How To Have A Summer To Remember

Children having simple fun and making memories at the beach

How to make it a summer to remember

(Collaborative post) One minute you are enjoying the thrill of not needing a jacket and the next there are pumpkins appearing. Summer has a way of flying by, but with a little planning you can make sure you have a summer to remember. These ideas will help ensure your summer holiday has intention, presence and reflection to create a truly memorable summer.

Advanced Planning

Set Your Intentions

There is only so much you can do in one holiday so a nice way to make sure you really enjoy it is to set a theme as a family. Are you looking to have a summer of adventure where you explore new places and try new experiences? Have you had a difficult time recently and would instead benefit from a summer of relaxation where you take it slow and prioritise time out to recharge? Maybe you want to have a summer of connection where you focus on spending time with friends and family? Deciding your intentions for the holiday will help focus your time and ensure everyone is on the same page.

Make A List

Planning out every moment of the summer is a sure way to get stressed, but it’s definitely worth creating a list with: ideas of what you definitely want to do, a few aspirational ideas of places you would like to go and what you would like to achieve. You might also like to add a few “do nots”, those things you want to avoid over the summer like spending too much time on screens.

Some Ideas For Summer Bucket Lists

Flower Fields

With the sun comes flowers and a growing number of farms are embracing this by opening flower fields to the public. There are sunflower, lavender and confetti fields which pop up all over and they make the perfect backdrop to summer photos. Most are open in early Summer and each venue will have a short period they are open for (normally a couple of weeks) because they only open when the flowers are in full bloom.

Pick Your Own

While you can normally pick the flowers at flower fields to take home, the pick your own we are talking about here are fruit and vegetables. Strawberries are normally the most popular, but there are so many more options including raspberries, blueberries, sweetcorn, plums and apples. Each plant will have a limited season so if you have a particular preference make sure you check it is available to pick before visiting your local PYO farm.

Hit The Festivals

From multi-day music festivals to local carnivals and day-long food festivals, the good weather sees all sorts of temporary events pop up where you can get a taste of culture, activities and nibbles that you might not have considered before. These range in price, but there are often free events in most towns so it’s worth looking into what’s happening near you.

Make A Splash

Plan water based activities for those hotter days over the summer. For littles ones you might want to paddle at the beach or go to a splash park, older children will enjoy inflatable water parks, kayaking or paddle boarding. Depending on the location these activities can be calm and peaceful or higher adrenaline making them an option for every age group.

It’s A Picnic

Activities don’t have to be expensive or big, a simple picnic can turn into an afternoon of fun. Plan your destination based on the weather: an overcast day can be fun at the park, if it’s on the hot side head to woodland where you’ll get shade. If it’s a wet day, don’t worry, the novelty of putting a picnic blanket out in your lounge will form happy memories for little ones.

Keep children engaged for longer by helping them plan what you are going to eat for the picnic, maybe take them shopping and get them to help make the food too. Whether that’s cupcakes, sausage rolls and a quiche or just sandwiches. Children will love making the food just as much as eating it.

Be There And Be Involved

You shouldn’t just be the spectator to your family's summer; you should be getting involved too. Work might mean you can’t take part in every adventure, but when you are there make sure you aren’t just sitting on the sidelines holding the bags. Both you and your children will have happier memories of the summer if you are really part of it.

Be Spontaneous

Some of the most memorable days are those where you spontaneously stumble on new things or do something unplanned, so have free days which aren’t planned in advance and just see what you fancy. Add a little spontaneity into your days throughout the holiday too. Visit a new cafe, take a different path through your favourite woodland or visit a playground you’ve never been to before. While some children thrive on routine and knowing what to expect, a little variety can lead to special discoveries.

Connect With Nature…

Whether your holiday is full of adventure or you are taking it slower, taking time to appreciate nature will help you connect with the world around you. Encourage your children to notice the feel of grass under their feet, the smell of flowers as you walk past or the sounds of crickets in the long grass.

…And People

Do you have teens who would rather do their own thing over the summer? That is all part of growing up, but agree on a time each week when you will reconnect with each other. This might be board games on a Tuesday afternoon, lunch together on a Wednesday or a Sunday afternoon game of rounders. Choose a structured activity and agree a time well in advance that is easy for everyone to commit to.

Summer days are a great opportunity to bond with wider friends and family as well. An unstructured afternoon at the park or inviting family over for a barbecue can be a relaxed and low cost way to spend time with those you love. Or if you thrive on a project maybe you can organise a big family camping trip?

Time for Reflection

Children can struggle to remember all the fun things they did on a day out while discussing it over dinner in the evening, so it’s not surprising that if we look back over the weeks of summer we find it hard to remember the details and special moments. Taking time to document your summer can make it easier to remember the details and give you something concrete to look back on.

Create A Photo Diary

A photo diary is a really easy way to capture your memories so you can look back, but you don’t just need to include photos. Whether creating a journal yourself or making premium quality photo albums online you can include a combination of photos, texts and even handwritten messages. Either leave spaces in the photo album to stick in items when delivered or take photos of artwork and messages so you can upload them to appear besides the photos in a professional looking book that you will love to pull out and look at time and time again.

Make sure you include a space for highlighting: your favourite memories, special achievements, any milestones and the songs of your summer.

Create A Summer “Time Capsule”

This time capsule isn’t about burying the memories, but rather collecting together tangible items that you can put together in a box and revisit each year. Think of ticket stubs, pressed flowers, maps. Going through these items in the future will trigger memories of these special days.

Having a memorable summer isn’t about going on big expensive holidays, it doesn’t matter how much money you spend. It’s about being intentional and present so you can value the little moments as well as the big.