Our favorite low cost summer activities include our local art museums, strawberry picking (maybe not technically "low cost" given how much fruit we usually come home with! But it keeps us in jam and frozen berries for the year), and outfield seats at our minor league baseball team. We also prioritize going to different parks and natural areas that we've never visited before, particularly ones that are just a little farther than we're willing to drive at busier times. Oh, and we always host a block party for National Night to Unite in August. Some people go all out for those but we provide water, pop, and Popsicles and hand out bubbles and sidewalk chalk and that's really all it takes!
Those all sound like so much fun! I love berry-picking and making jam! Often we will get peach "seconds" at a local orchard for jam because it's less expensive that way. And a lot of the time you can find berries for free in somebody's bramble!
Me + 3 kids picked 30 lbs of strawberries today! This is officially no longer a low cost activity! Please send help, or copious amounts of sugar and jars . . . (I am also freezing lots, and made a Father's Day pie, but still!)
Well, depends on what you are comparing it too...maybe it's not low-cost compared to buying jams full of corn syrup, but compared to Bonne Maman or even other real-sugar jams, it's still cheap!!
Lovely ideas! One low cost summer idea for my four year old is teaching him how to read with a workbook that came very highly recommended from a bunch of parents. Only 15ish bucks! And the other (post partum) will be exploring all the trails that are within 10 or so minutes of our home that we keep passing but not actually going to. I also like to keep an eye out for book sales in the summer-a lot of libraries will have them and it’s a fun family activity with good bang for your buck!
great essay!! I've never been a particular fan of summer living in the hot south, but this year I'm making an intentional effort to look forward to and appreciate every little thing about the season and it has totally changed the way I feel. I made a list of good summer things - popsicles! reading by the pool! cookouts with friends! I even made a little pinterest board of inspiration photos - recipes to make, outfits to style, etc. silly and small things but it has made a difference :)
Those little things make all the difference. The heat is hard to bear without ice cream :) But with those little things to look forward to and get excited about, it's easier to just say "oh, well" about the heat and the bugs and get on with it.
A great list! I especially love the abundance of anything idea…. (Except zucchini, haha!) Thinking this one through for our family. Thanks for all the inspiration you sow out into the world, Dixie.
We have a truly beautiful summer piece by Hadden Turner coming out today at Hearth & Field that talks in part about this kind of sharing. Hadden's descriptive abilities put my own to shame! I think you would enjoy it: https://hearthandfield.com/abundance-and-burdens-the-colors-of-summer/
I always appreciate it when you remind us all that we can just do things, without being paralysed by perfectionism! I feel like it was more natural before internet comparisons took over the world.
Ooh, good point, Kerri. The internet comparison makes keeping up with the Joneses much harder, because we're actually keeping up with the airbrushed, secretly-wealthy, and-who-knows-what-else Joneses instead of our actually neighbors, whom at least we sometimes overhear fighting or something!
Yes! And I think the exposure is a kind of double-edged sword, in that the internet makes it possible for me to want to try something I may have never been exposed to before (making kimchi comes to mind), but at the same time, it can make it seem like unless you do it in an airbrushed way, you're failing.
Case in point: I just brought home a grocery pickup haul. We've been sick for several days so I got a bunch of packaged snacks (which I don't usually buy unless for a special occasion) so that the kids will be able to eat without me doing much prep over the next couple of days.
The kids: "You bought ANIMAL CRACKERS? WHY did you buy ANIMAL CRACKERS?!! You NEVER buy animal crackers...WHEN can we EAT the animal crackers???"
I really had a day— too many feelings, sick kid, little sleep — the works. But after dinner the baby and I took a ramble around the property, stopped in to check on the chickens and watched the dogs be silly and then walked down the driveway to look for more blackberries. It was a beautiful evening and not too hot or buggy, and 45 minutes later all was right in the world for a bit.
My other go-to has been porch sitting with the cranky child as we wait for daddy to get home (summer has often meant very long work days for him). Our last house was gloriously shady in the front, so we’d just sit on the step and let the other kids run in the median or draw in the driveway with chalk or race across the yard. I don’t know how many hours we’ve spent that way, but I need it as much as the cranky babies.
I definitely need it as much as the cranky kid, too. Everything changes with a seat in the shade or a little walk around the yard/property. Absolutely right, Annelise.
Watching the kids splash in the kiddie pool in the back yard and throw the reusable water balloons around (made from crocheted yarn, a great investment from Etsy! They are on their 3rd summer now)
Yes, the reusable water balloons were a total game changer! No more parent required to fill up dozens of balloons that collectively last 5 minutes, and no more tiny bits of plastic all over the yard. WIN.
Our favorite low cost summer activities include our local art museums, strawberry picking (maybe not technically "low cost" given how much fruit we usually come home with! But it keeps us in jam and frozen berries for the year), and outfield seats at our minor league baseball team. We also prioritize going to different parks and natural areas that we've never visited before, particularly ones that are just a little farther than we're willing to drive at busier times. Oh, and we always host a block party for National Night to Unite in August. Some people go all out for those but we provide water, pop, and Popsicles and hand out bubbles and sidewalk chalk and that's really all it takes!
