End of Summer Activities For the Family
The final days of summer always seem to fly by in a blur. Between school supply shopping, sports practices ramping up, and the looming shift back into early mornings and tighter schedules, it’s easy to let these last days of summer slip away without notice. But mama, this is a golden opportunity, so dig in because this post is full of end of summer fun for the family activities!
As the season winds down, you can be intentional about creating moments that leave your children’s hearts full and your family’s memories rich. These don’t have to be big, expensive, or complicated—just purposeful. Let’s soak up the sunshine, laughter, and connection before the school bell rings again.
This can be the start of a new tradition for your family! You can check out the importance of traditions in my post 6 Steps To Making Home.
And if school has already started, make it a kick-off-the-school-year celebration! A kick-off-the-school-year celebration is just as fun!
Get your complete list in PDF form [HERE]
Attitude Check
Before we dive into these memory-making activities, let me give you a little encouragement: don’t let a negative attitude derail your plans. If your child starts to complain or insists they don’t want to join in, lovingly but firmly keep moving forward. More often than not, they’ll end up enjoying themselves—sometimes they just need a little nudge.
You are the parent, and part of leading well is knowing when to gently push past resistance. If we let our kids skip out every time they weren’t “in the mood,” we’d miss out on so many wonderful moments… and so would they. Trust me, they’ll thank you later.
Here’s a list of fun, memory-making end of summer activities for you to soak up those last sweet days of summer before fall routines and schedules hit.
Your List of End of Summer Activities
1. Backyard Picnic at Sunset
The days are progressively getting shorter. How about a sunset picnic in your own backyard? Spread out blankets, make a simple charcuterie, grill hot dogs and corn on the cob, or make homemade pizza, and watch the sun go down together.
You have everything you need right in your own home. Oh, and this activity is basically free!
2. Summer Ice Cream Tour
Pick a few local ice cream shops and taste-test your way through town. Vote on your favorite flavors, your favorite ice cream, and your favorite location. What an awesome end to the summer tour.
3. Movie Night Under the Stars
Hang a sheet, use a projector, and let the kids pick the movie. Pop popcorn with lots of butter. Buy glow sticks or glow necklaces from Amazon and have fun with it. Be sure to get the bug repellent or mintronella sticks, or tiki torches with citronella liquid. Grab beach chairs, pillows, and blankets.
If you are lucky enough to have a Drive-In Theatre in your town or in a town close by, pile the blankets and pillows in your car, and set out for a memorable night at the movies. This is one of my favorite memories from my childhood.
Believe it or not, my mom took me and my siblings to see Jaws when I was 12. I have never liked scary movies, and this one, well this was the scariest to me.
I thought long and hard about entering the ocean again after this experience. But my brothers loved it!! I digress though, and encourage you to take your children to a fun, not-so-scary movie for the whole family.
We love movie nights in our family, and if you are looking for a good backyard movie, here is a list of our Favorite Family Movies for you to pick from.
4. Day at the Lake (or Pool)
One last splash! Bring floats, a picnic lunch, and leave the phone in the bag. Stay late at the pool and have Dad join you for a fun dinner from the snack shop, or even better, have him bring a pizza. Maybe even invite another family to join you!
5. Family Game Night Outdoors
There are a plethora of outdoor yard games available now! Cornhole, Giant Jenga, Bacce, Kick the Can, Badmitten, or flashlight tag to name a few. Include a few prizes for the winners.
If possible, have your fire pit going, get the fixings for S’mores, hang by the fire, and talk about what your favorite moments of the summer. If you don’t have a fire pit, buy a portable S’mores maker
This is a great opportunity to teach about winning and losing. In my post, The Two Best Family Nights At Home you can explore deeper about teaching your children how to win and lose well. Let me share a little clip from that post here about the purpose of games:
“It’s not just about fun (even though that is important too). Game night provides a great opportunity to do the following:
- Teach good sportsmanship
- Teach how to lose and how to handle disappointment
- Teach how to be a humble winner
- Teach how to encourage and cheer siblings on
- Teach how to reconcile after a disagreement
“Game nights are not just for fun, but for training, teaching, and learning. Don’t have a family game or movie night just for the sake of it. Be intentional in using it to train and teach your children to become better humans. This is, after all, your most important job in life.“
Being intentional about using fun activities to train and teach your children is just one small part of my Intentional Motherhood & Home Course.
6. Go on a Minigolf Outing
Pick a local course and have fun with it. Have a competition together. Instead of an individual competition, create teams. Mom and Dad versus kids. Boys versus girls. Have everyone pick a partner if you have an even number in your family, or you pick the pairs.
Winning and losing are simply part of life—and both have valuable lessons to teach. Don’t shield your children from the sting of loss; it’s just as important for them to learn how to handle defeat as it is to celebrate a win. A gracious winner is thankful, humble, and never uses their victory to make someone else feel small.
7. Go to a local summer concert or Triple-A baseball game.
Here in the Lehigh Valley we have the Iron Pigs minor league baseball team, but I bet you have one near you, too.
The games are inexpensive, and they are so much fun, especially for families. Check out your local Facebook Group or Chamber of Commerce for activities in your area, including outdoor concerts.
8. Day trip to a lake or the shore (or beach if you aren’t from my area).
In the Philadelphia/Allentown/New Jersey area, we call the beach “the shore”. For me, it is a 2 hour and 15 minute drive to sit on the beach for the day.
Be spontaneous and enjoy the fun! Go paddleboarding or canoeing on a local lake. Pack a picnic and make a day of it!
9. Family bike trip.
Find a local trail and go explore and have fun. There are so many bike trails throughout our great country. Towns everywhere are investing in bike paths. Gather the family and enjoy the ride!
10. Have an overnight campout in your backyard.
This is so fun. Buy an inexpensive tent if you don’t have one or if you are not into camping, borrow one! This is also a great activity for dad to do with the kids. Mom can have the night off and enjoy the house to herself!
On another note, according to a study by KOA, 93% of family campers agreed that camping strengthens family relationships.
Camping offers more than just fresh air and adventure—it opens space for real connection. It removes distractions and invites intentional quality time together, fostering deeper communication, emotional closeness, trust, and shared memories.
For all of these days, make an effort to put the phones away! Give your full and undivided attention and stress the importance of family time without phones.
If you have teens with phones, have them leave their phones behind or put them away. Prepare them ahead of time so they know what to expect. Don’t just spring it on them. Give them time to prepare their hearts for a no phone activity 😘
Let’s Wrap It Up
That’s a wrap, mama! 🎉 Whether your kiddos are already back in school or still savoring the last days of summer, these ideas work anytime. Maybe you flip the script and make it a kick-off-the-school-year celebration! Pick one activity, make some memories, and remind your kids that special moments don’t have to wait for summer break. 💛
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