Fun Activities You Can Do Over Summer
Summertime is break time! The kids are out of school on summer vacation, the clear weather draws people outside, and the heat mellows even the most uptight of us. Some people choose to watch the days go by on a comfy outdoor couch on the patio. Most of us do that at least a few days every summer. However, summer is also the time to do interesting things! The colder months can be limiting, but in the summer, the world opens up to you! Here are four fun activities you can do this summer to make memories and enliven the season.
1) Change Up Your Travel Plans
Travel is often one of the first activities that come to mind when thinking of things to do over summer. If you are the kind to go on an annual trip, see if you can change it up this year. If you normally stay a short time in a nice resort, try extending your stay to a smaller, more personal neighborhood. If you visit your family every summer, try road tripping, even if it is just part way instead of flying. If there is a place you’ve always wanted to go, make this the year you fulfill that dream. There are so many options to make a trip more interesting.
Travel can also come with a lot of planning, expenses, and overall hassle. Relaxing vacations are highly recommended, but if you are not in a good position to take your whole family to Hawaii or you don’t have the gear to go camping, consider a modified mini-trip instead. Making memories involves spending time and having experiences together. This doesn’t need to happen hundreds or thousands of miles away. If you have neighbors who are traveling this summer, offer to housesit for them. There may even be relatively cheap hotels in your area or in a nearby region that can give you the feeling of traveling without the major expenditure.
If there is a national park or other tourist attraction that is famous in your city, check it out! If you live near a lake or the ocean, buy yourself a new bathing suit and schedule a day trip in your calendar. Plan your activities as you would plan for a friend who has never been to your city before. If you have a family, include everyone in the planning so each person can have a say in the summer fun.
2) Find a New Activity to Try
Summer is three months long—the perfect amount of time to try out a new activity you have always been interested in but never pursued. Maybe you are curious about rock climbing. Grab some women’s yoga pants and sign up for a three-month package at your local gym. Maybe you’d like to learn about the galaxies and constellations in the night sky. Join a star-gazing group or find a dark area outside of town where you can study the heavens and contemplate life. Maybe you’ve always wanted to learn how to cook. Break out your chef’s knife and register for a class or find a Greek food channel or a how-to-BBQ channel on YouTube. There are many easy, fun things you can do to refresh yourself and “spice up” your summer.
3) Pick Something New to Learn
A little different from action-packed activities, learning something new can be a simple way to introduce variety into your summer. This could be as easy as settling down in your comfy pajamas on a Saturday to read those classics to find out why everyone loves Jane Austen or Jules Verne. You could also look into a new language and expand your horizons that way with learning apps and subtitled movies and shows. If you like games, mastering chess strategies or finding Rubik’s cube solutions might be good ways to spend your summer. If you are more ambitious, try learning how to play an instrument or how to sew or tailor your own clothes. Set aside time each week for your chosen subject and enjoy discovering more about your newfound interest.
4) Start a Project
Another great way to create a summer to remember is to complete a project. If your backyard is currently comprised of dead grass and gravel, or it’s had the same plants since you moved in all those years ago, consider designing a new garden. If you don’t want to go that far, renew your interior by buying a few indoor plants to go with your floral throw pillows and asking the seller for resources on how to take care of them. Perhaps there is a table or bureau of drawers that needs refinishing. Grab a bunch of newspapers or a splash mat sheet and get to work! Projects give you goals to accomplish as well as something to show for your summer, so they make for excellent enlivening and entertaining recreation.
Now that you have some ideas for what you can do this summer, make a plan, take action, and have a blast!