The spring season is here, and it’s officially the perfect time to start making those springtime memories with your family. After a long winter, it’s time for some fresh air, fresh flowers, and quality time in the sunshine. This spring bucket list is full of fresh ideas for this time of year for you and your family, kids, significant other, friends, and whoever you roll with, or even solo. And be sure to scroll to the bottom of this post to download a free spring bucket list printable to write down all your favorite springy ideas and check them off as you go.
As I write this, our children are about to officially be on spring break from school. I need to get to our own bucket list stat! It seems like spring break creeps up on us every year. We have big ideas that never seem to escape our heads or turn into action. This year, I’m putting pen to paper, coming up with a few special ideas for our spring bucket list, and checking off a few items.
Before we begin, a word about seasonal bucket lists. They are not meant to be stressful or make you feel like you have to do something. They are guideposts. It’s like prepping for those miraculous free moments when you want to do a special activity, but suddenly your mind goes blank. So print off the spring bucket list sheet, fill out a few ideas, tack it on your fridge, and prepare for a few fun activities this season.
Outdoor Activities And Adventures
The spring months are a great time to shake off the winter blues and take advantage of warmer weather by going on an adventure and spending time outdoors, whether near or far.
- Attend a baseball game (cheer on the pros or just the local high school team)
- Bonus points if you picnic at the ballpark
- Visit a botanical garden
- Shop the local farmers’ market for spring veggies
- Take a road trip to see the cherry blossoms
- Visit your state parks (try one new to you)
- Try geocaching
- Go camping with the whole family (if it’s warm enough)
- Have a picnic at a local park (maybe try a new-to-you one)
- Visit a tulip farm or flower farm and pick a fresh bouquet
- Take a bike ride on your local rail trail
- Watch a pond skim at a local ski resort (may I recommend Killington)
- Attend your first outdoor concert of the season
- Go on a long walk and admire the springtime budding
- Explore the opening day of an outdoor flea market (may I recommend Brimfield?!)
- Take a dip in a hot spring
- Attend a spring festival
- Hike a new trail or take your kids on their first hike
- Take your spring break vacation at a national park
- Attend a cooking class
- Go on a playground crawl to find your favorite for summer
- Visit a sugar house during boiling season (such a Vermont thing to do…hanging out while the maple sap is boiling down to syrup)
- Wake up your golf game at the driving range
- Pick fresh berries at your home or at a local farm
- Go fishing
- Break out the canoe for a spin on the lake
- Explore a new town
- Visit a science center or aquarium
- Attend a spring garden show
- Run a spring 5K
- Eat dinner from a food truck
- Take yourself out for a solo date
- Spend a day near water
- Go see a drive-in movie
- Take a dance class (bonus if you do it with your partner)
- Play tennis or pickleball
- Road trip to a theme park
- Try horseback riding
- Play your first round of mini golf
Homebody Things
If there is one thing that is truer than true, it is that I am a homebody. Spring is not just for the adventurer but for the nester, homemaker, and fellow self-imposed homebodies. Here are some ideas to soak up the new season at home.
- Thrift a bird feeder, hang it near a window, and fill it with food
- Go birding in your backyard
- Fire up the backyard fire pit for the season
- Sip a new spring herbal tea
- And roast some s’mores (add spring vibes with some strawberry marshmallows)
- Pick out a new plant for your garden from the local greenhouse
- Take your sweat sesh outside for an outdoor workout
- Host a garden tea party (for adults and littles alike)
- Arrange a vase of spring flowers
- Add some fresh-picked spring ferns
- Switch out the kids’ bookshelves with spring-themed reads
- Read a book in the hammock (or under a tree)
- Open the windows and air out your home
- Watch the sun set from your favorite outdoor chair
- Do a nature scavenger hunt in your yard
- Plant fresh flowers in the window boxes and deck flowers
- Host a neighborhood barbecue
- Take photos of the spring blooms
- Journal while soaking up nature
- Light a spring-scented candle
- Host a bonfire or fire-pit night with friends
- Switch out winter blankets for lighter bedding
- Take a mental health day at home and do something that lights you up
- Hang windchimes or rain chains
- Host a clothing swap for friends
- Start a book club
- Switch up displayed photos
- Start your day with sunshine in your eyes first thing
- Make small changes to a daily routine for spring
- Host a spring solstice party
- Break out the Birkenstocks and shorts
Be A Kid Again (With Your Kids)
There’s something about spring that makes me feel like a kid again. Why is that?! So channel your inner child and celebrate those sunny days in childlike wonder. And maybe teach your kids some of your favorite things to do in springtime from when you were little.
- Fly a kite
- Play tetherball or hopscotch
- Make flower crowns
- Create a fairy garden
- Skip rocks at the lake
- Jump rope
- Hula hooping
- Blow bubbles (up your game with a bubble machine)
- Do somersaults and cartwheels
- Go on a bug hunt
- Play flashlight tag
- Tell ghost stories during a backyard campout
- Start (or expand) a nature collection
- Climb trees
- Swing on the swings
- Play catch
- Toss a Frisbee
- Make a treasure map
- Hunt for 4-leaf clovers
- Jump on the trampoline
- Pick buttercups (do you like butter?)
- Wish on a dandelion
- Draw with sidewalk chalk
- Hunt for frogs and tadpoles
- Run through the sprinkler
- Go rollerblading or roller skating
- Play PacMan at a vintage arcade
Activities For Rainy Days
Spring days feel magical when it rains, extra magical if you live in a place that normally sees snow all winter long. Add a few fun spring activities for rainy days to your own bucket list.
