10 Inexpensive Things To Do This Summer

I’m pulling this post from the archives today but it’s still loaded with great ideas of inexpensive things to do this summer.

I love Summer.  Heat, no school, clean house, vacations, afternoon thunderstorms…I like it all!  Because I teach from September through May, I used June, July, and August to have fun with My Better Half and kiddos.  I’ve compiled a list of our top 10 inexpensive things to do during the summer.  Maybe these will give you some ideas of things to do with your friends or family.
1.  Chalk on the Trampoline – This is one of our new favorites.  We don’t have sidewalks near us so our trampoline is the perfect alternative for sidewalk chalking.  After we are finished, we just hose it off and have a blank canvas to start again.

2.  Bike Riding – We are extremely blessed to have nice bike paths near our home.  We take full advantage of these.  A great place to find inexpensive bikes are out by the road (many people set them out for free) or at garage sales.
3.  Beach Visits – All of us like to go to the beach, some like to soak in the sun.  Others enjoy the water, but I think all of us really like to play in the sand.  We use garden shovels and big buckets from the dollar store to make the most of our sand experience.
4.  Water Balloons – This past time has mixed reviews at our house but for the most part, water balloon wars on a hot day can’t be beat.  I bought the kids one of these water balloon filler upers to save some of the mess in my kitchen and the waste of water at the garden hose.  It’s well worth the $6-$10.

5.  Geocaching – I’ve talked about this before.  You can see all the details of how to geocache here, and you can see how we share our faith while geocaching here.

6.  Tampoline Sprinkler – We don’t have a pool at our house so when the weather gets too hot, we turn on the hose with our DIY trampoline sprinkler.  You can see how to make one here.

7.  Entertaining – We love having people over and during the summer months we can enjoy a larger number of people at our house at one time because of the use of our deck.  Just this week we will be having 28 people over in three days.  Entertaining can be expensive but ask people to bring a dish to share or just invite them for dessert.
8.  Campfires – Sitting around a campfire can be so relaxing.  We have some of our best talks sitting around a campfire, enjoying s’mores.  You’ve tried them with peanut butter cups instead of chocolate bars, right?  They are crazy awesome!
9.  Tennis – We were able to find two tennis rackets at garage sales and some tennis balls at a thrift store.  I realize there are six of us and only two rackets but trust me…it take the other four to chase the balls!!  We play at a nearby park for free.  It is great exercise and a good laugh not only for us but for the onlookers as well!
10.  Make memories – whatever you do this summer, make some lasting memories.  Life is short…enjoy every minute.  Don’t forget to record your memories in a journal or a memory jar.