5 Wild and Wonderful Ways to End Summer With Your Kids

When the final days of summer start slipping away, it’s easy to fall into the back-to-school rush. But before the backpacks come out, there’s still time to make a few magical memories your kids will never forget. Here are 5 over-the-top End of Summer Kid Activities! to send summer out with a bang.

1. Transform Your Backyard into a Lux Pool Resort

Why save the pampering for vacation? Grab your sunglasses, a blow up pool and some fun accessories to turn your backyard into your resort. Set the stage with lounge chairs, umbrellas and blow up palm trees. Add those luxe details of folded towels and inflatable pool floaties. The best part; every hour deliver a resort treat. The kids will love being surprised with fancy mocktails in colourful glasses, dressed up snacks that look like they came from room service. Consider sparkling lemonades, popcorn, and mini umbrellas in a fruit punch. Make sure you’ve got a great DJ playlist for a pool party vibe and if you really want to be over the top, a cool scented face cloth for that hot summer day.

2. Go Wild With S’mores

This isn’t about a campfire classic – it’s a wild sugar-packed adventure. Build a s’mores buffet with items they’ll never expect; the messier the better.

• your standard supplies, marshmallows, graham wafer crackers and chocolate
• cotton candy
• chips
• peanut butter cups and other chocolate bar flavours
• wagon wheels
• assorted cookies

Extreme S’more Night will bring giggles along with the marshmallows.

3. Host an Outdoor Movie Night

Nothing will say summer like a movie under the stars. Pile on cozy blankets and set up your projector. Add buckets of popcorn, licorice, glow sticks and string up some fairy lights if you can.

Bonus: Let the kids sell tickets and be in charge of the concessions or create a snack wagon that delivers snacks through out the movie.

4. Playground Tour

Instead of hitting your usual park, make a whole day of it. Pack a cooler, grab your snacks and map out a “Playground crawl”. Have the kids rank each playground and give you direction if they are ready to move on to the next one or if they want to stay longer when they’re really feeling the vibe of a particular playground. This is simple, affordable and the kids always love it.

5. Wacky Spaghetti Dinner

Forget your table manners – it’s chaos time. No plates, no forks – plan to be outside because this is messy. Have the kids reach blindly into a bag of bizarre utensils ( tongs, ladles, spatulas or ice cream scoops) and whatever they pull out of the bag is what they have to use to eat their spaghetti dinner. Skip the plates and let them eat off the table covered in plastic. The best part; top it off with a rain of shredded cheese that happens to continue to “snow” over their heads. It’s a dinner they will retell for years.

Bonus: Wild and Wacky Craft

If your crew is crafty and you’re feeling adventurous grab a can of expanding window insulation foam. We made bowls with it and decorated hand mirrors. It puffs up in hilarious and unpredictable ways. Be sure to wear gloves, use cardboard and a safe workspace. Tie your hair back and wear protective eyewear. We used sunglasses. Once it dries you can sand it, cut it and paint it. It’s perfect for sculpting silly shapes, “lava blobs” or abstract art.

Your Kids Will Talk About This All Year

Summer’s not about perfect schedules or pristine houses – it’s about messy, joyful memories. All of these ideas will guarantee belly laughs, photos you’ll treasure and a summer send -off that will be unforgettable which is what summer is really about.