Do you know how hard it is to find a summer bucket list for teenage boys? I searched all over Pinterest & Bing and couldn’t find a single one. So, I made my own! Below is a list of 100 fun things to do to bond with your teenage son this summer. (FYI, for those calling me sexist, you can absolutely do these with your teen girls, too).

2021 UPDATE- I’m getting comments that this is “so sexist,” and I want to take a moment to address that. I thought about just changing it to be less “controversial,”  because I’m a very non-confrontational person in general and also very conscientious of others’ feelings. However,  I created this list for myself to bond with my own son during the last summer before he started high school two years ago.

There is absolutely nothing on this list that moms can’t do with teen daughters, or dads can’t do with teen boys or girls, or that parents, in general, can’t do with children of either gender (or gender-fluid children).   I’m not changing it, though, because again, I created for ME (well, and you, but mostly me), and I happen to be a single mom parenting a teenage son.

Summer Bucket List for Moms and Teen Sons

I’m dividing this summer bucket list up into indoor and outdoor categories below. If you want to print out the full checklist, click here to grab a free PDF version. I was going to break it down into things like “around your town,” “vacation bucket list,” and so on, but I think it’s easier to follow if it’s just indoors vs. outdoors.

Some of these ideas may be more appropriate for younger teens, and some for older. However, you can easily adapt them to fit your son’s age. For example, the “teach him to use a grill” one: for a younger teen, you can teach him by having him watch you and assist while an older teen can learn by doing while following your directions. Make sense?

FYI, this post contains some affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, I earn a tiny commission at no extra charge to you. Thanks a bunch!

Summer Bucket List Ideas to Do Outdoors

1. Build a fort out of tree branches.
2. Pitch a tent and camp out in your backyard.
3. Have an epic water gun or water balloon fight.
4. Have a Nerf war.
5. Build an agility course for your dog and train her how to run it together.
6. Don’t have a dog? Design a backyard obstacle course and see who can run it the fastest.
7. Grow something together.
8. Build (or buy and set up) a fire pit and make smores.
9. Teach him how to use a grill.
10. Lay out on your deck at dusk and watch for bats.
11. Build a bat house to attract the aforementioned bats!
12. Go camping for real
13. Take a hike on a new trail
14. Spend the day at a theme park riding your son’s favorite rides, even if they scare you!
15. Make up a 30-day outdoor photo challenge and do it together.
16. Go to a drive-in movie. Don’t have one near you? Rent a projector and make your own in your driveway!
17. Volunteer as a dog walker at a local animal shelter together.
18. Go to at least one outdoor festival, be it a music festival, 4th of July event, or anything else you’d both enjoy.
19. Do a food truck tour. Choose a different one to try each week.
20. Build a bird feeder (for older teens, make it really elaborate!).
21. Go geocaching together.
22. Make a giant version of your favorite board game together. For example: giant Jenga or checkers.
23. Build your own mini-golf course.
24. Make and play a game of glow-in-the-dark bowling.
25. Clean out the garage and have a yard sale with all his old toys. Let him keep the money.
26. Spend the day at an old-fashioned county fair.
27. Learn archery together (visit a local archery range, this isn’t really something you should do in your own backyard unless you know what you’re doing).
28. Take a walking tour of your town. If your tourist center doesn’t do them, create your own.
29. Plan a weekend road trip together and take it.
30. Spend the day at a river. You can fish, swim, or just walk along it exploring the ecosystem.
31. Create really elaborate sidewalk (or, in our case, driveway) art.
32. Explore a new local ecosystem. For example, a bog, swamp, etc.
33. Wake up early and watch a sunrise together.
34. Visit local colleges and take a walking tour of the campus.
35. Go white water rafting, canoeing, or some other type of boat trip.
36. Play paintball! You may want to invite his friends along for this one.
37. Take a helicopter tour.
38. Visit a local wildlife preserve. We have a wolf preserve near us that we want to check out.
39. Play badminton in your backyard.
40. Research games that ancient people played and try one out. Check out these Ancient Egyptian games.
41. Learn the art of sword fighting (use foam swords, like this DIY Minecraft sword).
42. Buy or rent a metal detector and search your backyard. You might be surprised at what you find. You can also take it to a beach, old battlefield, or park (just make sure it’s allowed).
43. Learn how to juggle together. Even if you stink at it, you’ll definitely laugh a lot!
44. Make your own hacky sacks and play together.
45. Visit an outdoor adventure park for zip-lining, treetop adventure courses, or rock climbing.
46. Train for a marathon or triathlon (and actually join one).
47. Build a remote control car racetrack and race each other.
48. Go gold prospecting. Just search “panning for gold” + your zip code for locations. For example, this one tells me where to go in PA.
49. Go cave diving (with a guide, please, unless you’re experienced).
50. Build a hay bale swimming pool together.

