How do you plan to have a happy summer?? It’s officially here! The weather in North Carolina is sticky. The sun doesn’t go down until 9PM after poking its head up, and waking all the animals on my farm, at 6AM. If you have small children, school is out and that terrifying because now you need something to do with the kiddos! If you don’t have small children, school is out and traffic is so much lighter! Either way, this is the time of year when we can get out and do things that we didn’t want to do in the cold, dark days of winter. Don’t shy away from the opportunity to make new experiences and try new things with or without friends and family. Here are a few tips that I’ve put together to have a Happy Summer!

Go on Vacation! I know how hard this is. I used to work summer school just to afford a week at the beach when my husband at the time would insist we could afford it or he couldn’t take off work. I am the type of person that can only work so hard if I have some type of break to look forward to. Vacation was a non-negotiable. Whether you spend a weekend in the mountains camping in the national park campgrounds, which can be as cheap as $20 per night, or you take a giant trip to Europe for an entire week, which is what we chose this year to share that experience with our newly-graduated and newly-almost-adult daughter, you NEED to experience travel, the world, other people, other things. I believe it is the human condition.

Plan Once a Week Adventures! If you work a traditional schedule and get only weekends off, that’s fine. Plan something exciting on those weekends. If you don’t take advantage of the less busy days of the week and explore something new. This should be local and easy. In the Charlotte area there are tons of events every weekend. You can search social media posts to find them. Take a look at Facebook’s Events section for everything from national and publicized events to small and local things. This adventure doesn’t have to be something big. Maybe just a day at a park. Maybe a day trip. Maybe even get the family and/or friends involved. Let everyone pick a different thing on a different week. Or draw an activity out of a jar filled with all the activities you want to experience this summer.

Do Something Different! This is a great time of year to experience new stuff. When looking for weekly, or even daily activities, look for things that may be a little different sometimes than what you usually do. You don’t have to go to the pool every day. If you need a break from the heat and sun, there are plenty of indoor activities to do. Some of my favorites when the kiddos were little were story times at the library! We would join the Summer Reading Challenge (which they also have for teens and adults), then plan our week around events offered at the different public libraries so we could have an activity and pick out some book for the reading challenge at the same time. Now I enjoy doing the same thing with the indie bookstores around me!

Don’t Break the Bank! This is NOT an invitation to go into debt. I am not a fan of credit cards or spending money in general. So when I tell you that you can have a Happy Summer on a shoestring budget, know that I am speaking from experience! I have put together a calendar that shows in the month of July places where you can get deals, go for free, feed your kids, and feel like you’ve saved a little bit of money.

Mix It Up! Don’t do the same thing every week. I am the biggest victim of that. I find something I like, like free yoga at the Whitewater Center on Thursday night, and I stick to it. But they offer free yoga every day, so why be the victim of habit? There are tons of other things to do and see on a Thursday. I’ve created a Summer Bucket List for you check off to add a little variety to your Happy Summer! See if you can get them all checked off!

Whatever you choose to do this summer, make it memorable! The summer is not just a time for kids to make memories. It’s a chance for all of us to have a little extra fun. Take advantage of the longer days, warmer weather, or just the plethora of new and exciting things to do. The monotony of all the normal routine will come back in the fall and winter, but for now let’s just enjoy doing, thinking, moving, and going out of the box!

Got any other ideas?? I would love to hear your plans of the summer (so that I might borrow them)! Let me know in the comments or shoot me a message with any ways you plan to do something different this summer.