With the summer solstice mere hours away, and the World Cup in full swing, it’s that time of year when the feel good factor reaches fever pitch. For the kids, the summer hols are not far away and adults are enjoying endless hours of daylight after their working day.
It’s about now that people start to wish they were going away to make the most of time with loved ones and forget the stresses of work. For some, that is indeed a reality. As for others, it may not be on the calendar, but that’s no excuse not to turn your summer living up to 11.
Rent A Space has compiled a list of stay-cation staples to season your summer. Ditch the electronic devices: think of these suggestions as a programme of summer events just a few metres from your house.
Summer Activity 1: An afternoon tea fit for the Queen
There’s something about a Royal Wedding in the year that kicks in our instinct to drink tea from a china tea pot and serve up scones. Challenge your friends to a bake off and serve up your tasty goodies in the garden. It could be scones, lemon drizzle cake, cucumber finger sandwiches and homemade jam. You can create a high tea extravaganza to be shared with family members of all ages. Much cheaper than going to a snazzy restaurant and will taste better too. Inviting lots of guests? Get them to bring their own cake stands and camping chairs.
Summer Activity 2: A summer picnic
We all have to eat (indeed for some of us it is a relished activity). So either we spend a fortune on a posh sandwich made with “sourdough” or we grab a quick bite in the kitchen between other tasks. Food should be an event, but also affordable.
By turning a dull lunchtime snack into a picnic it can become a shared experience. All you need is a blanket to sit on, a few sandwiches made with everyone’s favourite fillings: cheese, tuna, hummus or jam, a salad bowl and some interesting snacks. You could even fill up your kids’ school lunchboxes with a couple of surprise treats. Invite a few teddies if you have younger children.
Summer Activity 3: Garden World Cup
With the World Cup under way, possibly the most exciting sporting event in the calendar every four years, get all the family involved in the excitement by implement a “Garden Cup”.
Friends, family and siblings get to take part in penalty shoot outs to see who can score the most goals. If you want to make it more international, each participant could choose a country to represent.
Summer Activity 4: Sports Day
The other most awaited summer event of the year for younger aficionados is sports day, so with a bit of imagination, you can turn your garden into a playing field.
All you need is a skipping rope, a hula hoop, a football, a tennis racket and tennis ball to create circuits stationsa round the lawn. Add in extra exercises that don’t require equipment, making for eight individual stations. Each person chooses a country. They go round the track one at a time, while someone else counts how many reps they complete in a minute and then times them doing the plank. If you’re feeling tough, try completing three rounds with a break in between.
Suggestions:
- Keepie uppies
- Skipping
- Bat the ball
- Hula hooping
- Sit ups
- Press ups
- Star jumps
- Plank (untimed) – How long can you stay in the plank position for?
Summer Activity 5: Waterpark for the kids
Who needs to go to Florida to enjoy amazing waterparks? Create one in your own back yard with a paddling pool, sprinkler, slide and a few water pistols. Be careful to keep your electronic gadgets out the garden or there’ll be a few tears as well. Capture the holiday feel with homemade ice lollies (or lolly ices as our Liverpool colleagues say) made using their favourite fizzy drink, milk shake or fruit juice.
Summer Activity 6: Garden Festival
All you need is a family tent or a couple of smaller ones, some lanterns, colourful bunting, a string of fairy lights, a barbeque (or alternatively, cheat and order in a takeaway) and your favourite tracks to create that disco vibe in your garden. If anyone has a guitar or can sing, bring the festival to life with some live music. Hot chocolate and marshmallows are welcome on any camping trip, as is beer for the grownups. And the best bit of all is you don’t have to queue for hours to use the toilet. This is camping with all the comforts of home!
What are your favourite ways to celebrate summer in the garden?
Once the summer fun has ended, keep your garden furniture in good condition for next year with Rent A Space home storage. Find out more about the storage units we offer.