Your Huge Guide to 30+ Fun Summer Activities for Family Bonding

Summer is one month away, so it’s time to prepare for summertime fun! 

School’s out, and it’s the perfect time to get your kids active. So get out and absorb as much Vitamin D (with sunscreen 😉) as you can. With engaging summer activities, you can connect as a family while having fun and building memories. 

Many families plan a summer vacation, but you don’t have to go on an expensive adventure to enjoy the season. Often there’s plenty of adventure to be found in our own hometowns! Even if you book a summer vacation, you’ll still need to fill the remaining months with fun activities. 

And we’re here to help you with that. Here’s your comprehensive guide for fun summer activities for families — from ours to yours! 

Summer Activities To Help Families Stay Connected

This summer doesn’t have to be boring or exhausting for your family. We’re dedicating this summer to family fun that builds long-lasting memories. Bonus — these time-busting activities are for everyone! Here are 30+ family-friendly activities and adventures you can experience with your family this summer. 

16 Indoor Activities for Summer Fun

1. Grow a green thumb. You can build a garden with your kiddo to promote patience, confidence, and fun. Try creating a simple one inside to brighten any rainy days. Click for more tips on how to build a garden indoors and outdoors with your little one. 

2. Create a shining suncatcher. Catch the powerful sun rays with SunGemmers. You can couple this craft with your indoor garden to display a rainbow of colors in your home. SunGemmers come in four different packs: heart and flower; sun and rainbow; mermaid, dolphin, and turtle; or tree, flower, and flamingo. 

3. Make shrink art. You can have a fun day inside creating shrink art with your child. It’s a great activity to creatively pass the time. And kids will love seeing their art shrink! 

4. Build a Lego house. You can build a lego castle or dollhouse with your family to encourage creativity and enhance your child’s fine motor skills.

5. Design with wax sticks. Your family can build 2D and 3D crafty pictures with these wax sticks. Bonus idea — use them to make furniture for your lego castle or dollhouse. 

6. Build a fort and camp inside. Use pillows and blankets from around the house to build an awesome fort. You can even add fairy string lights to make it the best fort ever! Then add some sleeping bags for an indoor camping adventure.

7. Establish a movie night. Make a shopping list of candy and popcorn. Then pile up on the couch with your snacks and enjoy a movie the entire family will love. 

8. Hold races. Use small balls, marbles, or cars as your racer. Next, cut open a pool noodle to create tracks of equal length and race your toy down the track! 

9. Learn a new skill. You can learn a new skill with your family right in the comfort of your home. There are many online classes available and even helpful videos on YouTube. You can learn how to bake, make ice cream or popsicles, code games, play an instrument, crochet, and more. 

10. Grow crystals at home. You can bring STEM learning to your home by growing your own crystals. These kits include everything you need for your at-home science adventure. Choose your favorite colors and make something awesome! 

11. Play card games. With the rapid growth of technology, we often forget how fun it can be to play a card game. Whip out the cards and play some laugh-inducing competitive games, like Old Maid, Go Fish, or Crazy Eights. 

12. Create a family book. Interview relatives with your little one and write down some cool tidbits of your family’s history. This may become their new favorite book for bedtime or when they’re missing their relatives. 

13. Try a Home Photoshoot. Use a blanket as a backdrop in your hallway or living room and hold a photoshoot! Try on different outfits and get silly. Explore your creativity and passion for fashion — don’t forget the cool poses too!

14. Make homemade slime. Pour one cup of water into a bowl, and then add your child’s choice of food coloring. Then, slowly stir in two cups of cornstarch. Mix with your hands and have some slimy fun! 

15. Write and design a comic book. Pick a hero or create one of your own. After the hero is chosen, each family member can create their own one-page story and drawings. Once everyone is done, put the comic book together and enjoy!

16. Make BFF jewelry. String beads to create words or phrases and make a piece of fabulous jewelry with your kiddo. This is a great activity to enhance your child’s fine motor skills, bilateral coordination, cognitive skills, and more!  

If it’s raining and you’re interested in more fun activities that’ll keep your stress low, check out these 15 best family-friendly activities for rainy days.

17 Summer Activities for Outdoor Fun

1. Park adventure. This is always a simple and fun option on a nice day. Your kids will have a blast without any crazy planning. 

2. Pool day. Grab the pool toys and the sunscreen — it’s time for a pool day! Swim and play in the sunshine, and then enjoy an early bedtime.  ;)

3. Visit a farmer’s market. Or even a flea market or garage sale. Your child will enjoy the new environment and maybe you’ll get lucky with a unique, affordable find! 

4. Visit the fair/carnival. If there’s a carnival or fair in town, check it out with your little one. Enjoy the amusement-style rides without paying amusement park prices. And don’t forget to order cotton candy and funnel cakes! 

5. Picnic day. Pack a picnic basket and visit your local state park or playground. If you don’t have time to leave the house, have it in the backyard or community green space. This is a fantastic way to avoid screen time and encourage conversations as a family. 

6. Visit a drive-in movie theatre. If there are any drive-in theatres around you, take a trip and show your kiddo the big screen while enjoying the outdoors. 

7. Build an obstacle course. You can use random objects around your home like hula hoops, swimming noodles, jump ropes, outdoor pillows, and more to create an obstacle course. Then take off and see who finishes the course the quickest.

8. Paddle a kayak. Or rent a canoe at your nearest state park. Most parks offer kayak and canoe rentals as well as lifevests for your family. It’s a great way to build strength and have water fun.

9. Try a scavenger hunt. You can build a scavenger hunt at home for your family or participate in one hosted by your city. It’s a blast and it’s educational! 

10. Visit the next town. Take a road trip to your neighboring city or town to explore the sites and a couple of new restaraunts. 

11. Draw with chalk. Use your sidewalk, walkway, or driveway to draw with your child. Let the creativity run wild with this one — you’ve got plenty of room. 

12. Fly a kite. You can build your own kite at home or buy a few kites for a windy day. It’s a wonderful activity to build your child’s upper body strength and gross motor skills. 

13. Create a water gun race. You can create a water gun race at home! Cut a hole in the bottom of a plastic cup, then pull a string through it. Secure both ends of the string to something sturdy and shoot! Whoever gets the cup to the other end first wins! Watch this video tutorial and have a blast. 

14. Have water balloon fun. You can have a water balloon fight or use them to play sports games with a watery twist. 

15. Create a slip n’ slide. You can DIY your own slip n’ slide in your backyard or purchase one. The great thing about these slides? You just have to buy or build them once for many days of splashing fun. 

16. Paint outside. Purchase some washable paint and paintbrushes and hang up some paper on your fence. Then let your child’s creativity loose without the worry of a mess! 

17. Visit your local fire station. Your kids will love taking a peak behind the scenes. Just make sure to call beforehand to see if they’re taking any visitors. 

Be sure to pack enough sunscreen to protect yourself and your little one from the summer sun. For some essential tips to stay safe in the summer heat, check out this checklist. 

Enjoy Summer With Your Family!

We hope these fun summer activities for families can help keep you busy and laughing all summer long! 

Even if your child is in summer camp while you work, you can participate in these family-friendly activities and adventures on the weekends to help you stay connected. 

Will you be able to check all these off this summer? Let us know in the comments below, or follow us on Instagram and Facebook @plbfun for more unique tips!