You spend all that time looking forward to the summer holidays only to find that you start to feel a bit bored by the second or third week. Does this sound familiar? A quick look online will pull up all sorts of lists of ‘100 things to do over the summer,’ but a quick look below the surface shows that most of these aren’t great ideas at all. Eating ice cream in the garden is not really that different from eating ice cream on a beach, in the town centre, or by a river – they don’t really need to be separate ‘ideas.’ So what do you do when you start to feel bored – especially when you don’t have loads of money to spend on days out and shopping trips?
We’d love to hear some of your better ideas – but for now, here are a few ideas to get you started…
This depends on where you live, with some places clearly being more tourist-orientated than others, but why not act like you are visiting your hometown and do some of the things that the tourists do? Going to the museum is one example, since they are often free and may be somewhere you rarely go, it can be a good way to kill an afternoon. Maybe your city has a guided bus tour you can take or some other tourist attractions you can visit. While this may require a few pounds, you don’t really need to worry about visiting the tourist shops for example, so you can organise this on a budget. Go with some friends and take some pictures or even go on your own and see if you can meet any new people? Either way, there is every chance you will see your home town in a different light after a day pretending to be a tourist.
The book is just part of this plan as it gives you something to do, of course, if you’d rather you could do a drawing or some other quiet activity. Switch off your phone and escape from the world for an hour or two as you head outside to a park or some other pleasant spot where you can get away from the modern world and just be. What you read is up to you – it could be a magazine, a novel, or even (for the really conscientious) something from your studies. In fact, reading could even improve your earning in later life, plus, as our blog told you last week, doing some reading is a good way to help keep your mind sharp over the summer break, so not only will it help you relax, but it might also improve you too!
Going out to cafes and other places for lunch or dinner can get expensive, so why not turn on your culinary skills instead? Buying a few ingredients needn’t cost the world and you can soon make something delicious to eat. Why not invite a friend over to help you cook or even help you eat the results?
Take a look out the window, and hopefully the weather is nice where you are? If so, what are you waiting for? It’s the season to get outside and enjoy the fresh air, so why not go for a picnic? It can be an organised affair with friends where you each bring something along to share – or even something a little more low-key (even a couple of sandwiches will do!). Take a ball or a Frisbee along if you want to get active after you’ve eaten and just enjoy an afternoon outside.
With weeks of summer still to go, time is on your side. So why hurry? Rather than sitting on a hot and stuffy bus or train why not take a walk or ride your bike? If you are off to somewhere where you normally take public transport you may discover something you have never noticed before. Not to mention the fact that it is good for you to get out and exercise a little too!
A lot of places offer some sort of entertainment during the summer months, these might include outdoor movie showings, concerts, and more. Some of these will cost money, but you might be able to find others that are free or relatively inexpensive. Don’t forget to check out the listings for what Is going on where you live this summer. You may not fancy much of what’s on offer, but why not go along anyway – you never know what you might be missing!
The summer holiday is a great time to stay up later at night or wake up earlier in the morning – depending on how you feel. Clear skies and warm nights mean that you should be able to do a spot of stargazing or maybe camp outside for the night if that is your thing. Watching the sun go down is one thing, but alternatively, how about trying to wake up early and watching the sunrise instead? If you are the sort of person who likes to have a lie in, then this may not sound like much fun, but when you get through the trauma of getting up early and head outside it can seem quite amazing. It can be a great time to sit and think about your future and what you want to do with your life and can leave you feeling relaxed and content for the day ahead. There is less traffic, the world seems quieter and more peaceful, and the people can even seem a little bit friendlier first thing in the morning – besides, there is nothing saying you can’t have a nap in the afternoon if you need to catch up with your sleep!
