It's time to create a summer bucket list!

As the school year starts to wrap up and summer starts to creep up, many families start to make plans for those school-free weeks and months. Even if you don't (or can't) plan a big summer getaway, there is something you can do as a family to build on summer anticipation and get everyone excited, even if you aren't straying far from home: The Summer Bucket List.

Gather the family together and start brainstorming. What would everything like to do this summer? It could be more elaborate things like a road trip to Grandma's house or something as simple as a play date at the park with a friend who has moved to another school, for example.

There are three rules that we follow for creating our list each spring:

Rule #1: Everyone gets a say.

Rule #2: Ideas must be free, inexpensive or 1 "bigger" event we can save for (like a weekend trip where we stay in a hotel)

Rule #3: No nagging about when we are going to do each thing. We'll get to as many as we can!

Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Backyard movie night

• Ice cream party

• PJ and movie day

• Dinner out at a favourite restaurant

• Swimming at the local pool

• Picnic dinner in the park

• Visit to a community fun fair

• Trip to the library

• Kids pick dinner tonight!

• Backyard water fight - yes, mom and dad, too!

• Garage sale day -- give the kids a few dollars to buy a new treasure!

• Family bike ride

• Visit to a local museum or science centre

There are no limits on what you can come up with! You'll probably be surprised by what your kids say they want to do this summer.

Of course, it's probably not feasible to do every single thing on your family's list this summer, but it's definitely possible to do some. It only takes a little bit of effort to make some awesome summer memories for your family.

#summer #vacation #bucketlist #familyfun