Summer Vacation Ideas for Families

Summer Vacation Ideas for Families

Summer is meant to be a great time to enjoy your kids and reconnect in-between school years. Unfortunately, many Moms feel overwhelmed with trying to find ways to entertain their children day in and day out-for months. No more stressing needed! I have come up with 25 tips for summer vacation ideas for families to help Moms enjoy the summer months with their kids. Some involve you and some are ways you can let your children entertain themselves. All are awesome, fun and a great opportunity to keep the kids busy in the summer months. I have tried to keep frugal in mind as well!

OK, on to the sanity tips...

Here are 25 Creative Summer Vacation Ideas for Families :

1. Sidewalk Fun. If you have a sidewalk, driveway or other spot on your property that the kids can use, then this is a great tip. Let them make art. They can use chalk, sidewalk paint, soap, or any other washable item that can get the job done. Children love to be creative, and this is a great way not only to get their creative juices flowing, it will also get them out of the house!

2. Make a Picture Book. This is a great way to incorporate thinking into summer vacation ideas for families. Choose a recent family event, vacation, whatever-and have them create a picture book of the event. Then, have them "read" the book to you.

3. Frozen Tummy Yummies. My kids LOVE to be in the kitchen with me. Summer is a great time to get creative with frozen treats. You do not need any fancy Popsicle makers either. Use an ice tray. You will need yogurt, juice, fruit, and other healthy tidbits for this project. Let the children make their own concoctions. Help them pour them into whatever molds you have. Freeze and enjoy the tastings!

4. Park Day. Pack a picnic lunch and head out to a local park. I recommend morning hours for less heat. Lather up the kids with sunblock and let them run around. Plan some activities our there too-Frisbee, catch, tag, etc. Eat some lunch and head home. These are the days your kids will remember for a lifetime.

5. Day Trip. Do some research. See what is within 1-2 hours from your home that would be affordable and appealing to your family. Plan it. Do it. One day. Lifetime of memories.

6. Beach Day. Need I say more?

7. Family Building Project. Nothing is more bonding then DOING something together-as a family. Make something together. A few ideas; tree house, fort, shelf, cat tree, scratching post, dog house, furniture, doll house, etc. Sky's the limit with this one. Just be safe, and make sure there is adult supervision for the entire project.

8. Reading. Read to your kids as often as possible and have them read to you. Read, read, read.

9. Learn Something New. Pick something that would be doable for you and your kids to learn together, and get busy learning. This is a great way to enrich both of your lives AND make the most of time you have.

10. Start a Hobby. This is a GREAT way to bond with your kids. Some hobby ideas: knitting, scrap booking, painting, jewelry making, soap making, puzzles, etc. No matter the hobby, bonding is inevitable and you will also have beautiful creations you made together along with lifetime memories.

11. Water Fun. Let's face it, summer can be brutally hot-especially if you live in warmer climates. Water makes summer more fun! Fill up a toddler pool and let your little ones enjoy the cool water (ALWAYS supervise children around water!), have a splash contest, turn on the hose, have a water balloon war-or tossing competition. Want to save on water? Let the kids play in the sprinklers when you need to water your grass. It's a win win.

12. Grow Something. Plant a tree, grow an herb garden, plant some flowers or start a vegetable garden.

13. Family Charades Night. Schedule a night that you will play charades. Do not worry about technical rules if you have little ones. Acting out is fun enough. The guessing is a blast as well. I made my own age appropriate topics. I would tear strips of paper and write words on them like; happy, bloated, elephant, growing, etc. Then throw them in a basket and we would pick one and act it out. Simple. Fun. FREE.

14. Let the "Beatings" Begin. This is a family tradition in our home. Daddy gets daily "beatings" from the kids. I (MOM) will "call for the beatings" to begin and the kids will attack daddy with a tickle fest. They will tickle him until I call them off. LOL! It is a lot of fun and the kids get to have some not-so-rough-housing time with daddy! Note: you can do this as a family, just the kids, Mom, etc. Just set rules of no hitting and keep watch so it does not get out of hand.

15. Pet Fun. Tell the kids to play with the family dog/cat (if you have one), or walk the dog. Get them involved with caring for the family pets as well-feeding, bathing, etc.

16. Target Walk. We have another inexpensive tradition. When we have no idea what to do, we take a trip to our local Target. We walk around the back side and end aisles of the store and look at all of their clearance items. We use it as an opportunity to get things we need as well. However, we have left with not one item many times. If the kids are good, they MAY get a treat from the dollar section. However, not always, but when it's doable we do. Believe it or not-they love our Target walks. It is our little thing as a family.

17. Family Walk. Number 16 is what we do on especially hot days-all year round really. However, we also go on family walks around the neighborhood. It is a slow and relaxing walk and a great opportunity to talk.

18. Photo Shoot. Have your kids play dress up while you play photographer. They will feel like they are the center of attention and you will have pictures to enjoy for a lifetime.

19. Scrapbook. After you are all done with number 18, get the pics developed and make a scrapbook together. Of course, scrap-booking is a great way to have fun and bond with your kids. Pick a recent family event or vacation and create a scrapbook. You will not only have the day recorded for years of future enjoyment, you will have a wonderful time creating it with your children.

20. Get your Family Picture Done. Why not do this in the summer months? With all the free time, it is another day to use up doing something as a family.

21. Fast Food. This is a great tip for Moms with younger children. Grab some yummy lunch at a fast food restaurant that has a "play place", and let the little ones burn some energy. It is air conditioned for Mom and a great way for them to burn some energy. This works for any fast food chain with a play place for kids.

22. Pillow Fight. This is a lot of fun. You just need to make sure you set rules and are careful with younger ones. It is another free way to burn energy and keep the kids moving.

23. Family Scavenger Hunt. Everyone must find an item for every letter of the alphabet. So, they find an item that starts with A, then B, then C and so on. You can have a prize box for winners. Everyone wins-but whoever is first place get first choice, second next, and so on.

24. Mad Libs. This is loads of fun. You can do this while relaxing in the house, driving (of course someone who is NOT driving should be writer. LOL) or any time. It is an easy way to have a great time with the family.

25. Garage Sale. This is not only a great way to make some extra money, if you do it as a family, it can be another bonding experience. Plan it and do it from start to finish-as a family. Get the kids involved by having them go through their rooms for items to sell, set up and even sign making. All ages can help out with this one.

I hope these 25 Creative summer vacation ideas for families get the juices flowing. We only have a limited time with our kids-we need to take any and every opportunity we can to bond and enjoy them!