How to Plan out Your Summer

Summer is a great time to take a vacation, to learn something new, or to go on a relaxing hike. Unfortunately, sometimes we find ourselves sitting around the house doing nothing all summer long. Making a plan for your summer is the best way to ensure you experience a summer to remember.

Method 1

Method 1 of 5:

Planning a Trip

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Budget for your trip. To make sure you have enough money for your entire trip, it’s important to plan a budget. Use online travel sites or a travel agent to help you find a great deal on hotels, plane tickets, rental cars, or whatever else you’ll need for your trip.
- Plan for food and drink costs including snacks.
- If traveling by car, allocate money for gasoline.
- If you plan to fly to your destination, budget for the cost of round trip plane tickets.
- Allocate money for a rental car, ride shares, taxis, or a personal driver to travel around the place you’re visiting.
- Budget for the place you’ll be staying during your trip. Hotels with free breakfast are a good budget friendly option.^{[1]XResearch source}
- Include money for shopping so you can buy fun souvenirs.
2
Book travel accommodations. You should book all of your accommodations for your trip at least two weeks before traveling. Use an online travel company to book your trip, or contact a local travel agency to help you find a good deal.
- Book the place you will be staying. Consider staying at a hotel, timeshare, vacation home rental, hostel, or campground for your trip.
- Secure round trip plane tickets if you plan on traveling by plane. Make sure you book one seat per person traveling over the age of 2. Children under 2 years of age can fly sitting in an adult’s lap.
- Book a rental car if you want to drive yourself around when you reach your destination. Consider the amount of people traveling with you when you decide what size vehicle to rent.
- Purchase tickets to activities and events if you can. Some activities and venues allow you to purchase tickets online before the day of the event. You can go ahead and book tickets to the activities you want to do before you go on your trip.
3
Pack for your vacation. You should pack for your trip at least one day before you plan to leave. You will need to pack enough clothing, shoes, toiletries, and accessories to make it through the duration of your trip. It’s important to also pack any medications you might need during the trip as well.
- If you are staying at a place with access to a laundry facility, you can also plan on packing a light amount of clothes and washing them while you are there.
- Don’t forget to pack your camera, binoculars, or any other sightseeing equipment you might want to use.
- Bring any daily medications you take in their original prescription bottle, and also bring an assortment of over the counter medicine you might need, like medicine for headaches.
- Pack clothes that are appropriate for the temperature of the place you’ll be visiting. It’s a good idea to pack clothes you can layer to always be comfortable if the weather changes.
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Method 2

Method 2 of 5:

Staying Active

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Find a summer camp or sporting activity. Summer is a fun time to play with friends. A great way to stay active in the summer is to join a summer camp or sporting activity. You will have fun meeting new friends and spending time outdoors in the summer weather. There’s many different types of summer camps to choose from including sleep away camps, day camps, sport focused camp, or artistic camps. Joining a summer sporting activity like swim team is a great way to stay active all summer long.^{[2]XResearch source}
- Search online or visit local churches, schools, libraries, or nature centers to find summer camps in your area. Sometimes, local magazines will have a listing of upcoming summer camps in the area as well.
- Sign up for camps early to ensure you receive a spot in the camp.
- Swim team, flag football, tennis, and golf are all great sports to do in the summer.
2
Hike local trails. Summer is a great time to do activities outdoors because the weather is warmer and the days are longer, so stay active by going for a hike at a local trail. Hikes are a fun way to enjoy nature while keeping physically fit. There are many hiking trails to choose from, so you can try to do new one each week of the summer for a fun challenge.^{[3]XResearch source}
- Make sure you dress appropriately for your hike by wearing comfortable, sporty clothes, a hat, and tennis shoes or hiking boots.
- Bring a friend with you on your hike to share the experience with.
- Pack a backpack filled with healthy snacks, water bottles, a cell phone or gps, and a first aid kit.
- Find local trails to hike by searching online, visiting your local nature center, or contacting your local parks and recreation department.
3
Ride your bike. Summer is a wonderful time to ride your bike outside because the weather is so nice. Going for a bike ride is fun to do and great exercise for your body. The summer is a good time to learn how to ride a bike if you don’t already know how to do it. Riding your bike is a great way to travel to a friend’s house who lives nearby.^{[4]XResearch source}
- You can take your bike on trails to go trail riding for a thrilling summer activity.
- Go for a family bike ride in the evenings as a fun summer tradition.
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Method 3

Method 3 of 5:

