Mid-Summer Check-Up – 42 Fun Activities to Give Your Vacation a Boost

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So! For all of you that are school-aged and on your summer vacation, we’re partway through! Depending on where you attend school, your summer may actually be just starting. For those of us who have been on break, are you still amped for summer or is the enthusiasm starting to die down? Are you still chock full of ideas or are you finding yourself spending your days vegging on the couch watching awful daytime television? For the people who are just starting their vacation, do you have anything planned or have you only gotten as far as “get a job”, “sleep in” and “ice cream for breakfast”? Here are over 40 ideas to help you get started or keep your summer going strong!

Simple Fun

♥ Have a picnic – fresh fruit is in season! Get some sparkling cider, get some fruit and lay out in the sunshine on a checkered blanket. Cheese, egg sandwiches and the like are purely optional!

♥ Get a bottle of bubbles from a dollar store and make rainbows!

♥ Find a children’s playground and indulge yourself on the swings (& monkey bars could be a great arm workout – just sayin’)

♥ Get some soda pop, bubble gum and a stack of two dollar comic books.

♥ Have a fashion show with some of your closest friends – and document it with photos!

♥ Flirt with someone – same-sex, opposite sex, ten years older, whatever. It’s all good, (somewhat) clean fun.

♥ Get some sexy underwear – I am partial to Frederick’s, personally – and spend some quality alone time with yourself. Bonus points if you indulge in decadent lotion and other forms of self-pampering.

♥ Get a squirt gun – perfect for sudden cool downs or an impromptu water fight

♥ Zone out with a sleep mask and a pair of headphones

♥ Pick a bright, summery color and paint your fingers and toes

Be Creative

♥ Go to your local video store and check out a movie you’ve never seen – maybe in a different language. Watch it and dissect it like a snooty critic.

♥ Make morning smoothies, tailoring a personalized recipe for whatever health issue you may have.

♥ Make a mix CD filled with songs from your childhood – for me, it would be *NSYNC, Destiny’s Child, Spice Girls, Robyn, B*Witched, S Club 7 and the like. Make yourself some childhood snacks (PB&J and Kool-Aid, anyone?) and savor your youth.

♥ Purchase a basket of hanging flowers and work at keeping them flourishing and happy

♥ Take a pair of ill-fitting jeans and turn them into shorts

♥ Check a cookbook or crafting book out of the library and try something out

Get Out

♥ Find the neighborhood swimming pool and take a dip

♥ Take a walk in the park – bonus points if you leave your iPod at home and take in nature’s soundtrack

♥ Practice guerrilla gardening and spruce up your local pavement

♥ Find a museum you’ve never been to, even if you aren’t necessarily interested in the subject. Many of them have discount days!

♥ Look out for the tourist attractions in your very own city – you never know what to do in your own backyard

♥ Stop by a flea market and buy jangly bracelets, gigantic rings and statement necklaces.

♥ Make some lemonade and spread out in a pair of cute underwear under a strong fan

♥ Relax with a tall glass of ice water (with lime or lemon on the side) and a great book

♥ Throw yourself a personal party to celebrate your radiance and fabulousness. Make yourself a card and/or a cake. Get candles too! Maybe even a present!

♥ Gather up some friends, buy a map and get your show on the road

Help Out

♥ Clean out your closet and sell your clothing on Ebay or at the local consignment store. If it doesn’t sell, donate it to the local Goodwill.

♥ Help the elderly with basic chores and learning basic skills.

♥ Offer your services on Craigslist or freelance gigs

♥ Carpool with a friend and save on the gas!

♥ Skip the gym membership and take a run outside – make sure to have the proper sun precautions though!

♥ Volunteer at your local library and help children read

♥ Make a heightened commitment to going green

Learn Something New

♥ Take a short-term class at the local community college and learn a skill

♥ Visit videojug and learn skills like sewing, makeup application, home upkeep and gardening

♥ Learn to do a cartwheel, handstand or a split! (All of those are on my personal list)

♥ Plant some vegetables and foster a greater appreciation for where your foods come from

♥ Take an art class – I took a pottery wheel class and it was incredibly fun

♥ Learn the dance from your favorite music video. (Bad Romance, maybe?)

♥ Make some choices that put you out of your comfort zone, like a zany haircut, a new experience or different food

♥ Learn how to spell your name in a different script

♥ Attend a cultural event for a culture you are at least somewhat unfamiliar with and learn something new

Do you have any ideas? Let me know in the comments.

xoxo,

Tara

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