Discover the hottest summer bucket list ideas for adults to do both at home and beyond your front door. From indulging in summer beach reads to exercising outdoors, now is the time to boost your mental health and well-being with these summer self-care tips. You’ll feel so relaxed this season, so let’s celebrate the season of lazy, hazy days in the sun!
Summer Bucket List Ideas: Activities For Adults
Quick Overview
These summer self-care ideas focus on:
- Maximizing longer days of sunlight
- Outdoor time
- Staying hydrated and healthy
- Sun protection
- Travel and celebrations
Full List of Things to Do at Home
Bask in the sunshine for 20 minutes a day to get Vitamin D
Breathe in the fresh air
Burn a floral, fruity, fresh, citrus, or ocean-inspired candle
Camp in your backyard
Celebrate summer holidays (like Independence Day)
Celebrate the Summer Solstice
Cook something seasonal, like zucchini, corn, or tomatoes
Cut or buy fresh flowers, like hydrangeas
Dance in the rain
Decorate your home for the season
Do something in the evening when it’s still light outside
Do yoga and/or exercise outdoors
Draw with sidewalk chalk
Drink a refreshing beverage
Eat fresh produce that energizes you
Garden
Give yourself a summer-themed manicure and/or pedicure for beach-ready nails
Grow fresh herbs or vegetables
Have a garage sale
Have a staycation
Have a water balloon fight
Host a barbecue
Hydrate regularly with a water bottle
Journal about summer, warm weather, nostalgia, etc.
Limit screen time with a social media detox
Listen to a summer-themed playlist
Listen to the natural sounds of summer
Look for a rainbow after the rain
Make fresh popsicles
Make homemade jam or preserves
Make a scavenger hunt
Make s’mores
Make a summer vision board
Open your windows
Paint, draw, or color nature
Photograph nature
Plan something fun and relaxing
Plan your goals for the second half of the year
Play a game or make a puzzle outdoors
Practice meditation
Practice seasonal gratitude for summer
Practice seasonal mindfulness for summer
Press flowers
Read a summer-themed book and/or summer romance novel
Relax on a swing or hammock
Send postcards
Stock your beach bag with essentials like sunscreen
Take a nap (preferably outdoors)
Take a summer reading challenge
Watch the birds
Watch the stars
Watch the sunrise and/or sunset
Wear lighter, brighter clothes
Full List of Things to Do Outside Your Home
Attend a bonfire
Attend a graduation party, wedding, or other seasonal event
Attend an outdoor festival
Attend an outdoor concert
Attend an outdoor sporting event
Attend outdoor theater
Do something on a boat, like sailing or fishing
Drink iced coffee or tea al fresco at a café
Eat at an outdoor restaurant
Fly a kite
Give someone flowers
Go camping
Go on a food truck crawl
Go horseback riding
Go on a hot air balloon ride
Go paddleboarding or kayaking
Go on a road trip
Go zip-lining
Hang out at a park
Have a block party
Have a picnic
Join or play a summer sport
Meet up with family and/or friends
Participate in an organized “run”
Play gold or mini golf
Shop at a local farmer’s market
Sit or play in the sand
Spend time outdoors with a pet or animal
Sunbathe at a beach or pool
Swim
Take a bike ride
Take a cold plunge or ice bath
Take an outdoor dance class
Take a walk or a hike
Take a walking tour
Travel somewhere warm
Visit an amusement park
Visit a garden, arboretum, or greenhouse
Visit an ice cream shop
Visit a lighthouse
Visit an orchard or farm to pick fruit
Visit a vineyard or brewery
Volunteer at a summer camp
Walk on the beach
Watch the fireworks
Watch a movie outdoors or at the drive-in theatre
Watch a summer sporting event
My Summer Self-Care Tips
First, if you’re on the fence, randomly generate one of the best ideas from the above list and take it as a dare to do it below:
Top 10 Summer Bucket List Ideas
I always think of summer with nostalgia. It’s when we were free to play as children. Long days and nights outside and in the pool with family and friends were abundant. Baseball always served as the unofficial sound of summer lifestyle, and we regularly spent free time at local places like the library and parks.
So much of that gets lost as we age and take on more responsibilities. It becomes more of an effort to squeeze a bit of self-care in here and there versus luxuriously indulging in it over a few months.
I like to plan ahead for my self-care during summer. Otherwise, it can pass by in the blink of an eye!
We already have our annual summer vacation to Martha’s Vineyard (and Martha’s Vineyard bookstores) booked. I added a few more ideas to my list, including planning other trips, visiting the local botanical gardens, and hanging our new birdhouse.
I think Jenny Han said it best in this summer reading quote from The Summer I Turned Pretty series:
“Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August.”
So, let’s have a magical summer that feels as relaxing and rejuvenating as it should!
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Related Bucket List Posts
Take these summer bucket list ideas for adults beyond this season, and practice self-love and wellness in other seasons:
How can individuals with busy schedules prioritize self-care during the summer months and incorporate activities like beach reading, hiking, and gardening into their routine to promote relaxation and well-being?”,
“refusal
What I’ve come to realize myself is the word “prioritize” is key. There’s never enough time for everything, so it comes down to priorities. These can be ever changing in our lives, but without self care (our physical, mental, and emotional) well being it becomes hard to do other things. That becomes the motivation to prioritize it.
I wrote the top ones in my calendar for June so I would actually do them
That’s the perfect way to approach it!