Create A Carefree 80’s Summer For Your Kids
Looking to unplug this summer and give your kids an 80’s Summer like you used to have? Here are some fun activities to add to your 80s summer bucket list.
Whether you are looking for ideas to keep your kids off screens this summer or just want them to experience a carefree summer as you enjoyed as a child, here are some ideas to get you started.
What Did 80s Kids Do In The Summer?
If I could describe summer in one word, it would be simple.
I remember summers full of bike rides, scraped knees, digging holes, walking to friends’ houses to play, making paper cups, and selling them to neighbors. I vaguely remember a lemonade stand as well.
We’d take our earnings and walk to the convenience store at the beginning of the neighborhood to buy whatever candy we could.
I even tackled the big hill around the corner that was so scary to go down on bike rides. It wasn’t without scraped knees and tears, but I did it.
What is your favorite 80’s Summer Memory?
How do I give my kids 80s summer?
While we don’t live within walking distance of a convenience store, there are ways to give my children the 80’s Summer I remember as a child.
If you’re looking to give your kids an 80s-style summer like the ones you had as a child, here are a few ways for kids to have an old-school summer.
80’s Summer Bucket List Ideas
1. Listen to 80’s music
2. Do aerobics
3. Play hide-n-seek
4. Play at your local playground
5. Play tetherball
6. Go on bike rides
7. Play “Frisbee”
8. Run through the sprinklers
9. Build a fort
10. Have a water balloon fight
11. Play board games
12. Go to the library
13. Bake cookies
14. Go rollerskating
15. Stargaze
16. Play hopscotch
17. Watch 80’s movies
18. Go to a parade
19. Make collages
20. Host a lemonade stand
21. Bake mud pies
22. Drink from the water hose
23. Take a drive with the windows down
24. Play dodgeball
25. Go skateboarding
26. Wear swimsuits, all day, every day
27. Decorate bedroom walls with magazine posters
28. Make a mixtape
29. Watch soap operas
30. Lie on the grass and watch the clouds
31. Eat popsicles
32. Drink cola from the bottle
33. Slip ‘n Slide
34. Jump on a trampoline
35. Drink “Kool-Aid”
36. Get ice cream from the ice cream truck
37. Go camping
38. Make pudding pop popsicles
Can’t have an entire unscheduled summer? No worries! Have an unscheduled weekend. Have kids who need routine and schedule? Write down the schedule the day before and have fun with it.
If nothing else, use the playlist below and have an 80’s Dance Party in the living room while having a pizza night movie marathon.
List of 1980s Summer Songs for Your 80’s Music Playlist
Close your eyes and pretend you’re back at the skating rink with friends or singing into your hairbrush while dancing in front of your mirror. Create your own Summer Music Playlist or use the songs below! Complete with (affiliate link) a boombox!
1. Girls just want to have fun – Cyndi Lauper
2. Don’t dream it’s over – Crowded House
3. Take on me – A-Ha
4. I’m so excited – The Pointer Sisters
5. Summer of ’69 – Bryan Adams
6. Cruel Summer – Bananarama
7. The Boys of Summer – Don Henley
8. Walking on Sunshine – Katrina and the Waves
9. The Heat Is On – Glen Frey
10. Footloose – Kenny Loggins
11. Jack & Diane – John Mellencamp
12. Beat It – Michael Jackson
13. Dancing in the dark – Bruce Springsteen
14. Pump up the jam – Technotronic
15. Livin’ on a prayer – Bon Jovi
16. LaBamba – Los Lobos
17. Kids in America – Kim Wilde
18. I Wanna Dance with Somebody – Whitney Houston
19. Every Breath You Take – The Police
20. Jessie’s Girl – Rick Springfield
21. Total Eclipse of the Heart – Bonnie Tyler
22. Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go – Wham!
23. What’s Love Got to Do With It – Tina Turner
34. We Got the Beat – The Go-Go’s
35. Don’t Stop Believin’ – Journey
36. Bette Davis Eyes – Kim Carnes
37. Eye of the Tiger – Survivor
What 80’s songs would you add to the playlist?
