Road Trip
Nothing against the picnics, bonfires and baseball games (we're all for 'em!), but summer is a time to get adventurous. Kick off your summer vacation by planning a family road trip that follows the same route taken by the Griswolds in the "National Lampoon's Vacation" movies (either the American or European route—your choice!).
Family Ties
Want to officially put those questions to rest over where your family lineage stems from? Work together to trace your family history, which—thanks to online genealogical databases—is easier than ever before. Not only is it a great bonding exercise, chances are you'll be amazed at what you uncover.
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Homemade Lemonade
There's nothing like a tall, cold glass of lemonade to make a summer day go from nice to perfect. But forgo the package of instant lemonade and invent your own "family recipe." Feel free to get creative too, adding in muddled raspberries and blackberries or some sprigs of mint or lavender.
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Clay Day
Roll up your sleeves and get your hands a little (OK, a lot) dirty by taking a family ceramic class. The challenge of mastering the pottery wheel will be memory-making in itself. And who knows, you may even get some pretty jars and vases out of it for the house.
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Ice Cream Batch from Scratch
Continuing with the homemade theme, making your own ice cream seems like the next logical summer treat to master. And believe it or not, according to this Dulce de Leche recipe, it only takes a couple of ingredients and doesn't even require an ice cream maker.
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Hiking Roulette
Make a list of all of the local hiking trails in your area and randomly select one each weekend to tackle. Have each family member trade off picking a trail each week or put all of the options on pieces of paper and draw from a hat.
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Pizza Night
Since you can order a pizza any ol' time during a hectic school night, summer is the perfect opportunity to test out making it from scratch. Either make individual-sized pizzas so that each family member can top with the fixings of their choice, or apply a group effort to a full-size pie. Serve alongside your homemade lemonade.
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Tour Guide
If you know you haven't been taking advantage of the many tourism options your state or nearest city has to offer, here's a fun activity. Check out a tour book from the library and do the first activity that appears when you flip open to a random page.
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Family Portrait
You might feel so inspired by your ceramic class that you'll want to keep the creative streak going. If so, have a family painting session at home where each family member does a family portrait or creates a picture that captures a favorite family memory. Turn the pictures into canvases for your walls or into postage stamps using one of the custom-postage sites recommended by USPS.
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Foodie Fun
For Food Network fans, there's no shortage of shows that highlight unique restaurants all across the country. Look up an episode from "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" or another show that's made a stop in your closest city. Plan a family outing to try out the restaurant and decide whether you'll watch the episode beforehand or after (in case you want to have an unbiased opinion going into the meal).
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Camp Local
There's nothing like a rainy day or night to put a damper in your camping plans. On the other hand, you could take it as an opportunity to transform your living room into an indoor campground. If you don't have a tent, make your own version with blankets. Tell ghost stories with flashlights and roast s'mores over the stove.
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Outdoor Movie
Skip the movies in favor of lying under the stars during a backyard family movie night. You can easily rent a projector and screen (or make your own screen using bed sheets or a white shower curtain). Pop some popcorn and invite other families in the neighborhood to join in the fun.
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