111 FUN Things To Do THIS Summer
by Gina Valley
Summer is always too short.
By the time I’ve got my summer bucket list written down, summer is over.
I always start with big plans. I want to organize. I want to create. I want to family-bond-it-up. But, there’s never enough time.
My friend, Christi, ever since she was in junior high, makes it a point to get rid of one bad habit every summer. I don’t know how she does it. I’ve tried, and haven’t gotten rid of one yet.
First of all, it takes me half the summer to decide which of my multitude of bad habits to ditch. Then, it takes me a couple weeks of “just-one-last-time’s” before I truly take a stab at the bad habit. By the time I’m really ready to start stopping, summer’s nearly over. So, come fall, I still have the bad habit, and have added a side dish of guilt to it.
Nonetheless, the idea of focusing on one thing to accomplish during the summer seems like a good one to me.
So, this summer, I decided to pick one thing to do. Just one thing. Something I’ve always meant to do. As long as I get that done, I’ll count my summer a success.
I think I’m going to go with “learning to hula hoop,” but that’s not set in stone yet.
Since I’m asking my kids to each pick something for themselves to do, too, I decided I better come up with a couple of ideas to help get their wheels turning.
In my typical OCD form, I came up with more than a hundred.
Most are low or no cost. All are fun!
How about you join us? Pick something from this list, or come up with your own. But, either way, let’s have some fun this summer!
111 FUN Things To Do THIS Summer
1. Learn how to hula hoop
2. Learn how to pogo stick
3. Start a campfire without matches or a lighter.
4. Bake cookie dough in a hot car
5. Learn how to rollerblade backwards (or forwards, if you don’t know how)
6. Learn how to do a flip on a trampoline
7. Learn how to spin a basketball on one finger
8. Make a Mento volcano
9. Build a bat box (for the critters, not the ball smashers) (although that would be a cool project, too).
10. Take a flying lesson
11. Make homemade ice cream in Ziploc bags
12. Teach your dog to shake hands or to bark on command.
13. Teach your cat how to turn off a light switch or to use the toilet
14. Learn how to do a cartwheel
15. Learn Morse code
16. Learn how to change the oil & oil filter in your car
17. Learn how to French braid
18. Learn how to pick a lock
19. Learn how to palm a quarter
20. Memorize the location of every country on a map (and the capitals)
21. Memorize the location and capitals of all the US states (or for every nation in Africa)
22. Build a kite
23. Learn how to play poker
24. Learn how to write with your other hand
25. Make cheese (on purpose)
26. Learn how to crack a safe
27. Learn how to shuffle cards like a pro
28. Learn how to bake a souffle
29. Learn how to draw a map of the United States (or your country) from memory
30. Learn to say the alphabet backwards, starting at any letter, very quickly (one of my friends can do this & it’s quite impressive!)
31. Learn how to say “I only speak English” in 5 different languages
32. Learn how to draw a horse
33. Learn to play a drum kit
34. Memorize all the lyrics to Born To Be Wild
35. Learn to play a harmonica
36. Learn how to bounce a soccer ball with your feet
37. Learn how to bowl a strike
38. Master free throws
39. Figure out how to sign your name so it’s its own reflection
40. Take a CPR course
41. Learn to swim
42. Learn how to chop veggies superfast like they do on The Food Network
43. Learn how to detect a lie
44. Learn how to ride a bike (or to pop a wheelie, if you already ride)
45. Work up to doing 100 sit-ups in a minute
46. Learn to play pool like a pro
47. Learn 8 chords on a guitar
48. Learn how to parallel park in tight spaces
49. Take a lesson at a shooting range
50. Take a self-defense class
51. Learn how to pick out a good melon
52. Learn how to balance a checkbook
53. Learn how to jump start a car
54. Learn to type correctly
55. Learn how to do push-ups or pull-ups properly
56. Pump out a summary of that novel you’ve been meaning to write.
57. Learn to speed read
58. Grow a pumpkin (plant around July 4th for October 31 use where I live)
59. Learn how to drive a manual transmission vehicle
60. Learn how to solve a Rubik’s cube
61. Learn how to whistle with your fingers
62. Learn how to make a perfect martini
63. Learn how to change a tire
64. Learn how to make a 3-D sidewalk chalk drawing
65. Learn to read music
66. Carve a watermelon into a clipper ship (or a bouquet of roses)
67. Learn how to do a head stand
68. Learn how to bake a perfect baguette
69. Learn how to spiral a football
70. Learn how to pitch a curve ball
71. Learn how to make balloon animals
72. Learn how to blow double bubbles with bubble gum
73. Drive a race car
74. Learn how to make an origami swan
75. Plant peonies in your yard (my favorite!)
76. Learn to tango
77. Learn how to ice skate
78. Learn how to fold an awesome paper airplane
79. Fry an egg on a hot street
80. Learn how to operate a sewing machine
81. Learn how to juggle
82. Learn how to ride a unicycle
83. Learn how to knit
84. Learn how to roast a turkey/chicken
85. Learn some magic tricks
86. Master the yoyo
87. Learn how to moon walk
88. Learn how to jump rope
89. Learn how to increase your vertical leap
90. Learn how to tie a tie
91. Learn how to waltz
92. Make a piñata
93. Build a model plane or car or train
94. Complete a big Lego set
95. Plan an around the world trip (even if you’ll never go)
96. Draw a cartoon strip
97. Write on op/ed piece
98. Learn how to do the splits
99. Paint a room a wild color
100. Learn to make the national dish of 3 countries you’ve always wanted to visit
101. Learn to tap dance
102. Memorize the first 50 digits of Pi
103. Rearrange your furniture so it doesn’t point at the tv
104. Take a fencing class
105. Take a golf lesson
106. Switch all your accessories & photos to different rooms
107. Learn how to use chopsticks
108. Learn tightrope walking
109. Go bungee jumping
110. Take trapeze lessons
111. Memorize Oh, The Places You’ll Go! by Dr. Seuss
Let me know what you decide & how it goes. Be sure to add your ideas for this list. Maybe we’ll have 200 for next summer.
Laugh Out Loud!
-gina
What do you want to do? What’s some thing you’ve being meaning to master? Is there something you’ve always wondered how to do? Shoot me a comment. I’m looking forward to hearing all about it.
Jay @CraftySpices
June 28, 2014Great list Gina, I’m hoping this list is not to be completed all by one person.
Have a nice weekend!!
gina valley
June 30, 2014Lol! No, Jay. I certainly can’t imagine anyone doing them all. My hope is that people will pick just one, something they really want to do, and do that.