Summer Bucket List

                         30 Things To Do This Summer

A few weeks before every holiday I get the kids together and do a Bucket List. As summer is approaching at a light speed...I have not got enough time to do what I need to do....ie paint the hallway!, I thought I had better get into gear and sort out this years Summer Holiday Bucket List.

With 2 boys (8 and 5) and  a daughter (4), there has to be quite a wide range of things that they will all enjoy doing. I am not lucky enough to have family in the same town so we all have to muddle through and be together with whatever we decide to do. I hope that some of these will be inspiring for you to take away and do yourself, the thing is to not mind about mess, clutter or even tidying to a certain extent in the holidays....I always find if I get neurotic about the mess I cannot enjoy the holidays at all.

1- Another 'Mummy's Mad Monday'- A while ago I don't quite know what possessed me, but we invited 9 other children around to play one monday in the hols from 10am-2pm! They all had a fab time, and somehow it was quite easy?!?!?

2- Go to the cinema - A lot of cinemas do special discounts in the holidays. Check out your local cinema. At our local Cineworld cinema they do early morning (9.30-10.30 starts) kids films for £1.30 each!!! This is great when you have more than one child and the cost creeps up when you go and pay full rates!

3-Go to the Seaside - This is always enjoyed by everyone, sandy or stony they love it. Pick up shells and some pebbles to craft when you get home too.

4- Go to a Farm with a Drop Slide-  This was put in by my 5 year old who has discovered the thrill of the Drop Slide recently. I have researched and there 2 farms nearby that have drop slides, it is a fairly expensive day out though so will have to make the most of it, take a picnic and drinks and spend the whole day there. Will buy an ice-cream.

5- Make some garden stones- This is one of mine. I want to try and get the kids to make some garden stones out of cement and put coloured glass, beads etc in to decorate....if they turn out nicely we can do some to save for Christmas presents!!!

6- Go to the Park- This one is simple enough....lots of local parks....pack a drink, snack, picnic and head off. Maybe try to do 3 parks a week....will be a cheap day out. If I do this at the local park in town there is an Iceland nearby and I tend to spend £1.50 and buy a pack of ice creams or ice lollies. Doing it this way you get about 8 for your money and those we don't eat I give away to other kids at the park!

7- Go to the Library- They love going to the library and most libraries tend to have activities on throughout the summer holidays to encourage the children to read more. We will be doing this once a week.

8- Get the paddling pools out-  We have 2 medium sized paddling pools and I set them up with the toddler slide going into one, which they love, endless fun. Get out the water guns. Maybe have a friend or two around.

9- Junk Modelling-  Looks like I had better start saving some 'junk' now! Last year we made a fab Aquarium using a large box and filled it with tissue paper and cut out fish and seaweed, put pebbles we had collected at the beach in it....was great...what to model this year???

10- Have a boot fair- My kids love coming to the local car boot fair with me on a Sunday morning. We always come home with bags full...almost all of their toys have come from Boot fairs, and their clothes! If we have a big sort out we could go and sell at one too.

11- Sleepover at Grandmas- we have started to do this every year now....great fun and share the kids!

12- Make Foam Water Bombs ....and have a fight in the garden

13- Wash the Car- get them in the swimwear and have a bucket of water ready to splash the car and hose off after.

14- Go to the Swimming Pool- ideally a different one each time we go to keep it interesting

15- Stay at Nana and Pops- we haven't stayed at their house for a while so would be nice

16- Do some work towards Beaver/ Cub badges- keep records and print things out to see what we need to do....Even if your kids don't go to beavers they have some fun things to do...check out the Scout website!

17- Make some ice cubes to go in the paddling pool when it gets really hot ( here's hoping!)

18- Try to make different flavours of ice lollies...let the kids come up with their own ideas here and go with them....no matter what.

19- Go on a train ride- somewhere, anywhere...we don't normally go by train in term time so this is a holiday treat and they love it....even if its just to a different park!

20- Go to a play center...one for a rainy day!

21- Visit a Castle- pack a picnic, get in the car and visit a castle....at school the house teams and named after castles so we could visit all four maybe!

22- 'Sleepover'- put sleeping bags out and they can sleep downstairs...exciting!

23- Go Bowling- the local bowling center in Crawley often has deals in the holidays.

24- Party Games- my middle son (aged 5) loves party games and suggested an afternoon of party games....will have to get my thinking cap on...maybe find some little prizes too.

25- Make Sponge Water Bombs- so cool and better than those plastic ones that burst and you spend hours after the fun looking for the exploded parts in the garden after.....make them instead out of sponge washing up cloths...will have to do a post on this later.

26- Home Cinema- Get some popcorn kernals to make our own popcorn, and rent a movie for the whole family, close the curtains, put the surround speakers on loud....cinema!

27- Horses- The princess has started horse riding and is desperate to show the boys....find your local stables and give it a go....at ours they charge £5 for a 15 minute walk around the fields so its not as expensive as I thought it might be.

28- Throw stones in the sea- The princess suggested this one....nice and simple

29- Go to a theme park-mmmm this will be an expensive one...still they have come up with some excellent cheaper ones.

30- Sort out the play room- they like helping with this as they uncover all those missing toys or parts.


I have just realised there are ONLY 41 days in the summer break!!!!!!