Many families are fortunate to be able to take their children to Disney every year or spend a week building sand castles by the sea, but there are also many families for whom such extravagant vacations are out of reach. When I was a kid, we never took a family vacation. My parents simply couldn’t afford it, yet my summers were my happiest times because I was free to play. We spent many days lounging by the lake while my father and I caught bluegill. We’d bring our own sandwiches, so the cost for us was simply the price of our fishing licenses. We’d visit a small-town amusement park every summer where $6.95 bought you an all-day hand stamp to ride until closing. I never saw the beach or Disney World, yet I have some pretty epic summer memories proving that happy memories come from more than extravagant trips. The best memories are of time spent happily together with family. With this in mind, here is a list of affordable (and often free!) ways to make epic summer memories with your children this year.
1. Explore your local parks and forests. We are fortunate to live close to a beautiful state forest, and we love to hike the kid-friendly trails. AllTrails is a great app for finding local trails to take your children on. See if your park has a Junior Ranger program. Make it epic by giving your child a camera and let her be a nature photographer for a day. Then print the photos she takes and make an album with her.
2. Spend a day fishing or lounging by the lake or pond (or beach if you live nearby). Scour your area for a great fishing hole, lather them up with sunscreen, pack a few sandwiches and snacks, and be on your way. Some places allow you to rent paddle boats for reasonable prices, and many have playgrounds. Bring some crackers or bread in case there are ducks. Even if fishing isn’t your cup of tea, just spending time near the water is relaxing. Make it epic by listening to a great summer playlist and dancing by the water with your little ones.
3. Have an outdoor movie night. Bring your television and Blu Ray player onto your porch, deck, or back yard to make great summer memories! Pop in a good movie, light a citronella candle, and create your own drive-in movie of sorts. Make it epic by putting together this impressive (but cheap at under $20) outdoor movie screen. We’ve done this just after dark a few times and it’s absolutely a wonderful memory maker!
4. Catch the Perseid meteor showers on the night of August 12. One of our family’s fondest memories is of lying on the trampoline under the stars and counting the number of meteors we saw streak across the sky. It really is kind of magical. Make it epic by taking a few sleeping bags and some pre-made S’mores for the show.
5. Go to a free outdoor concert. Our town has free concerts every Friday night through the summer. Google your town or state with “free outdoor concerts” and I’ll bet you’ll be surprised at what you find! Make it epic by keeping shush about it until you arrive. Most kids love surprises!
6. Build an outdoor blanket fort and create a special, secret hideaway! Google some images for inspiration and grab some old sheets. Children love special spaces like these to play, read, or relax in. Make it epic by telling stories inside the fort with a flashlight after dark or by listening to an audiobook together inside.
7. Give them freedom. As parents, we don’t need to orchestrate our kids’ entire summer. We don’t have to pressure ourselves to entertain them every moment, and we don’t have to feel responsible for making epic memories for them. The truth is, given freedom and space to create and play, children will make their own epic memories. How many of us grew up with weekly science experiments, tiger-shaped sandwiches with broccoli forests, craft kits, and bucket lists to check off? I know I didn’t! I had a bike, a yard, and lots of free time. It’s great to facilitate some great memories with numbers 1-6, but remember to give them the freedom to make their own epic summer memories.