Celebrating the Days of Summer
Looking for ways to make summer fun without breaking the bank? Us too, all the time! Even an outing to the movies can cost upwards of $100 with a family of five for all the bells and whistles, never mind the cost of an amusement park or out-of-town vacation.
Our income dropped in half when we moved here and decided I would stay home. We had to find different ways to make the summer days fun for our family without spending a small fortune.
Food seems to be the center of many family celebrations, so when I came across this idea, I knew I’d found a winner. We are celebrating the days of summer! 
Everyday is a food holiday (see the Nibble’s list here). Yep, everyday. In fact some days are more than one. July 20 is hot dog day, lollipop day, fortune cookie day and ice cream soda day.
While we simply can’t do them all, we certainly are giving it our best shot. So far, we’ve celebrated holidays for strawberry shortcake, fudge, black cows (coke floats), cherry tarts, picnic day, vanilla milkshakes, peaches & cream, onion rings, pecan sandies, strawberry parfait, chocolate pudding, ice cream sodas (which gets celebrated several days a summer in various forms), creative ice cream flavor day (we made banana peanut butter chocolate ice cream from scratch), ginger snaps, chocolate wafers, BBQ ribs, apple turnovers, fried chicken day, strawberry sundaes, chocolate with almonds, pick blueberry day, blueberry muffin day, french fries, and beans&franks day, and tapioca pudding day last night for dessert.
We start the day the boys arrive for the summer and try to celebrate as many as we can. If there is a day that we can’t celebrate like alcoholic beverages or lobster which was not in our budget, we either finish off the leftovers of previous days or pick a day’s celebration that we will miss after they leave.
I usually grocery shop with the week’s holidays in mind, but don’t tell the kids the coming holidays so that they can be surprised each day as we prepare the treat for dessert or dinner.
Blueberry picking day came with an outing to a local orchard. It was hot and sweaty work, but that blueberry pie was so much sweeter when we picked those berries ourselves.
I have found different sites have slightly different lists. Foodimentary’s list is a little different than the Nibble’s, which might vary from another site.
Who cares if these are really real or really official? The fun is in making each treat. We can prep and cook as a family. This sneaky momma teaches cooking, measuring, and kitchen skills while they’re busy having fun.
I try to use a different list every summer for some variety. We have other traditions and summer activities, but celebrating all the days of summer is one way we make summer feel like one long holiday.
22 Comments
Emerald
I need to take my little sister berry picking. She loves picking berries in the front yard lol, and those are NOT good
Sandra @ Sandra's Ark
I think this is a great idea. One that I could use on a small scale when the kids are all home at the same time for that two week period this summer. Now to thinking of all the things they loved to eat and drink when they were young and probably share more of our old memories with our daughter-in-law.
Jennifer
You could get really creative and recreate some of those memories! Sounds like something super fun for adult children too
Jodi Spencer
I love food so I’m totally adopting the habit of celebrating EVERY food holiday : ) my husband will thank you! hehe
Jennifer
I will say that maintaining my diet and weight loss is more of a challenge! I am looking forward to fewer desserts come the end of summer!
Amy Dowling
We went strawberry picking this summer for the first time. So much fun!
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Marissa
What fun! We are trying to do something fun every day too during summer… and somedays we don’t do more than playing in the backyard… but it’s still fun. These are the days when I am teaching my kids the important skill of swinging by themselves and going across the monkey bars… Memories that are priceless and will hopefully stand out in their memories.
Marissa
Melanie
That sounds like a fun way to celebrate summer.
Mary Collins
I truly admire your creativity. Just imagine the wonderful memories your children will carry with them into adulthood by you making their childhood so special.
Jennifer
I pray so. Childhood goes so quickly and I feel like I’ve missed so many opportunities!
Jelli
Blueberry picking! That sounds wonderful. Blueberries are my favorite food in the world and here in Costa Rica they’re so expensive I’ve never bought them. Sounds like you’re having fun celebrating!
Jennifer
Wish I could ship you some! We enjoy being able to pick our own fruit.
Andi
summer – and all those sales on berries to eat 😀
Jennifer
Even better, we picked all our own! Strawberries, blueberries and blackberries.
Pamela
Now that’s a cool idea. I wrote a series of 12 books for Rainbow Publishers that gave activities for every day of the year. It was so fun to write. They’ve never published it (although I got paid for it!). I’m going to suggest this to my daugher.
Jennifer
I got a book of 100 things to do with your children before they grow up and we put a sticker on each page we’ve done.
Caroline @ In Due Time
I love that you celebrate the food holidays – why not, ya know?! So fun!
Jennifer
It is a little thing that just makes every day a tad more exciting.
Angie
That is super fun! I’m now a former army wife, but I think we probably have some very similar stories and timelines.
Jennifer
You’re a retired military wife because you can’t erase all the ways the army has shaped you.
Marie with spreading-joy.org
what a great list so far this summer!! Love it! thanks for the idea
Kristen
I used to go berry picking as a kid, and you’re right – treats are so much better when you pick them yourself! Enjoy those blueberries!