Summer is upon us! As adults, summer sometimes feels like just another season with no change in our routines- none of the excitement and possibility of the summers as a kid. Even though you might still have all of your grown-up responsibilities, why not add some interesting/festive activities into your weeks to make the season a little more fun and enjoyable! If you’d like to have a more kid-centric bucket list, check out Summer Bucket List (with kids).
Make lemonade (or something else) from scratch
Is there anything better on a sweltering day than fresh, ice-cold, homemade lemonade? If you’ve never had lemonade from scratch, you’ve got to try it at least once! Then if you still prefer the powder, you can always go back to it. If fresh lemonade is nothing new to you, pick out something you’ve never made before and try your hand at it. A few summery ideas:
- Ice cream
- Popsicles
- A watermelon basket
- Potato salad
- Grilled kebabs
Explore your town
If you don’t live in a teeny-tiny town, there’s a good chance there are still things for you to discover! Start asking around and searching online and find out what hidden gems have escaped your notice. Think: restaurants, nature preserves, locally owned shops, farmer’s markets, etc. A great resource is your local library. Many times, they host super interesting events like escape rooms, talks by local residents, and animal encounters. If there really isn’t anything new for you in your town, try the next town over or a place nearby you’ve always wanted to explore. Road trip!
Be a Kid Again
Release your inner child and do something you loved when you were younger. You might be surprised how good a sprinkler feels on a hot day and how young it will make you feel! Some other childish (in a good way) ideas:
- Ride a bike
- Catch bugs
- Swing on a swing set or tire swing
- Pick wildflowers
- Climb a tree
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Stargazing picnic
Invite a friend or your significant other to a dinner picnic under the stars. You can keep it simple with sandwiches and chips, or really go all out and cook a fancy meal with real dishes and glasses. Learn some constellations ahead of time, or for a real “wow” factor, choose a night when there’s an especially visible planet or expected meteors. Don’t forget the bug spray and a blanket or something to sit on!
Learn about birds, flowers, or trees
Get a book about some aspect of nature that interests you and spend some time outside learning this summer. Some natural choices are birds, plants, insects, trees, or mushrooms. For instance, find a bird identification book and as you’re out and about, keep your eye out for birds and use the book to figure out the ones you don’t know already. To help you remember what you’re learning, you could sketch or photograph what you find, too!
Make a nature craft
If you’re not a crafty person, hear me out. This might not sound interesting to you, or possibly like something you outgrew a long time ago, but give it a try. Go for a walk on a beautiful day and gather some natural items that catch your eye. Think: rocks, shells, branches, vines, leaves, etc. When you get home, use your findings to make a decoration for your home or a gift for someone. You could make:
- A decorated picture frame
- A wreath for your door
- An arrangement of branches and flowers
- A wall hanging decorated with stones
Grow an herb garden
If you don’t already have an herb garden, now’s the time to start one! Not only do fresh herbs take your home cooking to a whole new level, but you can use them for home remedies, teas, to flavor water, or to make flower arrangements smell and look even better! Herbs are unfussy, just as happy in a pot on the windowsill as in the garden, so you can go as big or as little as you like. If you’re only going with a few herbs, try spearmint, basil, parsley, or rosemary. There are so many things you can use them for!
Farmer’s Market dinner challenge
Are you in a dinner-time rut? Spice up your meal planning with a challenge that sounds like it came right off of Food Network! The idea: go to the farmer’s market and plan a meal around the items you find there. If you want to really make it a challenge, go ahead and pick up that vegetable you’ve never ever heard of before! Feel free to make it a multi-course meal if you find a lot of things that interest you…you might just have a lot of leftovers! Win-win!
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