Relaxing During Summer

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Enjoy a day at the pool. On a warm summer day, it’s nice to cool off and relax in a swimming pool. Enjoying a day at the pool with your friends is a great way to spend a day of your summer.
- Many neighborhoods have swimming pools for neighbors and their friends to use, and you can also find public community swimming pools in some cities.^{[5]XResearch source}
- Athletic clubs usually have swimming pools to use but it’s typically only for members and their guests.
- Some communities have pools that you can pay a daily fee to swim in, and there are also fun water parks located in many cities.
2
Make a summer reading list. Reading a book is a wonderful way to relax during your free time in summer. Challenge yourself by making a summer reading list to accomplish by the time summer is over. Check out your local library or book store for recommendations on great books to read.^{[6]XResearch source}
- You could even make a book club with your friends. Send the reading list to everyone in the club and then meet a couple of times to talk about what parts of the books you liked and what parts you didn’t like.
- Sometimes schools will have a required summer reading list to complete, but you can always add on more to the list!
- Many local libraries and schools have summer reading incentives that reward you when you read a certain amount of books over the summer.
3
Camp under the stars. Summer is a great time for camping because it typically doesn’t get too cold at night to be sleeping in a tent. Buy or borrow a tent to use to camp out in for a fun summer night. You can camp at a local campground, or even pitch the tent in your backyard to experience the fun of camping.^{[7]XResearch source}
- Be prepared for camping by having a sleeping bag, pillow, flashlights, bug spray, sunscreen, and campfire starters.
- If you’re camping at a campsite be sure to bring plenty of food and drinks for your trip.
4
Have a movie marathon. All the free time you have during summer is great for having a movie marathon! Invite a couple of friends over and rent a few movies for a relaxing day and night filled with action packed movies.
- You could ask each friend to bring their favorite movie over and watch everyone’s favorites!
- Make sure you have plenty of snacks to enjoy while you watch all of your movies. Popcorn, candy, trail mix, chips and dip, and wings are great options to have for munching on during the movie.
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Method 4

Method 4 of 5:

Hosting a Party

1
Invite your friends. Hosting a summer party is a great way to relax with your friends and create a memory to last a lifetime. Choose a date and time to have your party, and then invite all of your friends to attend. Send the invitations at least a week before the party so that everyone has time to free their schedule up for your awesome party. Make sure to tell your friends important details about the party on the invitation. For example, tell people to wear or bring their swim suits if you’re having a pool party or water activities.^{[8]XResearch source}
- Use an online invitation company that sends invites through email. This is one of the best ways to send invites online because the invitation only goes to the people you personally invite, and you can keep track of who has seen the invitation and who is coming to the party. There are many fun designs to choose from to make your invitation unique to your party.
- Invite friends by sending them an invitation on social media. This is a great way to invite people to a party because it’s one of the most used forms of communication today, but be careful, it’s easy for people to share your personal information on social media. If a friend shares the details about your party, you might end up with more people coming than you wanted.
- Send an invitation in the mail. This is a great way to send an invitation in a more personable way. It also gives your friends an actual invitation to hang up on a bulletin board or their refrigerator to remind them of the party.
2
Plan out activities. You will want to have some activities planned to keep your party guests entertained at your party. You can plan to have activities that involve the entire party at once, or have many different activities set up for party guests to participate in if they want to.
- Things like ping pong, corn hole, frisbee throwing, sidewalk chalk, bubbles, slip-n-slide, and hula hooping are great activities to have out for guests to participate in if they would like to.
- Water gun or balloon fights, relay races, volleyball, freeze dance, the limbo, and an outdoor olympics are great activities to have the entire party participate in.
- Consider having a photo booth set up for your guests to dress up in fun costumes and take silly pictures of themselves. You can easily make one out of a cardboard box.
3
Decide on the food you will serve. A summer party needs to have lots of delicious food and drinks to keep the party guests happy. Consider what time you’re having your party at to decide how much food to serve. Parties that happen in between meal times can have just snack food out, but parties that occur over lunch or dinner time should have more main dishes available.
- Finger foods like a veggie tray, fruit kebabs, chips and dip, trail mix, crackers, popcorn, pretzels, and pigs in a blanket are great options for snacks at a party.
- For a main dish, consider having hotdogs, hamburgers, chicken wings, sandwiches, or chicken fingers for your party.
4
Decorate for your party. Party decorations make the atmosphere festive and fun and will put a smile on your guests’ faces. Think about having a theme for your party to create a focus for your decorations. Put down colored table clothes where you’ll serve the food, decorate the door the guests will enter, and hand streamers around to add instant fun to your party.^{[9]XResearch source}
- Having a luau theme is a popular choice for summer, and many party stores sell luau themed decorations during summer time.
- Beach balls can be an inexpensive way to add lots of color to your party, and they can also provide some fun for your guests as well!
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Method 5

Method 5 of 5:

Finding Fun Things to Do Locally

1
Check your city’s calendar of events. Many cities and towns have websites where they list upcoming events available to participate in. There may be parades, festivals, or other special events you can learn about by checking your city’s calendar.
- Check back frequently because they will usually keep adding things throughout the summer.
- Local magazines will also sometimes have event calendars with the different events happening around your area.
Find out about local concert and festivals happening that you can attend for a fun filled day in your town. Check online ticket sales companies to see if anything is happening in your area. Listen to the local radio stations or visit their websites to learn of upcoming concerts you can attend.^{[10]XResearch source}
Many Chamber of Commerce websites have an upcoming events page listing business events in your area. This can include everything from meetups of local business owners to plays and shows happening at the local theater.
4
Join local groups that meet up for fun activities in your town. Check out meetup websites or social media groups to find people who get together for fun activities. Join one for an adventure during the summer, and have fun making new friends. There are groups for many different kinds of interests.
- Explore your artistic side by joining a local painting or photography group.
- Have an adventure with a hiking, rock climbing, or kayaking group.
- Stay active by joining a running club, yoga meetup, or recreation sports team.
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Tips

Plan your trip early so you can take advantage of savings on early bookings.
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Think about the goals you’ve wanted to achieve and try completing one for a summer activity.
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If you’re having trouble coming up with ideas, ask family and friends for help.
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