Those all sound like so much fun! I love berry-picking and making jam! Often we will get peach "seconds" at a local orchard for jam because it's less expensive that way. And a lot of the time you can find berries for free in somebody's bramble!
Me + 3 kids picked 30 lbs of strawberries today! This is officially no longer a low cost activity! Please send help, or copious amounts of sugar and jars . . . (I am also freezing lots, and made a Father's Day pie, but still!)
Hahaha!
Well, depends on what you are comparing it too...maybe it's not low-cost compared to buying jams full of corn syrup, but compared to Bonne Maman or even other real-sugar jams, it's still cheap!!
Keep up the good work and the pie!
Lovely ideas! One low cost summer idea for my four year old is teaching him how to read with a workbook that came very highly recommended from a bunch of parents. Only 15ish bucks! And the other (post partum) will be exploring all the trails that are within 10 or so minutes of our home that we keep passing but not actually going to. I also like to keep an eye out for book sales in the summer-a lot of libraries will have them and it’s a fun family activity with good bang for your buck!
I love little trails like that. Such fun just to explore!
great essay!! I've never been a particular fan of summer living in the hot south, but this year I'm making an intentional effort to look forward to and appreciate every little thing about the season and it has totally changed the way I feel. I made a list of good summer things - popsicles! reading by the pool! cookouts with friends! I even made a little pinterest board of inspiration photos - recipes to make, outfits to style, etc. silly and small things but it has made a difference :)
Those little things make all the difference. The heat is hard to bear without ice cream :) But with those little things to look forward to and get excited about, it's easier to just say "oh, well" about the heat and the bugs and get on with it.
A great list! I especially love the abundance of anything idea…. (Except zucchini, haha!) Thinking this one through for our family. Thanks for all the inspiration you sow out into the world, Dixie.
Oh, you're so kind, Mackenzie!
We have a truly beautiful summer piece by Hadden Turner coming out today at Hearth & Field that talks in part about this kind of sharing. Hadden's descriptive abilities put my own to shame! I think you would enjoy it: https://hearthandfield.com/abundance-and-burdens-the-colors-of-summer/
I always appreciate it when you remind us all that we can just do things, without being paralysed by perfectionism! I feel like it was more natural before internet comparisons took over the world.
Ooh, good point, Kerri. The internet comparison makes keeping up with the Joneses much harder, because we're actually keeping up with the airbrushed, secretly-wealthy, and-who-knows-what-else Joneses instead of our actually neighbors, whom at least we sometimes overhear fighting or something!
And thanks!
Yes! And I think the exposure is a kind of double-edged sword, in that the internet makes it possible for me to want to try something I may have never been exposed to before (making kimchi comes to mind), but at the same time, it can make it seem like unless you do it in an airbrushed way, you're failing.
SOURDOUGH!!
Ahem.
Amen! :)
Okay, #10 was like a drink of cold water. Thank you for the nudge to live a little and enjoy the little bits of fun waiting to be had.
Case in point: I just brought home a grocery pickup haul. We've been sick for several days so I got a bunch of packaged snacks (which I don't usually buy unless for a special occasion) so that the kids will be able to eat without me doing much prep over the next couple of days.
The kids: "You bought ANIMAL CRACKERS? WHY did you buy ANIMAL CRACKERS?!! You NEVER buy animal crackers...WHEN can we EAT the animal crackers???"
The glee. The disbelief! It's fun.
I really had a day— too many feelings, sick kid, little sleep — the works. But after dinner the baby and I took a ramble around the property, stopped in to check on the chickens and watched the dogs be silly and then walked down the driveway to look for more blackberries. It was a beautiful evening and not too hot or buggy, and 45 minutes later all was right in the world for a bit.
My other go-to has been porch sitting with the cranky child as we wait for daddy to get home (summer has often meant very long work days for him). Our last house was gloriously shady in the front, so we’d just sit on the step and let the other kids run in the median or draw in the driveway with chalk or race across the yard. I don’t know how many hours we’ve spent that way, but I need it as much as the cranky babies.
I definitely need it as much as the cranky kid, too. Everything changes with a seat in the shade or a little walk around the yard/property. Absolutely right, Annelise.
And I hope the sickness clears soon!
P.S. You guys should plant some trees to shade the front of your new house!
In the summer, I love
Catching lightning bugs (fireflies)
Watching the kids splash in the kiddie pool in the back yard and throw the reusable water balloons around (made from crocheted yarn, a great investment from Etsy! They are on their 3rd summer now)
Sitting in the sun and feeling it on my skin
Picking wildflowers to decorate my table
Going barefoot
Cloud watching
Brooklynn, we are kindred spirits!
We have a lot of fireflies on our property and the little woods behind us look like a fairyland on summer evenings. Unbeatable.
(And reusable water balloons? What? Must find now!)
Yes, the reusable water balloons were a total game changer! No more parent required to fill up dozens of balloons that collectively last 5 minutes, and no more tiny bits of plastic all over the yard. WIN.