special when you add their idea to the list. This helps reinforce the truth that they matter and their ideas are important too.

Create Your Family Summer Bucket List

Be sure to get the whole family involved in this next step. Using the Summer Fun Bucket Ideas page get the family together and pick activities that everyone wants to add. Then fill out the blank Summer Bucket List.

Post this list somewhere in your home where everyone can see it and try to see how many of the activities you can cross off throughout the summer.

52 IDEAS FOR YOUR SUMMER BUCKET LIST

Make popsicles	Make homemade bird feeders
Have a movie night	Make snow cones
Go on a nature walk	Jump rope
Have a picnic	Learn how to ride a bike
Go to the zoo	Visit a local museum
Go to an aquarium	Play flashlight tag
Bake treats for a local nursing home	Have a pajama day
Do chalk art	Make your own pizza night
Go on a family bike ride	Have a no-screens day
Camp in your backyard	Have ice cream for dinner
Make friendship bracelets	Create nature journals
Go for a walk in the rain	Bake cookies and give some to neighbors
Make an inside tent with blankets	Explore a new city or town
Have a campfire	Fly a kite
Make a time capsule	Go bowling
Go stargazing	Wash the car / bikes
Go swimming at night	Make root beer or soda floats
Make hotdogs over a campfire	Go fishing
Have a lemonade stand	Have a water balloon fight
Play kickball	Go to a local carnival or fair
Plant a garden	Use a slip-and-slide
Go to the beach or lake	Have a painting party
Watch the sunrise	Paint rocks
Have a game night	Read a book as a family
Do a big puzzle	Go to the drive-in theater
Go to a local music event or concert	Pick flowers for a friend

Things to Remember When Creating Your First Bucket List

This summer bucket list is just a list of potential ideas. Some families make this a summer-long challenge and try to see if they can check off every single activity.

Just remember that you can do it your own way. You may want to set a goal with your kids, to do 5 or 10 activities on the list, this way if you’re creating some expectations that are easier to reach, you can always add more activities if you have time.

To get your free printable Summer bucket list ideas just fill out the form below and it will be sent to your inbox today!

You should receive your file(s) link via e-mail within the hour. Be sure to check your spam or promotions folder if you cannot find the e-mail. If, after an hour, you have not received anything, contact me and I’ll help you figure out what happened. For personal use only. Please do not reproduce or redistribute without written permission. Classroom use is permitted.

Instructions on how to print and resize your printable to fit your own planner can be found here.