9 Awesome Things to Do on the Last Day of Summer Vacation!

The countdown to the last day of summer vacation is drawing closer and all around the country, parents will find themselves looking at their calendars with a bit of relief: getting the kids back on their regular schedule means you’ll spend less time coordinating their daily activities and making sure their time is spent productively.

However, if you, like most parents, have also been listening to complaints of boredom over the summer, you’re probably wondering what you can do to make sure the last day of summer is the best day of summer and end your vacation on a high note.

As the premier supplier of custom cornhole boards and other backyard games, we know a thing or two about summer activities that double as quality family time! Here are our favorite things to do on the last day of summer vacation!

1. Plan a “Yes” Day

This is an especially good activity if your family hasn’t spent as much time together over the summer vacation as you’d like. Take some time to have everyone talk about something they still want to do before summer vacation ends and make every effort for each family member to say “yes” to each other and plan a day where everyone gets to do something they want.

2. Make a Summer To-Do Jar

When you’re looking back on how you spent your summer vacation, what do you wish you’d done that you didn’t get to do? What did you do that you’d want to do again?

Get some craft sticks and a jar, ask your kids the questions above, and have a conversation with your family about all the fun things you can do together. Write all the chosen activities on the craft sticks with markers, let the kids decorate them however they want and put the activity sticks into the jar. Next summer—or anytime you have a long weekend—have someone pull a stick from the jar and your plans are made!

3. Unplug and Go Outside

It can be easy to get overwhelmed by the constant pull on our attention from all the technology around us all the time—and that’s especially true for kids, who usually get extended screen time during school breaks.

When things are changing, it can be helpful to unplug all unnecessary devices, turn off your app notifications and take a break from the digital realm to destress and recenter. Spend time outside together as a family (and maybe take some pics or videos to share online later since you’re not swearing off the internet forever!).

4. One Last Road Trip!

Okay, probably more like a day trip considering the time left on vacation, but work with us! Every classic American summer vacation movie involves a road trip; choose a day and a destination or an activity (a zoo, beach, national park, museum, or anything else that sounds like fun to your family), get some snacks for the road, plan which classic American diner or drive-thru you’ll visit along the way, and get going.

5. Stay Home

Let’s not underestimate the power of doing nothing! Especially if you’ve been doing a lot during summer vacation, sometimes the best thing you can do on the last day of summer vacation is nothing at all.

6. Host a Summer Film Festival

If you have TikTok teens in your house—or other aspiring filmmakers and video editors—let them show off their hobbies by hosting an at-home film festival, complete with snacks, decorations, and reserved seating for the content creators. If your kids are less into film making and more into film criticism, do something similar but have them show you their favorite movies, tv shows, or online videos instead.

7. Summer Reruns

Xers and millennials remember the days before streaming content, when summer vacation was a golden opportunity to catch up on episodes of shows you’d missed the first time around and rewatch your favorites.

Get your kids in on this classic pastime, but try to shake it up a little bit! Instead of watching content, try to relive your own favorite summer memories with your family. If your family’s favorite summer day was a day at the beach, do it again! If it was family movie night, have another movie night!

8. Last Backyard Cookout of Summer

This isn’t the first time we’ve written about how much we love backyard cookouts—it’s kind of a big deal around here, actually. We especially love end-of-summer cookouts, which mark the changing of the seasons from summer backyard barbeque season to fall football tailgating season. From where we’re sitting, that sounds like a good excuse for one last big summer backyard cookout blow-out!

Food

All your favorite summer barbecue foods, of course! We’re partial to hamburgers, hotdogs, grilled corn, and potluck-style salads (invite all your friends and ask them all to bring something. It’s a genius catering strategy!). Don’t forget the chilled fruit and a do-it-yourself s’more bar to end the night with something sweet.

Activities

All your favorite backyard games, of course! Horseshoes, giant board games, cornhole, different contests and carnival games, the only limit is your imagination (and whatever game equipment you and your friends happen to have). Make it even more special with a custom cornhole set to mark the occasion—or any occasion! Simply fill out the form with your design ideas to get started.

9. Celebrate!

Summer is ending, but there’s no reason to end it by thinking about it as an ending. Celebrate everything you did this summer as a family and everything you’ll do next year as a family. Choose your favorite last day of summer activity and make your last day of vacation the best day of your family’s vacation, whatever that means to you!