This Labour Day weekend, say goodbye to summer with one of these fun ideas
With Labour Day weekend fast approaching, some people may try to bum you out by kvetching about how summer’s almost over. We see it differently. Summer may be winding down, back-to-school-sale ads may be screaming at us every time we pass by a mall, we may be trading in flip-flops for wool socks, but gosh darn it, we’re not going to take the end of summer lying down. We say the end of summer is something to be embraced, heck, even celebrated. We asked you for your favourite ways to send summer packing and have the best party while doing it. Here are 7 of your ideas.
1. School supply shopping
Pretty boring, right? Not really. This is a great chance for the whole family to treat themselves to new desk candy, whether it’s new packs of Post-Its or that handmade iPod dock from Etsy you’ve had your eye on. As much as you claimed to loathe back-to-school in your youth, tell us you don’t swoon over the scent of freshly-sharpened pencils.
2. Go see those summer blockbusters you missed
Heading to the theatre for a major Hollywood flick is as much as summer tradition as eating a slice of watermelon in a bathing suit. This is your chance to catch the animated Steve Carell-starring laugh riot Despicable Me or our personal fave, the graphic novel turned summer epic Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. Best watched while pigging out on a large popcorn, Junior Mints and a Coke, dentist be damned.
3. Cottage potluck picnic
If you’re tight with your cottage neighbours, invite them over for a farewell-to-summer potluck-style picnic. Our friends, the ice-cream-sandwich-loving Ginsbergs, launched a new potluck tradition this year: each guest brings a piece of meat to be put in their smoker. Those of us who aren’t hardcore foodies could just enjoy a menu of simple summer fare: grilled corn on the cob, pasta salad, hamburgers with all the fixings, and for dessert, the ooey-gooiest gourmet s’mores.
4. The classic end-of-summer fair
For Torontonians, it’s all about the Ex. For Vancouverites, it’s the PNE, and Americans have their pick of the L.A. County Fair, the Knoxville Boomsday Festival, the Louisville Worldfest and countless other. Wherever you are, the traditional late-August-early-September fair means rides, arcade games, winning huge plush prizes and eating cotton candy, funnel cake and hot dogs until you barf.
5. Burning Man Festival
This year’s festival (August to September 6) is more family-friendly than ever, so if you’ve ever considered bringing your kids along for the craziest camping trip of their lives, now is the time. The Burning Man website offers guidelines for keeping kids safe and happy, what with all the fire-breathing and nudity going on. The family-focused Kid’s Camp is quiet and close to medical facilities, perfect for getting some re-energizing shuteye.
You may want to keep your kids on the ground at the Burning Man Festival
6. Memorialize summer
If you snapped countless digital photos of your summer shenanigans, there are now a variety of options for displaying them for posterity. We recommend a snazzy digital picture frame, like this one with wi-fi and a touch screen. Free websites like PhotoPeach also let you create photo slideshows with your favourite summer tune added (might we suggest Len’s “Steal My Sunshine”?).
Another good family project is a summer time capsule. Find a shoebox (or buy a legit time capsule online) and have each family member put in an item that reminds them of summer 2010: a ticket stub from that outdoor music festival you went to together or a vial of sand from that amazing beach you built sandcastles on. Seal it up and stow it away, so that on a bone-chilling winter day when you need a little sunshine, you can whip it out for a slice of summer.
7. Do your favourite summer things one last time
Get out of the city, head to the cottage or the beach, stop at a roadside diner on the way, marvel at the fleeting sight of a deer running into the forest, walk the boardwalk, take a nap on a beach towel, do one last canoe run around the lake, sit on a porch swing and look up at the stars. One last time.
