5 Steps to Create Family Connection with the Ultimate Family Summer Bucket List

Whether your family tends to pack the calendar full or keeps postponing plans because “there’s always more time,” a summer bucket list helps build family connection by making sure everyone gets to experience something they’re excited about without overwhelming the family schedule.

Research from Harvard’s Making Caring Common project found that social-emotional skills can actually dip during summer without intentional structure. Kids lose the built-in connection that school provides, and without something to replace it, screen time tends to fill the gap.

If balancing a little extra screen time with making core memories on a budget is your goal, there’s good news. Family connection doesn’t require a big budget or a perfectly planned itinerary. Experts say quality time spent together promotes children’s cognitive and social development, and it doesn’t matter much whether that’s a camping trip or a backyard water balloon fight.

What matters is that it’s intentional. That someone said, “We’re doing this together,” and followed through.

That’s exactly what a summer bucket list does. It turns good intentions into actual plans. And it gives every person in your family, even the reluctant teenager, a voice in what this summer looks like.

By planning meaningful activities ahead of time, your family can create lasting memories, reduce boredom, and enjoy more quality time together throughout the summer.

Summer can sometimes seem endless, but as parents, we all know it can go by quickly. With a summer bucket list, your kids will have something to look forward to without constantly asking you what you’re doing that day.

Creating a summer bucket list will also encourage family connection while creating structure and making sure everyone gets to do something they want to during the summer. It can also allow the family to try new things together.

Just creating your family bucket list will bring about family connection as the first step is to get together to find out what everyone wants to do during the summer. You can call a family meeting or just ask a few questions during a family dinner. Here are some questions to get started:

Questions to Ask:

• What do you want to do this summer?
• What’s something new you want to try?
• What’s your favorite summer activity?
• What would make this summer feel fun?

Once you have a list of things everyone would like to do, you can organize them into categories to get a better idea of what activities are big outings, simple at-home activities, free community events, or quieter moments with more family connection opportunities.

Dividing the activities into categories will also make planning less overwhelming and allow you to choose activities based on time, energy, or budget so the bucket list doesn’t just become another long to-do list but actually gets done.

Next, look at the family calendar for the summer to see how many days are open for activities. Have each family member choose their top must-do activity and put those on the calendar first. Make sure you don’t overschedule the family’s summer.

Although you want to create opportunities for family connection, you also want to leave room for rest and spontaneous fun without overscheduling everyone. Then, if you have more activities the family would like to do or more open time, you can add other bucket list items to the family calendar.

Once the bucket list is made, put it somewhere the whole family will see it. You can create a printable checklist, add events to the family calendar, put it on poster board, attach it to the fridge, or place it somewhere else the family will see it. This will ensure everyone has a reminder of the events to look forward to without having to ask you when you’re going to do them.

When you do one of the activities on the family bucket list, make sure to take photos or create a summer journal to keep track of the memories. You can also have the kids rate their favorite activities or create a scrapbook to look back on to remember all the family connection you had over the summer. This will also help you remember what activities the family enjoyed next summer in case you want to make any a new family tradition.

You don’t need elaborate plans to create meaningful memories this summer. Start small and remember, your goal is family connection, not creating the perfect outing. Your kids will remember the time spent with you doing the things they enjoyed, which are usually the simple things.

So say yes to easier fun whenever possible. And make sure to download our free Family Bucket List Guide to make creating your bucket list even easier.