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Summer Bucket List for Families

Use our Summer Bucket List to come up with fun ways to spend the summer with your family. We’ve come up with 100 ways to have fun and make lasting memories with your kids during their summer break.

We are at the point in the school year when even the teachers are counting down the days before Summer break. Are you looking forward to the extra time you’ll get with your kids?  Or are you dreading having to try to keep the kids entertained each day just to keep the peace in the house?

Whatever situation you’re in, we’ve got you covered with our amazing Summer Bucket List.

We make a list like this every year. Not because I like to schedule every hour of my kids’ down-time. Mostly, it’s just a great way to get the kids involved in making plans for fun family time.

The whole notion that “you only get 18 summers” with your kids is so compelling, and we feel the time slipping away every summer that passes.  Our kids are now 10 and 12. The number of summers we have with them is down in the single digits!

So, no pressure, but this is the time for fun, connection, and memory making.

What’s included on our bucket list for this summer?

One of the things I love about our list, and that gets me really excited about it, is the variety of activities we’ve come up with.

My kids LOVE adventure, trying new things, and going to new places.

Our summer will be filled with simple, fun-at-home ideas and outings to gardens and museums. Plus, we included a mix of crafts, physical activities, personal development activities, and plenty of adventure.

Take a look below at all 100 ideas we came up with this Summer.

Here are 100 fun Summer Bucket List Ideas:

(This post contains affiliate links which means I may earn a small commission if you click a link and make a purchase. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.)

  1. Have a water balloon fight
  2. Make giant bubbles
  3. Learn 5 new card games
  4. Go tubing down a river
  5. Put together a 5,000 piece puzzle
  6. Take a trip to the beach
  7. Make ice cream in a bag
  8. Go kayaking or canoeing
  9. Make God’s Eye crafts
  10. Slide down a slip-n-slide*
  11. Climb a tree
  12. Make friendship bracelets*
  13. Make galaxy shoes
  14. Fly a kite
  15. Go to the zoo
  16. Make homemade bouncy balls
  17. Play a game of Frisbee
  18. Make homemade snow cones*
  19. Write a letter to a school friend or relative
  20. Visit an aquarium
  21. Play hide-and-seek
  22.  Make ice art
  23. Learn 10 words in a new language
  24. Have a cupcake decorating party
  25. Draw a self-portrait
  26. Go for a ride on a bus
  27. Pick 5 personal possessions to donate
  28. Make a treasure map
  29. Go to a skating rink
  30. Go to a ball game
  31. Make cardboard carnival games
  32. Have a karaoke party*
  33. Do sidewalk chalk art
  34. Camp out in the back yard
  35. Put on a play for family and friends
  36. Build a pillow fort
  37. Play flashlight tag
  38. Build a model airplane
  39. Visit a garden
  40. Make a root beer float
  41. Find cloud shapes in the sky
  42. Go on a scavenger hunt
  43. Bake a 3 layer cake
  44. Play mini golf
  45. Build a sand volcano
  46. Go fishing
  47. Make paper airplanes
  48. Conduct a science experiment
  49. Visit an art museum
  50. Make a banana split
  51. Play horseshoes
  52. Roast S’mores
  53. Have squirt gun cup races
  54. Make a lemonade stand
  55. Build a tree fort
  56. Make a treasure map
  57. Visit a science museum
  58. Learn how to finger knit
  59. Make a PVC pipe water park
  60. Play solitaire
  61. Make shell art
  62. Take something apart
  63. Ride on a train
  64. Go stargazing/watch a meteor shower
  65. Plant a sunflower
  66. Help a neighbor
  67. Go on a picnic
  68. Write a story
  69. Play laser tag
  70. Make a daisy chain
  71. Visit a grandparent
  72. Build a birdhouse
  73. Start a collection
  74. Visit the pool
  75. Have a dance party
  76. Create with melty beads*
  77. Play tennis
  78. Visit a butterfly garden
  79. Go for a hike
  80. Have a carwash at home
  81. Set up a wildlife camera and keep a journal of what you see
  82. Have a bake sale
  83. Build a house of cards
  84. Make a kite
  85. Go zip-lining
  86. Create your own comic book
  87. Play dress-up
  88. Go out for ice cream
  89. Build a domino run
  90. Go on a bike ride
  91. Create origami animals*
  92. Make a ribbon wand
  93. Create a puppet show
  94. Build a catapult
  95. Make squirt gun/water balloon art on canvas
  96. Plant a pole bean teepee
  97. Make a pizza box solar oven
  98. Skip rocks
  99. Tie dye t-shirts
  100. Create a backyard obstacle course

You can use this printable with all of our Summer bucket list ideas on it. Feel free to use ours as your own bucket list, or just use it for inspiration to get your juices flowing while you and your family come up with more ideas.

Grab our free Summer Bucket list printables to plan your fun-filled summer with the kids. Click through to see all 100 summer bucket list ideas.

Click through to see all 100 Summer Bucket List ideas for families. Then, create your own Summer fun list with our free Summer planning printables.

Make Your Own Summer Bucket List

I always include the kids when we make our lists of things we want to do each Summer.  Most of the time we’re on the same page, but sometimes they come with ideas I never would have thought of.  For example, this year “play tennis” and “have a dance party” made the list….Not my ideas, but totally fun and doable.

So, I definitely want to encourage you to grab the kids and come up with as many fun things to do that you can think of.  Then, have them pick their top 3-5 ideas from the list.  These will be the ones you’ll definitely want to hit.

When we make our bucket list, we know we aren’t going to do everything on the list. In fact, “tubing down a river” has been on our list for a few years now! But, when we’re sitting around bored and someone says, “What should we do today?”, we have an amazing list we can look at and find something to do.

That being said, it’s worth scheduling in a few things that are really important, or that take more planning, to make sure you’re hitting some of the more important things on your list.

Here are some Summer Bucket List planning printables to help you keep all of your ideas in order.

Download our free Summer Planning printables to create a Summer Bucket list full of fun for the kids.

Use this blank list to create your own Summer Bucket List with your family:

Use our free printable blank Summer Bucket List to create your own fun list of ideas for your family. Plus, click through to see 100 Summer Bucket List ideas.

Then, print these monthly calendars to keep track of which bucket list items you want to do each month:

Get the most out of your Summer with the kids with our free Summer planning printables. 18 Summers go by fast...make the most of them!

Here’s the download link for the entire set of Summer Bucket List printable:

Have a Summer Full of Memories

I hope you were able to get some ides for spending time with the kids this Summer.  Making memories together can really be easy, and we all agree it’s important. But, sometimes we have to be intentional about it if we don’t want to end up vegging out in front of the TV all Summer.

By making a few plans and goals, and letting the kids get excited about all that Summer has to offer, you’ll be getting off to a great start.

Your Summer will be filled with fun and laughter, and the kind of connection that will fills kids up on the inside. For us, this translates into happier kids, better moods all around, less bickering between siblings, and less stress over all! It’s a win-win for everyone.

If you missed the download links, you can click here to get the entire collection printables for your Summer planning.

100 fun things for kids to do in summer
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