The story below is from our July/August 2025 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!
There are plenty of free or inexpensive ways to enjoy the summer without ever leaving your comfort zone.
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There’s something magical about summer — whether it’s the longer days that make it easier to linger over dinner and drinks in the late evening light or simply the holdover joy from school vacation in our childhood, summer is a season that just, as the kids say, hits different.
Which is maybe why it can feel like such a disappointment when you find yourself doing the same routine mid-July as the rest of the year. And watching co-workers and friends post colorful travel pics and growing steadily more tan while your days seem identical to any given Tuesday in March can be a bummer. Worse still when someone asks “So, any big summer plans?”
For many of us, there are going to be some summers when we don’t have anything notable going on. But just because your season is low key doesn’t mean it has to feel like a let down. The bounty of summer is often in the little things — like a fresh, in-season peach or the burst of dahlias at the end of a driveway — that can add joy to even your most ordinary days. If you’re facing the summer months with no big plans, here are some ideas for how to capture the spirit of this season’s magic.
Have a Staycation — Every Weekend
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Summer vacations aren’t always on the cards. Use these simple ideas as inspiration to amp up your time at home this season, so that you can enjoy that summer vacay feeling every day — even if it’s just on your lunch hour.
Go all in on beach reads. Load up on the juiciest romances or riveting thrillers and mysteries at the library. Read them on a towel while you lie in the sun and drink lemonade. Try audiobooks through the free library app Libby so you can enjoy vacation-vibe stories in the car, doing chores or on a walk.
Make a list of the all-time top summer blockbusters streaming online and turn any night into a movie night. Or, spend a rainy day marathoning an action trilogy or comparing an original to its remakes. Make popcorn, invite friends and heckle.
Dress like you’re on vacation: Wear your caftan, summer sandals, straw hat, fabulous sunnies and go to the farmers market. Have dinner on your porch in a halter dress you haven’t worn since that trip to Mexico in 2017.
Play music in the background. Choose a favorite playlist that reminds you of your favorite destination or a past trip. Try new music; try old classics. Try bossanova or ’60s European pop. Dance whenever you want.
Make a weekend menu of your favorite things, and eat everything on a tray in bed. Or make a picnic on the floor. Use your fancy glassware, nice plates and cloth napkins.
Light candles every night.
Give yourself a spa day: Give yourself the works with self-massage, face masks or manicures and pedicures. Have a long bubble bath in candlelight. Wear a robe all day. Put cucumber slices in your water.
Camp in your backyard. Make a fire, and roast hot dogs and s’mores. Watch the fireflies and the stars come out. Enjoy your indoor bathroom.
Summer Feasting
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Summer brings us a bounty of colorful produce of flavors at their peak. Enjoying them doesn’t necessarily require a recipe book and an expensive grocery haul. Here are my favorite ways to treat myself to summer’s harvest that are low effort and low cost:
Make specialty ice cubes to turn any of your daily beverages into beautiful treats. Use sliced fruit and edible flowers for a colorful addition to water or seltzers or try freezing coffee to cool off your morning java without watering it down.
Berries are at their cheapest during this season so you might stock up on more than you can eat before they start to turn. Either store them in freezer bags for future use or toss them in a mix of oil, balsamic and maple syrup and roast at 375 for 40 minutes or until they are jammy. Store in an airtight container in your fridge and use as a jam or topping for your ice cream or yogurt.
Extra tomatoes call for an easy tomato pie. Snag a store-bought pie crust or puff pastry, brush on a mix of whatever mayo/mustard/olive oil you prefer, layer in the tomatoes and sprinkle with salt. Bake according to the package and enjoy!
Make panzanella with stale baguettes. Cut cucumbers, tomatoes, onions and bread into similarly sized pieces, add some fresh basil and toss with oil, vinegar, salt and pepper.
Quick pickle all of your leftover onions, carrots and other veggie scraps by boiling 1:1 ratio of water and vinegars of your choice (I mix half white and half apple cider), a bit of sweetener of your choosing (honey, maple syrup or just regular sugar works, try a tablespoon per cup of liquid) and a dash of salt. Add peppercorns if you like spice. Load your sliced veggies into a clean jar, pour the liquid mixture over it, seal it and stick in the fridge. These are great on all sandwiches, salads, tacos or straight from the jar! Safe to eat after half an hour and last for a week or so in the fridge.
