So it’s summer, it's super hot outside, you’re back from school, and trying to find ways to pass the downtime. You look out the window and see the neighborhood kids playing cops and robbers and you think “Man, I wish I was a kid again, no worries, only fun.” Well, never fear! Here are 8 ways you can be a kid again this summer:
- Have a water balloon fight with your friends! Go all the way, set up sprinklers, make a slip and slide, go get some water guns at the dollar store. End the day with delicious homemade cookie ice cream sandwiches, and you’ll go to sleep feeling like you’re ten years old again. Don’t forget to bust out the popsicles!
- Embark on the beautiful journey that is the ice cream diet. This is, of course, treating yourself to a delicious cold treat every day. Okay, so yes, it’s an excuse to eat a butt-load of ice cream just because it’s hot outside and you can, but listen, we’re adults now! What good is it if we can’t let ourselves eat ice cream every day? Come on; let your inner 8-year-old go crazy, this is what we dreamed of when we were younger!
- Go to an amusement park. This one speaks for itself. Good thrills and good food! High speeds and high times. Go wild and get your face painted (Come on, admit it, you miss it too. I know I can’t be the only one who walks past the face painting booth, staring longingly and wishing I could be a fierce dragon or magical fairy again), eat bad food, get a sunburn even though you put on sunscreen “like 5 times, man! I swear,” and end the day with a funnel cake smothered in powdered sugar. You won’t regret it.
- Spend a whole day swimming! Get the gang together and go to the local pool or waterpark! Bonus points if you can find one that still has plays pop music playing from a boombox over the speakers. You know, like when they played Feel Good Inc. by Gorillaz on repeat for the entire summer of 2005. Good times, good times.
- Make a sidewalk chalk mural. If you can’t find any leftover buckets of Crayola sidewalk chalk shoved in a closet somewhere at your parents’ house, then head over to your local dollar store and pick up a pack. Go crazy; cover your whole sidewalk in art! Make it themed or just doodle silly stuff. You can always make wild declarations like you used to – I still see things like “Jessica + Brian 4 eva!” written in raspberry red on the sidewalks of my neighborhood. Personally, I’m fond of pink sidewalk hippos.
- Have a barbecue, invite your friends, and play all the games you used to play as kids. You know, hopscotch, foursquare, jump rope, hula hoops, skip it. Don’t forget the popsicles! Make it fun, the losers buy the winners drinks that night. See, adulthood still has its perks. End the night with S’mores cooked over the grill. Yes, please!
- Set up a lemonade stand. Okay, hear me out with this one before you start laughing. Offer to take the little siblings or nephews or nieces off their parents’ hands and teach them about good old entrepreneurship and the value of a good 50 cents. Or if this isn’t feasible, do it anyway and donate the proceeds to a charity of your choice! There, you get to do an activity you never thought you’d do again and you get to feel good while doing it. Score!
- Wait for it to get dark and catch fireflies! Take a peanut butter jar and poke holes in the lid with a knife. You can do this now, remember, we’re strong independent adults who don’t need no parental permission. Fill the jar with grass and dirt and sticks, and then have a competition with your friends to see who can catch the most. At the end of the night, set them all free and watch as they fly off, lighting up the night sky like, well, y’know, fireflies.
Go forth and recaptures your childhood, friends! Just because we’re getting older in age doesn’t mean we have to get older in heart. Happy summer!
