Is it just me, or does August always go twice as fast as July? One minute the holidays stretch out ahead of you like an endless golden afternoon, the next the shops are full of school shoes and you’re wondering where it all went.

When my boys were growing up, we found a way to do something about that end of summer feeling. Instead of letting the last weeks drift by in a blur of “what shall we do today?”, we would sit down together and make a family summer bucket list. Everyone picked their favourites, it went up on the fridge, and every tick felt like a little celebration.

These days I get to do it all over again with my grandchildren, and honestly, it might be even better the second time round. It looks a little different now, as they’re both still tiny and a good while off school, but that turns out to be part of the magic: our list is full of adventures, and we don’t have to wait for the holidays to tick them off.

The best part? Almost everything on our lists, then and now, has been completely free. And if you’d like to make your own, I’ve made you a printable to fill in together, which you can download further down.

Why a bucket list works

There’s something about writing things down that turns an ordinary plan into an event. “We might go to the beach at some point” becomes “beach sunset picnic: TICK”. The children love choosing their own ideas, it gives everyone something to look forward to, and at the end of the holidays you have a lovely record of everything you did rather than a vague feeling that it all went too quickly.

It also takes the pressure off. You don’t need a big day out or an expensive ticket to make a memory. Some of our favourite ticks over the years have cost absolutely nothing.

And whether you’re a parent deep in the summer holidays or, like me, a grandparent with little ones who aren’t at school yet, the list works just the same. In fact, with pre-schoolers you get a head start: every week is a holiday week, so there’s no rush to squeeze it all in.

There’s a lovely bonus waiting in September too. When they go back to school and the classic “what did you do this summer?” question comes up, the answer is easy: it’s all there on the list. And if their friends have been on grand holidays, it really doesn’t matter. Theirs was just as much fun, and they can reel off everything they ticked: the campout, the sunset picnic, the blackberry baking, the home cinema night…

How to make yours

Pick a moment when everyone’s together and in good spirits (ours always seemed to happen over pancakes). Let each person add their own ideas, big or small, and don’t veto anything too quickly. A mix works best: a few adventures, a few cosy at-home ones, and a few that only take half an hour. Then put the list somewhere everyone can see it and start ticking.

With very little ones, you’ll be the one holding the pen, but they can still choose. I say two ideas out loud, watch which one gets the biggest reaction, and that’s the one that goes on the list. They may not be able to read it yet, but they certainly know what a big tick and a cheer mean.

If you need a little inspiration, here are some of ours.

Ideas to steal for your list

Out and about

• Watch the sunset from your favourite beach or hilltop
• Go blackberry picking along the hedgerows (late August is perfect)
• Follow a stream and see where it goes
• Have breakfast outdoors somewhere new
• Do one last rockpool ramble at low tide

At home and in the garden

• One more garden campout (or a den night in the living room)
• Home cinema night with tickets the children make themselves
• Bake something with the blackberries you picked
• Make a summer memory jar: tickets, shells, notes about the best days
• Sleep with the curtains open and wake up with the sun

Little moments

• An ice cream on the way home for no reason at all
• Let the children plan a whole morning (brave, I know)
• Take the same family photo you took at the start of the holidays and see how everyone’s grown
• Write a letter to yourselves to open next summer

Treats on the house

• A family meal out paid for with your Tesco Clubcard vouchers
• A day at an attraction funded by your Nectar card points
• Any other loyalty points you’ve been quietly collecting all year: this is what they’re for

For the very smallest (tried and tested with my grandchildren)

• Splash in the paddling pool, or a washing-up bowl on the grass, which goes down just as well
• Feed the ducks and stay to watch them land on the water
• A picnic on a blanket in the garden, even if it’s just toast
• Collect “treasures” on a slow walk: a leaf, a feather, a smooth stone
• A story under a tree instead of on the sofa

Download your free Summer Bucket List printable

To make it easy, I’ve created a free printable Summer Bucket List in the same hand-painted style as our Summer Scavenger Hunt. One side has some ready-made ideas to tick off, and the other has space to write your own. Print it, stick it on the fridge, and see how many you can do before the school run returns.

Download the Summer Bucket List printable here

If your family gives it a go, I’d love to see your list. Tag @my_jones_life or drop me a message, and do share your best ideas because we’re always looking for new ones.

Here’s to squeezing every last drop out of the summer.

A quick note: the illustrations in this post were created by me using AI.

Life is a journey… treasure it.

Tamsin x