The lighter evenings are here, and we are rapidly approaching the longest day of the year – June 21st.
And one thing about these long light evenings is that they make many of us feel that we need to get up and do something rather than just stick to the usual old routine.
Of course, the lighter evenings open up many opportunities to get out and about for longer. Perhaps an al fresco get together with friends, a trip to the cinema and it’s still light when you come out, or a lovely long walk with a welcoming pub at the end.
But there are also many things you can do either in your own home and garden or fairly close by to enjoy the lighter evenings. Things that are low cost and simple to arrange but will still provide lots of outdoor fun for you and the family.
Here are four ideas to get you started:
Eating outside can always be a fun experience, even when it’s not quite as warm as you would ideally like. But the advantage of eating outside before the heat of summer hits is that you are less likely to be plagued by wasps, and also don’t need to worry about sunburn! And if things are a little on the chilly side, then coats and blankets can help fill the gap.
And when it comes to al fresco dining, the choice is yours. You might want to pack up a full-scale picnic and take it to a local area of natural beauty. Or why not just have it in the garden and pretend you’re on the lawn of some fabulous period drama mansion.
If you don’t want to go overboard on picnic food and want to keep things simple, you could just take outside whatever you would eat anyway, and have the benefits of a picnic without the planning.
Another option is to break out the barbecue, as long as the smoke and smell won’t annoy the neighbours. It’s a great way to enjoy eating outside and be creative about using up lots of bits and pieces from your fridge: let’s face it, you can barbecue pretty much anything.
If you feel like doing something a bit more energetic, there are lots of outdoor exercise options available. If you want to stay completely home-based, how about setting up various mini circuits in your garden suitable for the whole family. You could include activities such as skipping, throwing/catching, hoopla, obstacles or perhaps bowling alleys and adventure golf.
For something more structured, why not finally get round to the Couch25K running programme? You could easily do the first few weeks in or around your garden or street before venturing further afield.
If you need more space, head off to a local park or field for some outdoor games. Perhaps involve another family or some friends too to increase the numbers and also make it double up as a social occasion. Even better if you can find an area with outdoor gym equipment to add extra variety to the activities.
If you enjoy walking, and don’t mind venturing a little further from home, you could head out straight after work and would then have a good few hours of light to explore your chosen area. If you are taking the family, you could combine this with some kind of treasure hunt with clues to different places in the area you are walking.
A variation on this theme is geocaching, which provides an extra element of challenge plus some real life treasure hunting. Geocaching is a growing worldwide trend with millions of geocaches in 190 countries waiting to be discovered. A geocache is a hidden container that has in it a logbook for finders to add names and comments, as well as a few interesting and fun items such as small toys, keyrings, coins, costume jewellery or gift cards. You can take items from the geocache as long as you also put something back into it.
To get started with geocaching you will need either the Geocaching app or a GPS device to navigate to your nearest geocaches. Geocache coordinates are registered on a geocaching website such as https://www.geocaching.com.
Why not use one of the lighter evenings to go back to the old tradition of storytelling? Storytelling is an important element of every culture for people of all ages, and is important not only to entertain and inform, but also reinforce cultural traditions and values.
You might want to tell or read fictional stories that you have enjoyed, or perhaps reminisce about family stories and memories. Or if any of your number is musically inclined, perhaps they could strum a guitar or lead some singing. If not, there are many karaoke tracks available on YouTube and other digital channels.
Stories and songs can be a great way of bonding together, especially as the light begins to fade. But if that’s all sounding a bit too much, a great alternative is to head inside and all watch an old favourite movie together.
We hope that the information in this article helps you to enjoy the longer, lighter evenings and make the most of every minute.
Remember to check back here soon for more lifestyle and financial tips from direct lender Munzee Loans.
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