14 Summer Bucket List Ideas + Essentials for Mom & Dad

Congratulations! You made it through another long school year!!! No more late night homework help and early morning carpool drop-off. Now that the kids are out of school, it’s time for the entire family to relax, take a break, and enjoy summer! Get the most out of your summer with these fun summer essentials, perfect for mom and dad.

We received a variety of samples in exchange for this post. All opinions are our own. 

Summer Bucket List for Mom & Dad

1. Play a Game Together

Summer time fun always seems to be focused on the kids, but what about all the fun you can have with your friends, or as a family? At our next BBQ, you will find us in the backyard playing Bocce Ball with this beautiful heirloom quality set from MainStShop.com. This set will provide years and years of backyard fun and memories. MainStShop.com is a new online retail company featuring beautiful, covetable, and useful products made in the USA.

 

2. Go on an Adventure

Our summer is filled with outing after outing. This summer I am bringing my Urbana Sacs along. Whether it is a stroll through the farmers market or a trip to the beach, my X-Large Carry Sac is coming with me. Individually handmade from washable paper -yes washable paper- Urbana Sacs is a new collection of uniquely designed bags for everyday use. How awesome is it these bags can be washed and used over and over again?  You just dip in water and shape to suit your needs.

3. Save Money This Summer

It is summer time. The kids are home all day, and while it is so much fun to have them around, it sure can expand the grocery budget quickly. That is why I use FLIPP. FLIPP is your essential app for your weekly shopping and the only app that matches local circular deals with coupons from the brands you love to bring you the most savings. You just add loyalty cards from your favorite stores on to your app and then clip coupon deals to your card for instant savings at checkout.  With all the store you shop at most like Walmart, Target, Family Dollar, Walgreens, Kroger, and over 800 more retailers. You can save 20-50% on the items you need every week. Take that money you save and go do something awesome this summer. With FLIPP’s help, you will be able to have twice as much fun. FLIPP is available from iTunes and Google Play.

 

4. Snuggle up with your Sweetie

Take a moment, or sneak one every night if you can, to unwind at the end of the day with someone you love. That could be a spouse, boyfriend, significant other, your kids, or even a niece or nephew. Spending those moments together will help you reconnect and plan to make the most of your remaining summer nights. We love our Collage.com personalized blankets for getting comfy on the couch. They can be personalized with photos of your summer adventures, or your love story.

 

5. Take a Camping Trip

Summer break just doesn’t seem like summer until you take that first camping trip. It’s so nice to get out in the wild and away from technology and just spend time together. Coleman has an innovative new tent to make sleeping much easier, with their Dark Room technology that blocks 98.4% dawn and dusk sunlight – helping the kids to fall asleep easier at night, and not wake up so darn early in the morning! The Carlsbad Fast Pitch 6-person Darkroom Tent is incredibly easy to setup, too.

 

6. Update your Wardrobe

Give your closets a makeover with some fresh pops of bright and vibrant colors. Make sure you tuck all your sweaters and boots away and pull out swimsuits, shorts, and sandals. Marshalls and T.J.Maxx can help you refresh your wardrobe on a budget with the latest trends and lots of accessories to finish off your style. I’m loving the fun teals that are so popular right now!

 

7. Have a Backyard Barbecue

Plan a barbecue and invite over your family and friends. Perhaps even make it an annual tradition that everyone can look forward to. Plan the main entrée and let your guests bring in potluck style sides and drinks to round out the meal to keep your planning and setup simple. When you hit the grill, Debbie Meyer grilling bags can make your clean-up a cinch and prevent cross contamination. They’re great for cooking meat, fish, and veggies. When you’re done cooking, just cut open the bag and toss it – clean-up is done!

 

8. Spend Time Dreaming and Pondering

Don’t get caught up all summer filling up your schedule and staying too busy to focus. Spend some time each day, even if it’s just a few minutes, to just think, ponder, reflect, plan, and dream. That will help you get the most out of your summer break and enjoy the days without them speeding by too quickly. You can stay cool indoors and out with a portable CULER Solo Flash-Evaporative Air Cooler. It can quickly and effectively cool down your space by adding humidity to the air, which helps extract heat from the air as the water droplets evaporate. 

 

9. Make a Fix-it List

Make a short list of 3-5 projects you’d like to cross off your to-do list this summer. They can be as big as a backyard makeover or as small as fixing that broken fixture that has bothered you for months. Post the list somewhere that you will see it daily to help you focus on your goal! Sugru is a really cool tool that can help you with some quick fixes. It’s a mouldable glue that hardens as silicone rubber – meaning you can make virtually any fix you need. Like add a silicone hook in the shower for your loofa or cover a power cable’s exposed wires – the options are endless.

 

10. Catch up on your Shows

Summer TV is always lacking, use it as an opportunity to catch up on your favorite series or to start a new show you’ve been wanting to watch. Summer is the perfect excuse to start up a new show or two for unwinding in the evening. You can store all your shows to have the available to watch wherever you go with Slingbox M2. Being able to watch your cable subscription shows wherever you go from your mobile device or stream the shows to a second TV with a streamer device will help you catch up throughout the summer.

 

11. Take Loads of Photos

Capture and save all those summer memories by taking lots and lots of pictures all summer long. If you are like me you take most of your pictures with your phone. The Ollo Clip gives me options with my trusty phone that is always in my pocket. The Ollo Clip 4-in-1 Lens for iPhone 6/6s & iPhone 6/6s Plus gives you the most versatile mobile lens experience in a compact, easy-to-use design. With four lenses to choose from, (Fisheye, Wide-Angle, Macro 10x & 15x) you can catch all your summer memories with the lens you like most because after all, the best camera is the one you have with you.

 

12. Finally Find Time for You

With all the extra time you’ll have now instead of carpool and homework help, you can spend it exercising, gaming or jammin’ to your favorite tunes. The V-Moda Crossfade Wireless Headphones are sure to produce the best sounds you’ll hear all summer. With their ultimate military-level durability and up to 12 hours of wireless music, they will be able to travel with you. Wherever your summer adventures take you, turn up the tunes with V-Moda’s Crossfade Wireless Headphones.

 

13. Create a Backyard Oasis

We all love lush green lawns and beautiful blooming flowers. Take time this summer to make your green oasis a reality. Whether you’re into gardening or just want to water your grass, the Pocket Hose is a convenient way to get water to your plants. The small, lightweight hose, shrinks to easily store when not in use. This smart king and tangle resistant Pocket Hose can reach up to 75 feet and comes with a spray nozzle, taking care of your yard will be a breeze!

 

14. Spend lots of Time Outdoors

Take advantage of the beautiful summer weather by spending as much time outdoors as you can! Even if that just means the kids playing in the backyard while mom works from a laptop. Reduce the annoying itches of summer by wearing a personal repellent and don’t forget the important step of also protecting the backyard. Terminix AllClear Mosquito Bait & Kill. It’s a totally new non-toxic approach to tackling mosquitoes in the backyard. Just spray Bait & Kill on non-flowering plants. Mosquitoes can’t help but eat the natural plant-sugar bait that is infused with a lethal dose of garlic oil – that is completely safe for people, pets and the environment. Start using it early in the season and watch as 90 percent of the mosquito population is reduced over the next 2-3 weeks. You only have to apply Bait & Kill once every 3-4 weeks or after heavy rains to sustain results.