Summers are taking on a whole new meaning now that I have a little boy to spend them with! There are so many fun activities to do—and so many memories to make—that I decided to create a super fun, frugal summer bucket list!
I wanted to have a creative list of ideas to refer back to on the days we could use something extra to do—a list of inexpensive activities we could either do all together as a family, or simply as fun mommy-son time.
More than anything, I want to create sweet memories that we’ll fondly look back on in the years to come.
I want to discover which activities will become the traditions that define our summers—the ones that become part of our family culture.
Thankfully, the types of activities that turn into the best traditions are the ones that center around time spent together!
You don’t need to spend a lot of money to make lasting memories.
Blueberries and Boiled Peanuts
Some of my favorite family traditions have been started unintentionally!
This is our first summer living in Alabama, so we’re just starting to create traditions in our new home state.
One such tradition this summer has been blueberry picking at a u-pick farm, followed by picking up a bag of hot, Cajun-style boiled peanuts! (It’s a Southern thing…)
It started innocently enough.
Benj and I have gone blueberry picking every year since we got married, and we want to keep up the tradition here in Alabama.
A few weeks ago, Benj, Jack and I were on our way home from an early morning at a blueberry farm. We’d picked and eaten berries to our hearts’ content.
As we were nearing a little stand that read “Boiled Peanuts” in large letters, I mentioned to Benj that it had been a long time since I’d eaten boiled peanuts.
Benj asked me if they were any good, and I told him I thought they were a “love ’em or hate ’em” kind of snack—and also that I thought he’d enjoy them.
We pulled over and picked up a $4 bag of deliciously warm, cajun-style boiled peanuts.
Then, we drove home and sat around the kitchen table together, eating boiled peanuts. We finished the last ones with briny fingers—and nobody was hungry for lunch!
Since that Saturday, we’ve gone blueberry picking two more times. And each time, we’ve repeated our boiled peanut ritual.
We’re hoping for one last blueberry-picking-boiled-peanut-eating Saturday this season!
It quickly turned into an unexpected tradition that we all look forward to, and I’m already dreaming about next year.
Print Your FREE Frugal Summer Bucket List!
In the spirit of creating family traditions and special memories, I put together a frugal summer bucket list with 44 activities and ideas!
And I created a totally FREE printable to go with it!
Sign up below to receive the password to the FREE resource library where you can download and print out your copy of the Frugal Summer Bucket List!
Frugal Summer Bucket List for Families
Some of the activities and ideas are low-key and simple, while others are a bit more involved.
- Make fresh-squeezed lemonade
- Catch fireflies in a mason jar
- Play board games
- Play card games
- Bake cookies
- Go on a scavenger hunt
- Piece together a puzzle
- Pick berries
- Pick peaches
- Have a water balloon fight
- Picnic in the woods
- Take a nature walk
- Go kayaking
- Visit your local library
- Go camping
- Go swimming
- Plan a movie night
- Pop buttery popcorn
- Play in the rain
- Go geocaching
- Make a pine cone bird feeder
- Visit a museum
- Make a sandcastle
- Walk barefoot in the sand
- Make sticky s’mores
- Feed ducks at a pond
- Gather wildflowers
- Fly a kite
- Plan a game night
- Go bowling
- Take a bike ride
- Make ice cream
- Freeze popsicles
- Bake cookies
- Build a blanket fort
- Go stargazing
- Eat watermelon
- Visit a farmer’s market
- Watch the sunset after a storm
- Spend time at the lake
- Swing in a hammock
- Read a good book
- Visit a new park
- Go bird watching
Check off as many boxes as you can! Document these special times with your family through journaling or photos—or both! You can also save and date your frugal summer bucket list printable each year to see which activities become traditions.
Don’t forget to print out your FREE Frugal Summer Bucket List!
These Fleeting Summer Days
I hope you take full advantage of these fleeting summer days by intentionally making beautiful memories with your family!
We only have 18 summers with our kids before they’re grown! Each one is a gift, and we should make the most of them.
What is your favorite summer activity—the one that makes it onto your summer bucket list without fail?
