My mom says that death happens in threes. Life has been giving me reason to think that financial hardship might too. It feels like we are going through a particularly challenging season. The car died. Our cat died. And now our other car needs a slew of work done and we need to restock heating oil. Handling these bills has nearly drained our emergency fund. Needless to say, money is tight. Summer bummer. *Deep breath*

After a little sulking and too much journaling, I’ve come up with a plan to take us from having a not-so-good summer to an epic summer full of simple pleasures. I want to invite you along for the challenge.

Solution: The Summer of Simple Pleasures

The idea is simple. Do what you already do for the summer, and find LOW or NO cost ways to elevate and enhance these experiences. Small shifts and tiny tweaks to regular summer plans turn an ordinary summer into a grand adventure. You can still have the summer of your dreams without breaking the budget.

This doesn’t require much money to accomplish, it only requires a little bit of forethought and intention.

Today I want to share 4 strategies you can apply to any experience to make it memorable and joyful. Summer is a precious time. And it’s fleeting. Put these spins on your summer plans to make the most of this wild and precious summer.

Lean into Anticipation

Studies show that the act of anticipating an event or activity can increase our relative happiness, and release feel good hormones. Let me give you an example. My favorite part of dining out is the empty space between when I’ve ordered my meal and the actual meal itself. This space is filled with good conversation and time to just let the anticipation of the meal build. For me, getting hyped up about the meal is even better than the meal itself.

With exciting plans, comes many opportunities to capitalize on feel-good hormones. I’m looking at you, dopamine. Just thinking about our future plans gives us a dopamine hit. The simple act of getting an event on the calendar can give us a happiness boost. As does planning out the logistics of a trip. Talking and journaling about future plans also makes us happy. Or purchasing gear we might need. Making our packing list can be fun and exciting if we let it be. So, when we become aware of these entirely free anticipatory experiences, we can lean even further into them and create ways to elevate our anticipation and ultimately our happiness.

Examples of how to add magic to your summer:

Paper chains invite a daily opportunity to connect with your family trip about a trip in the form of a countdown. The kids and I made a paper chain to countdown our last trip to Boston and the kids LOVED it. We displayed the chain above our dining table and, without fail, the kids remembered to rip off a link for the full 30 day countdown. It led to great conversations and questions at meal times.

Tip: As an added bonus, write in fun experiences that relate to your trip on different links such as shopping for gear or watching a documentary on a place you’re visiting. You can get so creative with this one.

Bookending expands on the idea of anticipation. We love bookending our trips by adding fun elements at both the beginning and the end. Bookending helps us solidify memories as we build up expectations, experience an event, and also have the opportunity to recount and retell after the fact. We can both hype ourselves up to an experience and also wrap it up with a meaningful closure.

Our favorite way to close out a trip is to gather around our photos, and choose pictures for travel photo albums. It’s fun to see which experiences stood out to each member of the family as we share stories from our adventures. We print out our favorites and keep them in photo albums displayed in our living room for frequent viewing.

Tip: display your photos on your TV using Airplay or a connector cable so everyone can see easily and get cozy on the couch while you reminisce.

Read books related to your adventures. My kids enjoyed reading about ocean life before our trip to the Boston Aquarium. Books provide foretaste to savor and create a foundation upon which meaningful memories are made. It definitely enhanced the experience as the kids excitedly pointed out animals we’d read about as they came alive in real life. You can read about the history of a place. Read reviews before you visit a park. Learn about the culture of a different culture.

Tie dye shirts for matching outfits on trips. We were already planning to try tie dyeing this summer, and we already have several outings on the docket. Since I love to dress my kids identically in public spaces for safety reasons (I have a free spirited runner), this seemed to be a fun way to create matching outfits together and then wear them as a family for our adventures. It’s way more meaningful than just ordering a matching set online and we get to have a good time in the process.

Manifest Magic

Anyone who has hiked the Appalachian Trail is familiar with trail magic. If you’re not among us, let me fill you in.