Dress up avocados with Everything Bagel seasoning, sliced radishes, boiled eggs or those pickled veggies you now keep in your fridge.
Experiment with adding flair to your dishes. Chop any fresh herbs and toss them on everything. Add flaky salt. Drizzle good olive oil. Crack pepper. Grate hard cheese, zest a citrus and then squeeze the juice on top for extra zing.
Chop up berries, peaches or nectarines, crumble some feta or Parmesan shavings and toast some nuts or seeds for a trio of flavor that works well in almost any salad.
Gatherings
Anything can be a party in the summer with the right attitude! Try these themes and ideas to turn any hangout into a fiesta.
Splash party! Whether you have kids or you just want to capture the nostalgia of your own childhood, nothing beats running through the sprinklers on a scorching afternoon. Fill up an inflatable pool or DIY a Slip’n’Slide with some tarps, a hose and dish soap.
Grown up show and tell. Invite your friends to bring something they feel passionate about to share.
Crowdsource dinner with a potluck twist. Choose a base, like tacos or pizza, and ask everyone to bring their favorite toppings. Have a competition for the best flavor combinations. Vote on a name for the winner.
Host an outdoor movie night with a projector and a white sheet. BYO lawn chairs and blankets.
Host a board game championship. Have guests bring their favorite games and play them all. Change the rules and up the ante. Find your favorite game and rotate hosts to play a season of matches. Pick a prize for the winner at the end of the summer.
Have a mini-Coachella party. Use a Karaoke app and set up a “stage” for friends to perform their favorite festival hits. Make a dress code by decade, style or music type.
Have a “Choose your own celebration!” party and invite guests to arrive with one thing they want to celebrate about themselves or their life. It can be an accomplishment, a personal quality or anything they want. Wear name tags that advertise the celebration. Give speeches or make toasts all night.
Family Activities
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If you have kids, the days can feel a little less structured during these school-free days. And between activities, camps and other summer plans, it might feel harder than ever to find ways to bond as a family. Try some of these ideas or use them as inspiration to try something new with your family this week:
Set up an obstacle course and host a mini-Olympics. Bonus points if you do it outside and add a sprinkler!
Put your fort-building skills to work and set up a super fort that takes up the entire living room, complete with twinkle lights and “rooms” to play, read and nap in. (Leave it up for the weekend and be your kids’ hero!)
Have a paint-splatter party outside. Set up drop cloths, butcher paper or old towels or sheets and use tempera paints to splatter and make a huge mess. (Tempera washes off and out of everything!) For older kids, use acrylic paints to make a permanent artwork or turn their sheets or cloths into splatter masterpieces. Another fun variation is liquid watercolor — you can buy this ready made or just fill a spray bottle with water and use a wet brush to transfer watercolor from the cake palettes into the bottle until it’s the color you want. Let the kids spray you and themselves outside.
Collect cool rocks all summer and make a rock museum. Paint them or find somewhere to put them on display.
Go on a color treasure hunt. Use a marker to color a sheet of paper with the hues you’re looking for, grab a bag and go on a walk to find something that matches every color on the sheet. Document your findings.
Go to the library every week. Ask your kids to review each book to you before turning it back in. Keep a list of questions they ask during the week to research at the library. Decorate a reusable bag as the official library bag.
Don’t just take old books to the Little Free Libraries in your neighborhood. Make a blind book date! Wrap the books in wrapping or butcher paper and write a note that hints at what’s inside (a mystery with animals; a young girl saving the world; a story of a family learning how to love each other).
Take old art projects and (with permission from the kids!) cut them into strips to make paper chains, bunting or letters that spell out a festive message. Use string and a hole puncher to have a ready-made banner for any occasion.
Go on a family walk after dinner every night. Chat with the neighbors. Sit on the porch and watch the fireflies come out and the sun set.
Make a sidewalk chalk message board for your neighborhood or a giant hopscotch for local kids to enjoy.
Listen to an audiobook as a family. Light candles, color or work on a puzzle while you listen to a little bit each day.
The story above is from our July/August 2025 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!