The Simplicity of Summer Fun is Everywhere

The simplicity of summer fun is everywhere.

Your summer may look a little–ok, probably a lot different this year, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still enjoy the season…. A friend and I just went blueberry picking and this simple activity brought back sweet memories of taking my children, when much younger, to our local strawberry farm to pick, or when we stopped on the side of the road to talk to the goats and horses or filled a little pool with water and they would splash around for hours.

The Kitchen Consultants team put our heads together to assemble a list of fun summer ideas because we all know thinking of the idea is the hardest part. If you want the activity to be a surprise, write the ideas & adventures on slips of paper, keep in a jar and pull one out at random!

Ideas to get you going:

• Urban hike-explore your town or neighborhood, create a scavenger hunt to take along
• Organize a neighborhood bike parade, we had one every July 4^th in our town…always so fun to see what kids create.
• Hang a white sheet in the backyard and show movies, don’t forget the popcorn, lemonade, and bugspray!  Invite friends to bring a blanket and join you…or search out a local Drive-In theater-“Movies in the Parking Lot”.
• If you feel ambitious, make homemade ice cream…there are many ways to make homemade ice cream even if you don’t have a machine, get your kids to google it for you.
• Hold you own “bake off”, if it’s a rainy day or if it’s too hot outside.
• Have a family tasting party: we all know wine tasting is great but mix it up and do cookies, pizzas or maybe the best summertime lemonade to get the kids involved.
• Take the kiddos Geocaching
• Schedule a fun craft lesson for the kids. A friend of mine used to tell her kids she was going out to run errands. She would walk out the front door, throw on some different clothes, glasses and a hat, knock on the door and pretend to be an art teacher. Sure, the older kids will catch on but see how long you can fool the younger ones.
• Play a park game with friends—teens are loving Spike Ball and the rules call for 6’ spacing, prefect! https://spikeball.com
• Do you know anyone with a pool? Offer to bring them a trade if you can take a dip on a hot afternoon! Or if no pool, bring out the sprinkler and refreshing summer cocktail
• Use this time to complete some of the bigger projects you need to do around the house. They’ll be way more fun with the whole fam involved AND they’ll be completed so much faster too!
• Go old school and take a Sunday drive! During quarantine our family packed the car, drove down to the beach, got lunch to go, found ourselves a parking lot with an ocean view and had a picnic in our car!
• Have kids at home with summer camps cancelled? There are many free classes through varsity tutors. This week my daughter is trying: The Secrets of Magic and Entrepreneurship. See https://varsitytutors.com
• Go on an outing and find a different place to watch the sunset or have a picnic dinner.
• Read a book for pleasure and one for enrichment
• Try stand up paddle boarding (SUP) or kayaking on a local body of water
• Help an elderly friend or neighbor by cooking dinner for them or offering to tackle some chores they need completed
• Offer to go grocery shopping for someone, an older neighbor or a mom with young children
• Find a local food pantry to help fill food boxes and distribute.