- Tackle a spring puzzle
- Color with the kids (take it up a level with an adult coloring book and alcohol markers)
- Have a spring movie marathon
- Make a blanket fort (Bluey style)
- Go puddle jumping
- Play board games
- Make a spring playlist
- Read poetry while sipping tea
- Paint your nails a spring color
- Make a salt or sugar scrub
- Read a book from your TBR stack
- Make a summer inspiration Pinterest board
- Look for rainbows after the rain
- Go bowling
- Cook your favorite soup
- And fresh-baked bread to go with it
- Rewatch a comfort show
- Start a gratitude journal
- Make a themed reading list (like all of Jane Austen’s novels or do a Goodreads challenge)
- Schedule a spring haircut
- Listen to the sound of the rain
- Write a letter to a friend or family member
- And use the fancy, floral stationery
Food Related
Eating seasonally can be so magical, and spring foods are no exception. With the introduction of fresh veggies from the backyard kitchen garden, the return of the local farmers’ markets, and fresh berries at the breakfast table. Mark the seasonal shift in early spring with some of these food-related ideas for the spring bucket list.
- Use your fresh produce from the local farmer’s market in a new recipe
- Make homemade ice cream
- Dust off the patio table and dine al fresco
- Bake sugar cookies with lemon frosting
- Pickle spring radishes
- Make strawberry shortcakes with home biscuits and whipped cream (King Arthur has the best dessert biscuit recipe)
- Can homemade jam (use the berries you picked)
- Bake a lamb cake (who else has seen this April Fool’s joke?!)
- Assemble fruit salad for dinner
- Make your favorite coffee shop order at home
- Blend fresh fruit smoothies for breakfast
- Host a spring-themed brunch
- Bake scones
- Learn a new spring salad
- Pick ramps for a spring dish
- Anything rhubarb-related (jam, pie, icebox cake, etc.)
- Make lemonade with freshly squeezed lemons
- Master sangria
- Bake spring cupcakes
- Learn to make homemade pasta
- Make iced tea or sun tea
- Assemble a spring snack board for dinner
- Bake a carrot cake for Sunday dessert
- Switch to spring salads (from winter soups)
- Roast asparagus
- Bake a spring frittata for breakfast
- Cook new potatoes with fresh shelled peas in butter and cream
- Bake kale chips with fresh-picked spring kale
- Make lemon bars
- Pickle beets
- Experiment with deviled eggs
- Shop for local honey
- Let the kids pick out a recipe and cook/bake it themselves
- Learn to make coldbrew
- And fancy homemade coffee syrup
Spring Craft And Creative Ideas
I will forever seasonally craft with my children. It’s one of my greatest joys as a parent. Whether you have children or not, find a craft or a creative idea for your own spring bucket list.
- Break out the flower press and press the first spring flower that pops up in your yard
- Make sunprints and frame your favorites
- Paint flower pots (then plant flowers in them)
- Create suncatchers
- Paint landscapes en plein air
- Make naturally scented spring play-dough
- Paint rocks
- Create spring cards and send to friends
- Make a paper chain as a countdown to summer vacation
- Craft a spring wreath for your door
- Sew a spring apron, skirt, or dress
- Make a spring-scented candle
- Learn embroidery
- Make flower frogs for spring bouquets
- Try a new creative hobby (air clay, jewelry making, knitting, sewing, etc.)
- DIY plant or herb markers for the garden
- Craft a Mother’s Day card
- Learn calligraphy or hand lettering
- Make flower bookmarks
- DIY a birdhouse
- Craft coffee filter painted butterflies
- Make pom poms for a spring pom pom garland
- Make paper flowers
- And turn them into a garland or bouquet
Earth Day Ideas
Earth Day falls on April 22nd each year. Whether you partake in your usual Earth Day traditions or want to try something new, here are a few ideas for celebrating Earth Day locally or at home.
- Plant a fruit tree in your yard
- Try planting a new-to-you tomato plant variety in the garden
- And learn how to save seeds for some of the first tomato blooms
- Volunteer at a community garden
- Lie in the grass, watch the clouds go by, and appreciate nature
- Go stargazing
- Plant a kitchen garden
- Sow spring pea seeds
- Walk barefoot through the grass
- Plant herbs
- Volunteer at a local GreenUp Day
- Go litter picking
- Start composting
- Make an insect hotel
- Write in a nature journal
- Sprinkle wildflowers in your yard
- Learn the names of local plants
- Grow a tea garden
- Go on a guided foraging tour
Spring Cleaning
Spring is the season of renewal, and among the simple things you can add to a spring bucket list are a few spring cleaning tasks to refresh your space. Make it as simple as opening a few windows or go big with a whole-house declutter.
- Declutter a room
- Or declutter just one drawer, shelf, or nook
- Host a yard sale after decluttering
- Wash the car
- And vacuum it too
- Clean out the shed or garage
- Wash the windows (inside and out)
- Pressure wash the deck
- Dust off the outdoor furniture
- Donate seasonal clothes you didn’t wear this winter
- Tackle a digital declutter (clean up email, social media, photos, etc.)
- Clean out and scrub the refrigerator and freezer
- Declutter the pantry
- Deep clean the kitchen
- And bathrooms
- Paint or wallpaper a room to give a refresh
Printable Spring Bucket List
Now that you’re armed with over 200 spring bucket list ideas for the season, download the printable spring bucket list below, print it out, and start filling it in with all the old standby activities and new things you want to try to soak up the spring season. Put the list somewhere prominent, whether in your daily planner, tacked up on the family bulletin board, or hanging on the refrigerator. Schedule a few items and keep some in your back pocket for a rainy day or free weekend.
Pssst…Now tell me, what’s on your family’s spring bucket list? Any new adventures you’re going? Or maybe you have a favorite homebody activity? Do share!
