i'm determined to not hate summer this year
here are my tips and tricks and ideas (more than 50 of them) for making this season fun and enjoyable even if i'm sweating!!!
i, rachel anne dawson, am not a summer lover. it’s my least favorite season (by FAR) and i usually dread it every year. it brings impossibly hot and humid weather that makes me sweaty and creates the frizziest hair, the days are so long and i feel pressure to make them FUN and FULL and FANCY-FREE, there’s so much going on and it overwhelms my introverted self, and did i mention it’s hot and gross and sweaty???
this year, though, i’m trying to make this a time i actually ENJOY. i don’t want to spend all summer being grumpy and miserable. i’m setting myself up for success the best i can, with a bucket list of things that i am looking forward to, want to do, like doing, and have on my calendar for the next few months, and i think it’s going to help!
here are a few of my best resources for making the most of summer:
☀️a summer bucket list!
here’s the bucket list i made for myself this summer:
but i also made one for you to print and fill out yourself! click the image here and you’ll get the PDF.
⛱️ here are 50 ideas for your bucket list:
watch the popcast livestream on june 22
ps — the popcast shared their own bucket list with 20 pop culture things and it’s a FUN list!
try a new art form (air dry clay! pastels! bracelet making! finger painting! macrame!)
touch a body of water
get ice cream at a shop, and get it in a cone!
read a book more than 500 pages long
or read a book less than 200 pages long
watch shark week!!! (it starts july 7!)
pay it forward at your favorite coffeeshop
go on a long walk somewhere you’ve never been before
make a summer 2k24 playlist (and/or add your songs of the summer to the collaborative one i started for us all!)
go to a drive-in movie theatre
see a live sporting event
hear live music/go to a concert
get yourself flowers at the farmers market
try a new kind of produce from the market
visit a library location near you that you’ve never been to
financially support a cause you care about
buy a magazine to read outside
take a roadtrip, even if just for the day
do something on vacation (or even in your own town) that doesn’t require money
watch a movie you loved as a kid
have a journaling afternoon (
has great ideas here!)try a new perfume
get a new cookbook from the library to try recipes from
buy a fun new beach towel
make a non-lettucey salad (pasta salad! potato salad! candy salad!)
watch one of these euro summer movies
refresh a space in your home (move art around! switch up the decor! add a plant!)
check out children’s books from the library (even if you don’t have kids)
play a board game
play mini golf
cover a sidewalk with chalk art
buy fun new sunglasses
try a fruit or herb infused water
read an older book from an author you love
or read everything an author has ever written
take pictures on a disposable camera and get them developed
make homemade popsicles
hang out in a hammock
visit an art museum
send snail mail to a friend or family member
see a movie by yourself at the theater
put your phone on downtime/turn it off for a day
take a nap outside
📚a rad summer reading guide
you’re shocked, i know! 😉 but truly, i’m (clearly) motivated by lists and guides and things i can check off to feel accomplished, so the bingo game that’s part of the guide this year is keeping me inspired to read even more than usual!
click this photo to download your guide:
(ps— the bingo template is saved on my ig highlights!)
okay, friends, we can do this! we can enjoy summer!
cheers to making the most of this season, xo, rad
As a fellow summer hater and list lover- I love this so much!! Off to make my own! 🏃🏻♀️ thank you for the inspiration 🫶🏼