Outside Activities for your Summer Holiday

Worrying about how to keep the kids entertained this summer? Want to make the most of the good weather (fingers crossed) and get the kids outside? I’ve got you covered, here’s a list of 42 ideas to get you started. Pick from the activities below for those days when you need a bit more to do or you need days out to look forward to. Choose from low prep to high prep activities, whichever fits in with your family life the best, there’s something for everyone.

1. Fossil hunting on the beach.
2. Go on a nature hunt, search for wildlife, flowers, trees or minibeasts.
3. Go pond dipping.
4. Go rock pooling.
5. Take a visit to the park.
6. Take a trip to the seaside and plan some new beach day activities to try.
7. Visit a National Trust property and grounds.
8. Go for a bike, scooter or skate ride.
9. Visit a local beauty spot and have a picnic.
10. Go for a walk and explore a new area of beauty.
11. Go for a boat ride on the river.
12. Visit a wildlife centre.
13. Visit a farm.
14. Go to the zoo.
15. Paint a rock or write a positive message and place it in the local area for someone else to find.
16. Try geocaching and find the hidden treasure.
17. Fly a kite.
18. Have a barbecue.
19. Plant some seeds and keep a video or photo diary of the changes as it grows.
20. Go to the garden centre and choose some plants for your children to look after in their own pot.

21. Stage a garden Olympics with different challenges, such as hula hooping or skipping races for the children to do.
22. Build a den.
23. Climb a tree.
24. Paint a mural on a large piece of card or plywood.
25. Colour in the fence with chalk, use different colours and create patterns and pictures.
26. Stage photoshoots for favourite toys in different locations.
27. Create different outfits and have a fashion show in the garden.
28. Practise and master a new skill, for example, riding a bike or doing a trick on a scooter.
29. Take clipboards, paper and pencils outside and make observational drawings of the different things that you see.
30. Use chalks and draw around your shadows.
31. Create a chalk activity path using moves such as hopping, jumping, skipping or hopscotch.
32. Take the children’s favourite books outside and make a cosy corner, with a tent, blankets and cushions to settle down on and read.
33. Roast marshmallows on the barbecue or fire pit.
34. Using a large white sheet and a projector create an outside cinema and watch a movie in the garden.
35. Make perfume using flower petals picked from the garden and water.
36. Play traditional playground games like hopscotch, skipping with a big skipping rope or french skipping.
37. Get the garden games out to play such as croquet or garden bowls.
38. Make potions or mud pie using natural ingredients found in the garden.
39. Freeze some small toys in water and bring them out on a hot day. How can we free the toys from the ice? Get your children to try different things out.
40. Have a water fight.
41. Go for a car ride and have a picnic in the car, looking out onto some nice views. Have blankets and cushions in the car for extra comfort.
42. Finally, ask your children for ideas, what do they want to do this summer? You might find they have very different ideas to you. Put their ideas on post-it notes and put them up on a wall. When boredom strikes, pick a post-it note!

Why not create your own bucket list of summer activities? Create a handy go-to list of activities full of ideas for ways to spend those long summer days, or try The Heaton Family’s summer bucket list printable for ready-made activities to tick off. If you’re looking forward to autumn already why not give the autumn printables a try too. It’s jam-packed full of activities for the season and includes an autumn scavenger hunt too.

Whatever you decide to do enjoy the time and most importantly remember, you don’t need to have an activity planned every day. Children benefit from time to explore their own interests and being bored lets them flex their creativity. Happy holidays everyone!