With summers comes plenty of opportunities to be with friends and family. Even if the weather gets a little hot, the good times are sure to roll thanks to the kids being out of school and many people taking vacations during this time of the year.

“Summertime is always the best of what might be.” – Charles Bowden

The good news is that you can enjoy your summer with friends without having to spend a lot of money. Get-togethers and weekend events are a great way to spend time with those you care about under the summer sun. Here are five ways you can enjoy summer with friends and family while sticking to a budget and sharing the good times together.

Host a Barbeque

A barbeque is a great way to bring together a lot of people. All you really need is a place, a barbeque, paper plates, napkins, and utensils and some meat to get started. Your friends can bring over the side items and desserts which will make the entire experience enjoyable. Of course, no barbeque is complete without some great iced tea. There is nothing that cools the throat or goes better with a barbeque than good, old-fashioned iced tea.

In addition, having some games for everyone to play helps, so you can set them up in your backyard or you can have the barbeque at a local park. Some communities offer a way to reserve barbeque sites at local parks of which many provide a playground for the kids, tables, and sometimes even shaded areas so that everyone can get out of the sun if needed.

Go for a Picnic

A picnic is similar to a barbeque except that everyone brings their own food. There is no need to cook or barbeque, all you really need is a big basket of prepared food items and you are ready to go. Invite your friends to participate and be sure that you have a large blanket that is perfect for sitting and eating.

It is here that having a nice, well made picnic basket really shines. You can find the right model that carries all the things that you need. Or, if you are planning to carry hot items, a food hamper is the perfect solution. Now you can enjoy going out on a picnic to the park, the great outdoors, or your own backyard if you prefer. You can make it a more intimate gathering of just a few friends or invite everyone you know. The picnic is the perfect way to enjoy summer.

Go Exploring New Places Together

There are many wonderful places in the world and some of them are very near your home. One of the great ways to enjoy the summer is by choosing a location for a day trip. You can select a location that is just a few hours from where you live and travel together to do a little exploring. There are many parks, attractions, and events in your region that are well worth looking visiting, especially when the entry price is nominal or even free.

You can visit a park, natural wonder, historic venue, or just find an unusual place and visit with your friends. This means that everyone can have a great time and the event can end by gathering at a local eatery or restaurant. When you consider exploring your community may be one of the best, least expensive ways to enjoy good times with your friends while finding out more about your surroundings.

Go Stargazing in the Summer Evening

The warm summer nights make for perfect stargazing. You can choose a time that is just right to gather outside and see the wonders that nature provides. It does take a little more coordination that you might at first think when planning an event like this.

• Choose an area well away from city lights
• Avoid nights of a near or full moon
• Check to see if any meteor showers are expected
• Bring a telescope or binoculars

Summer nights are shorter and the real stargazing will not start until about an hour after the sun goes down. The Perseids Meteor Shower which peaks in early August is generally the most popular stargazing event of the summer. Here you can watch upwards of 30 to 60 streaks in the sky per hour.

Remember that you can choose to go out late at night or wake up early in the morning in order to catch the various events that happen in the night sky. There are numerous websites that are dedicated to posting the various astronomical events that will take place over the course of the year, so you can plan your gathering around them.

Go Wine Tasting

Although many people might believe that wine country is far away from where they live, most states do have vineyards, wineries, and wine tasting tours that you can take with family and friends. For those who love wine, this is the perfect way to get to know your local wines and enjoy the many flavors that they offer. You can travel in groups in separate vehicles or better yet take a wine tour in one large van or bus so that you can enjoy the experience together.

You can run your own tour by seeing when the wineries are offering open tasting or set up an official tour where everything is arranged. Anyway you do it, you can enjoy yourselves to the fullest when taking a wine tour that exposes you to new wines while being with your friends. Although most wine tasting involves a minimal amount, it is generally best to have a designated driver or you can hire personal transportation.

The great thing about summer is that you have so many different opportunities to enjoy time with your friends. You can choose a number of different ways to celebrate the summer with your friends and get out and enjoy what it has to offer.

“I wonder what it would be like to live in a world where it was always June.” – L.M Montgomery, Anne of the Island

 

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