Outdoor Activities for the Summer Solstice

Did you know that the summer solstice is on June 21st this year? The summer solstice is the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere, and it marks the beginning of summer. People have been celebrating the solstice in a variety of ways for centuries.

How will you celebrate the start of summer? Surely, outdoor activity will make it onto your to-do list for the day. In honor of the longest day of the year, we’re going to share some wallet-friendly water celebrations to help you keep cool on a hot summer day, and all with the help of your outdoor plumbing.

Build The Classic Slip-n-Slide

Do you remember playing on a slip-n-slide as a kid? It’s an iconic part of many people’s youth, and it’s an affordable outdoor activity for your kids.

All you need is a roll of plastic, some tent stakes to hold the plastic in place, and a good sprinkler to keep it wet. Alternatively, an adult could manage a hose to keep the plastic slick.

When your outdoor barbeque heats up, keep the kids cool and entertained while the adults sip a chilled beverage. You can award the kids who make it to the end of the slip-n-slide the fastest, the silliest, or with the most style.

You could even give the top prize to the greatest slip-n-slide failure, should there be one. For just a few dollars, you can entertain your barbeque guests AND water your lawn at the same time. Talk about a budget-friendly water activity!

Hose Fights

Summer days are often quite hot, even before the dog days of July and August hit. If your outdoor activities get you too overheated, you can quickly cool down with a hose fight. You might even shoot an arc over your fence at your neighbor for a little good-natured fun.

If your kids are red-faced after playing at the park, you can squirt them down yourself, or you could arm them with their own hoses and let them “fight” each other. When the yard starts to fill with puddles, you can switch them to squirt guns instead.

You’ll keep your water bill in check while giving your kids a fun way to cool down. If you collect rainwater in barrels, you can teach your kids how to submerge their squirt guns to fill their tanks, which makes the activity even more cost-efficient. Plus, you’ll be giving your kids the power to start up the activity without your help throughout the rest of the summer.

Water Balloon Battles

Water balloons are a fun, affordable way to spend the afternoon of the longest day of the year. If your neighborhood has planned a block party or a large barbeque to ring in summer, you could even do a family versus family water balloon fight.

Each family could arm itself with a predetermined number of water balloons, and at the start signal, each family could run from yard to yard trying to soak each other.

Your family will create memories that will last a lifetime as you’re working together to beat the other families. When everyone runs out of ammunition, the winning family is whoever is the driest. You can have additional prizes for kids who help pick up the balloon debris.

You can reward the child who collects the most rubber, or you can reward all of the children who make an effort to help with the clean-up. Parents will love keeping their kids busy and not having to scour their yards for balloons. It’s a win-win!

Celebrate the Solstice Outside!

What better way to celebrate the longest day of the year and the kickoff to summer than with outdoor activities? After a long day in the sun, you and your friends and family will need to cool down, but that doesn’t mean that you have to break the bank.

A lot of great water activities are low-cost, plus they have the added benefit of watering your lawn while you and your kids play. However, you decide to spend your extra daylight, at Colonial Plumbing & Heating Co., Inc.we hope you have a wonderful time celebrating the summer solstice!