100 Fun Family Summer Activities - That Won’t Break the Bank

As a teacher, summer break has always been a time to look forward to for my family. We typically have a trip planned or summer camps scheduled that create excitement during those last few weeks of the school year. 

This year has been different from most in that I have taken time out of my career to stay home with my four children, ages 2 to 8. By doing so, we have gone from a two-income household to living off of one income.  This change required some creativity on my part to make our summer a memorable one.

I gathered my older children together and told them we would be creating a wish list of all the things we want to do or accomplish this summer that wouldn’t break the bank. My older boys were really excited about this plan and we sat around our dinner table a few nights later to create our list.

Making the list, I realized there was so much to do in our local area! We made a big poster and will check off the activities as we completed them. It is so much fun to plan what activity to do each day and document our summer fun.

 If you are looking for things to do this summer, I have 100 things to do to keep busy and make memories with your loved ones.

At Home Activities: 

• Kids are the BOSS day

• Create a rock garden

• Camping in the backyard

• Dinner outside

• Night swimming

• Family Painting

• Build 100 pc puzzle

• Living Room slumber party

• Cook an egg outside

• Cooking lesson

• Homemade pizzas

• Donate toys & stuffed animals

• Funny photoshoot

• Science experiment day

• Arts & crafts day

• Bake cookies

• Make playdough

• Make a book

• Feed the ducks at a park

• Driveway chalk mural

• Video game tournament

• Record family video game playing

• Watermelon seed spitting contest

• MarioKart tournament

• Dance Party

• Backyard Obstacle Course

• Scavenger Hunt

• Thank you card writing

• Diorama building

• Bubblegum bubble contest

• Paper mache 

• Water balloon baseball

• Build a fort

• Make ice cream

• Interview grandparents

• Chapter book reading as a family

• Balloon tennis

• Treasure hunt

• Bake cookies

• Made lemonade

• Board game relay race

• Nature walk/collage making

• Bedroom organizing

• Movie marathon

• Coloring contest

• Lego building

• Homemade popsicles

• Hide and Seek

• Deliver cookies to friends

• Make dinner for a family friend

• Color search and find

• Stargazing

• Make a board game

• Family game night

• Water balloon fight

• Pillow fight

• Play catch at a park

• Family night walk

• Make a puzzle

• Make and mail art to family

• Pull weeds at a friend’s house

• Give the dog a bath

• Rearrange the furniture for a day

Outings - Low Cost: 

• Go fishing

• Burger King Lunch (with a play place)

• Children’s Museum (we have a membership)

• Visit a splash pad (usually free)

• Public pool swimming

• Visit cousin’s houses

• Pueblo Grande Museum (Adults $6, Children $3)

• Railroad Park

• Walk to dessert

• Yogurtini

• Day trip to Jerome, AZ

• Zoo Day (We have a membership)

• Drive to a local historical site

• Museum of Natural History

• Visit a local humane society

• Family hike

• Visit Dad at work for lunch

Outings - Higher Cost

• Bowling

• Chuck E. Cheese

• Overnight trip

• Eat at a restaurant

• Legoland in AZ

• Mini golf

• Arcade trip

• Goodwill - Buy what you can carry

• Summer secret Santa

• Puppet theater

• Laser and Mirror Maze

• Goldfield Ghost Town

• Go to a movie/drive in

• Local amusement park

• AZ Science Center

• Phoenix Herpetological Society

•  Hall of Flame Fire Museum

• Deer Valley Petroglyph Preserve

• Peter Piper Pizza

• Local Water Park