fbpx

Kristen Hewitt

Sign Up Form

BE INSPIRED! Receive weekly inspiration in your inbox.

Press Logos 2

30 Ways to Have Fun Doing Almost Nothing With Your Kids This Summer

Parenting

Last year I admit I was beyond surprised when my post about doing nothing with my kids went viral. There were a lot of naysayers and people who thought I was crazy, but we had so much fun. And for the most part, we did nothing. 

Are you tired of schedules, camps and having to be somewhere every day? If you want to give your kids an old-fashioned summer here are some laid back ideas to help them have fun doing almost nothing!

Sure we went to the library on Mondays, went to the beach occasionally, and mid-way through the summer we signed up for tennis once a week, but the girls were left up to their own devices a lot and didn’t disappoint. They played school, put on socks and held an ice-skating show in our living room, and even turned our cat condo into a pet store!

Are you tired of schedules, camps and having to be somewhere every day? If you want to give your kids an old-fashioned summer here are some laid back ideas to help them have fun doing almost nothing!

They also made our stepladder into a Christmas tree using green construction paper, swam, played Wii, and of course, read every day. Sure they fought and we had to make a playdate once a week, and we also went on a cruise, but our summer of nothing was a magical reminder of what my summers were like. Lazy, easy, full of family time, and a reminder that it’s OK to be bored.

And as for me, a work at home mom in the summer, I actually survived. I found a way to find time to work around our together time and didn’t lose my s**t until the end of the summer with nine days until school.  Not bad if you ask me!

Are you tired of schedules, camps and having to be somewhere every day? If you want to give your kids an old-fashioned summer here are some laid back ideas to help them have fun doing almost nothing!

And with summer here I once again have nothing planned this summer. No vacations, no camps other than VBS, no lessons, and as much as I love the girls, I still work from home. 

So I sat with our girls and we made a bucket list of things we can do this summer that won’t break the bank!

30 Ways to Have Fun Doing Almost Nothing With Your Kids This Summer

  1. Make homemade ice cream (We make this dairy-free recipe, so good!)Are you tired of schedules, camps and having to be somewhere every day? If you want to give your kids an old-fashioned summer here are some laid back ideas to help them have fun doing almost nothing!
  2. Throw a swim party
  3. Start a lemonade stand
  4. Go to the library
  5. Free bowling
  6. $1 movies
  7. Have a picnic
  8. Make play dough (or slime if you’re brave!)Are you tired of schedules, camps and having to be somewhere every day? If you want to give your kids an old-fashioned summer here are some laid back ideas to help them have fun doing almost nothing!
  9. Go to the beach or a lake ( Here are my summer beach hacks)
  10. Visit family that doesn’t live nearby
  11. Make a scavenger hunt (The girls love to do this and make me be the hunter!)
  12. Ride bikes
  13. Paint rocks (The fun part is collecting them! Or you can get one of these kits.)
  14. Watch YouTube videos to learn how to train our dog to do tricks (I’m on YouTube too!)
  15. Have a water balloon fightAre you tired of schedules, camps and having to be somewhere every day? If you want to give your kids an old-fashioned summer here are some laid back ideas to help them have fun doing almost nothing!
  16. Host a tea party (Check out our Beauty and the Beast tea party!)
  17. Make frozen paintAre you tired of schedules, camps and having to be somewhere every day? If you want to give your kids an old-fashioned summer here are some laid back ideas to help them have fun doing almost nothing!
  18. Take a local sewing, knitting, or crocheting class
  19. Go to a farmers market
  20. Play cards
  21. Make a slip n’ slide out of a tarp
  22. Make shaving cream paint or sidewalk paint
  23. Play putt putt
  24. Visit a nearby town
  25. Explore a local kids museum
  26. Roller skate
  27. Volunteer at a pet store or pet shelterAre you tired of schedules, camps and having to be somewhere every day? If you want to give your kids an old-fashioned summer here are some laid back ideas to help them have fun doing almost nothing!
  28. Bake something yummy (Like these strawberry cupcakes or chocolate chip cookies!)
  29. Go to a theme park
  30. Have ice cream for dinner

I know what you’re thinking, “This isn’t nothing Kristen!” But these are just ideas so when the boredom sets in we have a list of things they can do. And honestly, we’ll be lucky to do 10 of these. Hope you all have a wonderful summer of nothing or summer, whatever suits you!

Did you like this post? Then please follow me on Facebook and check out my new podcast BE WHO YOU WANT TO BE.

Also, you may like Why We Are Doing Literally Nothing This Summer.

Or these 30 Simple Sanity-Saving Rainy Day Activities!

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *