Last summer I came up with this post – 100 Summer Activities to do from Home. Little did I know when I wrote it last summer that it would come in so handy THIS summer!
If you’re sticking around home and not going out much, here’s some great ideas to keep you busy AND having fun together. Almost all of these activities use things you already have at home and cost little to nothing to do.
As moms, it’s easy to sometimes we think we need grand adventures and expensive outings to make our children happy. The truth though, is that making memories doesn’t have to be expensive or elaborate! We can easily add little drops of joy each and every day in the little things we do. As long as the phones are off and our focus is on each other, simple activities can bond and create memories just as well as an expensive outing or vacation. And the positive thing is – they tend to be less stressful – on us as parents, on our children, and on the bank account.
I’ve compiled a list of 100 fun, inexpensive and stress-free activities to do together this summer … all from the comfort of your own home or backyard. Most of these activities are free! You may need to pull together a few supplies. but get creative with what you already have on hand. As long as your whole focus is on each other and the quality of the time together, the activities are bound to be ones that the family will remember for years to come. Some of them might just bring back childhood memories of your own and give you the opportunity to share them with the next generation.
Simply print out this printable and start having some summer fun today!
100 Summer Activities To Do At Home
Here are 100 fun (mostly) no-cost ways to spend time at home this summer – making fun memories together!
- Build a blanket fort to read in
- Play a card game
- Pretend to be spies, pirates or princesses
- Bake cookies to take to someone
- Do a puzzle
- Have a water balloon fight
- Fly a kite
- Have a cousins sleepover
- Pack a picnic and walk or bike to the local park
- Have a paint-night party
- Sleep under the stars and do some stargazing
- Create a “drive in movie” theater
- Make home-made pizza
- Start a funny journal of memories
- Have a pots and pans band
- Write and produce a summer play
- Make up your own I-Spy riddles
- Create your own board game
- Have an ice cream sundae party
- Interview your oldest family member
- Learn a few words in a different language or sign language
- Make a puzzle
- Make passports and “adventure” around the world
- Read in a hammock or swing
- Create a treasure hunt
- Build something creative with Legos or blocks
- Draw cards for someone far away
- Host a teddy bear picnic
- Make home-made ice cream
- Pretend to be dinosaurs
- Have a cookie decorating contest
- Go on a scavenger hunt
- Learn to draw something new
- Paint a t shirt
- Plan a video game tournament
- Make homemade popsicles
- Invite friends for a game night
- Create a card game
- Have a fitness day, learning new ways to exercise
- Make a scrapbook of old photos
- Watch Mom or Dad’s favorite childhood movie
- Have a silly poetry contest
- Find a free class online to take
- Have a “no talking” contest
- Play frisbee
- Draw with sidewalk chalk
- Go on a photo scavenger hunt
- Read books to each other, pretending to be your favorite superheroes or princesses
- Take your favorite board game outside and play it picnic style
- Climb a tree
- Make cookies to take to a friend or someone in need
- Build a fort or playhouse out of an old box
- Learn something about your grandparents or great grandparents
- De-clutter the playroom and find someone who can use the toys
- Try a new recipe together for dinner
- Eat dinner outside
- Make your own You-tube video about something fun
- Host a talent show
- Make up and share funny jokes
- Create things with homemade playdough
- Make a bird feeder
- Have a dance party
- Find a pen pal to write to (paper and pen required!)
- Write your own comic strip
- Make something origami
- Chase butterflies
- Have or host a mystery dinner
- Make a backyard slip and slide
- Do a popsicle craft
- Camp out in the back yard
- Try a new recipe
- Make slime
- Play water balloon baseball
- Write a short story or make a picture book
- Draw pictures and have a coloring contest
- Perform random acts of kindness in your neighborhood
- Create a family flag, motto, and/or song
- Have a lemonade stand
- Walk around your neighborhood and play I Spy
- Build an outdoor obstacle course and have races
- Have a tech-free day
- Interview family members to learn more about them
- Paint with watercolors
- Jump rope
- Play stuffed animal bowling
- Make home-made bubbles
- Host a summer cookie exchange
- Have a fondue night
- Have a paper airplane competition
- Conduct a science experiment
- Play charades
- Wash the car
- Teach each other a new skill
- Have an all day PJ day
- Play Hide and Seek
- Cook something from another country
- Find objects in the clouds
- Play 4-square or hopscotch
- Create something using only things in the recycling box
- Have a bike race