5 ways your family can enjoy summer while social distancing

Summer activities may look a little different than usual this year, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the warmer weather with your family a little closer to home. We’ve put together a few tips for you, which means you won’t even have to leave your home!

Wish you had more time to spend with your family? Take back your time and leave the house cleaning to Merry Maids! Contact us today for a free quote, then start planning your summer fun.

Get the BBQ Out

Nothing says summer like getting out the barbecue and grilling for the family. First, make sure your outdoor space is barbecue ready by cleaning the patio, lawn and any patio furniture (while observing social distancing guidance)

Set up a spread of sides, like salads, coleslaw, crisps, dips and condiments on your outdoor table, and take care of the main dishes barbecue-style. Your family can enjoy a hot meal al-fresco while keeping the heat out of the kitchen, and hopefully, there will be some kind of breeze to keep you cool outside as well.

Take Your Kids Garden Camping

Whether you’re a family of seasoned campers or you’ve never been camping, setting up camp in the back garden can feel like a special event. Commit to sleeping outside and only going inside for bathroom breaks.

Use a tent if you have one or create your own. Start with a waterproof layer on the ground, like a tarpaulin, then pile on blankets, pillows, and sleeping bags until it’s comfy. Hang sheets, blankets, or tarpaulins from nearby trees or clotheslines to make the walls and ceiling.

Start the evening with a family cookout and roast marshmallows for s’mores as the coals cool or before turning off the gas. Or, if you have a garden fire pit, roast hotdogs and marshmallows and take turns telling your best ghost stories around the campfire.

You can even do a bit of stargazing if the sky is clear, why not have a competition to see how many constellations you can see!

Now Showing: Outdoor Movie Night

Bring the fun of an old-fashioned drive-in movie theatre to your back garden. String up a solid white (or light) bed sheet or blanket or use the surface of the house or garage, then switch on a projector to show a movie once darkness falls.

Clean up your outdoor furniture for seating or simply cosy up on the ground with blankets and pillows, and make sure that you’re passing around a big bowl of popcorn whist enjoying a movie under the stars.

No projector? You can find rentable projectors only, or if you’re looking to invest in one of your own, newer mini projectors offer affordability and are easy to connect to streaming devices. You can even project on the ceiling if your outdoor movie night has to become an indoor one because of the weather.

Enjoy an Indoor Floor Picnic

A rainy day doesn’t have to put a stop the family fun. Bring the picnic inside to one of the larger areas of your home, like the kitchen floor or the living room.

Keep things simple with just a picnic blanket or plan ahead and decorate your indoor space to look like the great outdoors with string lights, paper trees, and faux flowers—bonus points for a large mat of artificial turf. You could even embrace the indoor setting and set up a blanket fort to dine in, check out how to build a fort by IKEA (Via Good News Network). Prepare finger food for easy, minimally messy eating and enjoy a bug-free picnic—just be sure to vacuum up any crumbs to keep those bugs away.

Plan a Garden Beach Trip

If you can’t make it to the beach, bring the beach to you, make your garden Playa del Jardin!

Think about what your family enjoys about the destination. Is it building sandcastles and dipping their feet in the sea? Set up a sandbox and a paddling pool.

Parents, you can put your feet up and read your book under an umbrella whilst the kids splash around!

You could even pack a cooler full of drinks and snacks to enhance the beach vibe.

 

If after all of your outdoor activities the house starts to become a bit messy, especially from the sand, remember you can contact your local Merry Maids to get the cleaning done for you.