I’ll never forget the first time I came across Trail Magic on the AT. My husband and I were on day 3 of hiking a section and were overcome by exhaustion, hunger, and a desperate need for something to drink other than iodine-flavored water. At a time when we were both feeling the pain that is hiking for 3 straight days, we came across a little bend to find a lone cooler in the middle of the trail. It was miraculous. This AT version of a treasure box was filled with ice cold drinks and various snacks. Water never tasted so good, let me tell you. But the real reason Trail Magic is burned into my memory is because it was completely unexpected.

Magical moments wake up our brain. They are moments when we experience something so unexpected it seems to have risen from supernatural forces. It’s mysterious and it evokes wonder. Receiving an invitation to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry isn’t a prerequisite to manifesting magic. Nope. To manifest magic, we just need to get creative and add an element of curiosity and a dash of wonder.

Examples to add magic to your summer:

Plan a surprise picnic in the woods. Imagine this: you are given the name of a hiking trail by your significant other and asked to head out onto the trail in an hour. As you walk through the woods, your curiosity builds with every turn as you wonder what’s lying ahead. You turn around the bend to a lovely little clearing along a bubbling babbling brook. A blanket is spread with a picnic lunch, light music is playing, and your love is patiently awaiting your arrival. It only takes a little planning and forethought to set up an epic picnic adventure. For a family adventure, bring nets for exploring, their favorite snacks, and let the surprise and the space work it’s magic. This costs zero dollars and yet you won’t soon forget this experience.

Bury a ticket or “coupon” at the bottom of something fun. Print out a quick movie ticket from Canva, and hide the movie ticket at the bottom of a big bowl of popcorn the next time your family gathers for a movie.

Flip the Script

Think about the script of your life. What are the regular routines that make up your day to day? Now flip the script by doing something a wee bit differently. It’s such an easy way to shake things up and add some refreshment to your days.

Ways to flip the script this summer:

Start dinner with dessert. Doesn’t cost a thing except mentally preparing yourself for a more excitable dinner. Your kids will thank me for this one.

Take your movie night outside. Spread some blankets and comfy pillows on the trampoline, deck, or in the yard and watch a movie together. If you own a laptop you could watch the movie on the laptop for a zero cost fun, or you could invest in a projector and watch it on a spread out sheet or the side of your house.

Take your bedtime stories outside. Bring blankets and pillows outside and cuddle up amidst the setting sun with the sound of cicadas and crickets. Bonus: The fresh air just might help your kids sleep better.

Have a night time play date. Take the kids to a movie after dinner, go for a late night swim or bike ride, or catch fireflies together. Sure, they’ll be tired. You can always cut it short if need be. They’re likely to survive and will not soon forget the time they were able to stay up past their bedtime.

Cook a meal outside over a fire. I’m not talking about grilling. Oh, no. Rise early one morning to light a fire and cook your breakfast outside, camp style. There are so many ideas for camping meals online. Gather the family around and choose a few ideas together for a more connected experience.

Invite Novelty

Trying out new ideas as a family is a beautiful opportunity for deep connection. Here are some ideas to use as jumping points from which you can easily choose new places and activities.

Join in on the global treasure hunt. It can be easy get in a rut of going to the same old places because they are comfortable and familiar. Might I recommend an easy way to change it up? Try geocaching. Geocaching is completely free and is “the world’s largest treasure hunt”. Sounds exciting right? Items or containers of items are hidden around the globe with their coordinates posted online. My husband and I have been geocaching before, and has brought us to very interesting locations. but this is a first for the kids and I’m excited to add our own family trinkets to the containers. We’ll be creating wood rounds that we’ll paint as our family’s trinket.

Try out new bike rides. My oldest recently learned how to ride a bike, and so we’re very much looking forward to family bike rides in new places. Rail trails and bike trails often run through lovely places and spaces, so plan a picnic, pull over and enjoy!

Try new games for game nights. Institute a weekly game night and incorporate a variety of games. Board games or minute-to-win-it games can take a quiet night in a special night full of family connection. So add this one to your rainy day list. It’s simple, easy, and sure to be a good time.

So if you are looking for ways to add adventure and build stronger bonds with your kids this summer, these 4 strategies are your blueprint. Even if your resources are limited, you can use these ideas to create meaningful, lasting memories. This summer lean into ways to boost anticipation, try something new, flip the script on your everyday experiences, and sprinkle magical elements among the mundane.

Summers are wild and precious. What will you do to make the most of yours?