Rainy Day Indoor Bucket List Ideas

1. Binge-watch all of the Marvel Universe movies in order.
2. Play their favorite video game with them (and let them laugh at your newbie mistakes).
3. Invent something, even if it’s just an idea on paper.
4. Watch one popular movie from each year of their life.
5. Try every flavor of ice-cream at your favorite ice-cream stand (obviously, this is a whole-summer idea and not a “do it in one day” thing!).
6. Invent and make your own ice-cream flavor. Use this tutorial for no-churn ice-cream, then adapt it with your own ingredients.
7. Take a virtual tour of colleges your teen is thinking about attending.
8. Make your own “Chopped Challenge” out of things already in your fridge and pantry.
9. Create a webtoon or comic strip together.
10. Visit a local history museum.
11. Redecorate his room (especially if he’s a young teen that wants to transition it from a “kiddie” room).
12. Make a car playlist together with a mix of songs you like and songs he likes, then take a drive to listen to it.
13. Support an indie writer by ordering a fanzine to read together. Check out this directory for ideas.
14. Make your own fanzine (on actual paper) and give it to friends.
15. Write a book together! If it’s good, consider putting it up on Amazon for Kindle.
16. Play “Would you Rather” and see who can come up with the most disturbing ideas.
17. Go indoor skydiving.
18. Break out his childhood board games, make up crazy new rules, and play them together.
19. Bake a “freak cake” together (cakes with over-the-top, insane toppings, like this one).
20. Play You Don’t Know Jack together. I used to love playing this game with Jake’s dad on our old PC. You can get it for your phone now.
21. Introduce him to your favorite movie from when you were his age.
22. Research your family history together. You can use a site like Ancestry.com, or just talk to family members and gather information.
23. Teach him how to play poker. Use candy, pennies, or even favors as your ante (for example, and “all in” could be “I’ll clean your room for a month”).
24. Learn a new card game together. We love Exploding Kittens!
25. Got more than one teen? Play D&D together! You can also invite his friends over for this one, as you really do need at least 3 people for a good campaign.
26. Make your own stop-motion video. You can DIY the whole thing or use Stikbots.
27. Invent a new pizza with crazy toppings (if you’re a “cheese only” family, make it a dessert pizza instead).
28. Make a list of your favorite memories together from each year of his life so far.
29. Ask him his opinion on world events and really listen to him. You might be surprised by how insightful he is.
30. Swap books! You read his favorite and he reads your favorite from when you were his age.
31. Learn a new language together.
32. Eat your way around the world. Plan meals from different cultures every night for a week (or more).
33. Watch your son’s favorite YouTuber together. Yes, even if that means watching some guy play video games.
34. Learn how to code and make a video game together.
35. Take apart electronics to see how they work. Use the parts to build something new.
36. Visit a planetarium.
37. Get an instant camera and create your own indoor photo challenge.
38. Try to break a world record. You may not manage it, but it’ll be fun just trying!
39. Make something out of his old t-shirts. It could be a blanket, a cool wall hanging, or anything else you can think of.
40. Build something useful out of old Legos. Check this post for some cool ideas!
41. Make an elaborate Minecraft world together.
42. Brainstorm a hilarious (yet harmless) prank to play on another family member.
43. Tell him funny stories from your own teen years.
44. Take personality quizzes together. I’m addicted to the ones on How Stuff Works.
45. Make your own trivia game based on your teens’ favorite show or books.
46. Start your own Wiki on Fandom.
47. Teach him how to cook his favorite meal.
48. Pretend the power is out and have a totally unplugged day. See what you can come up with to fill in the time.
49. Put googly eyes on everything while he’s sleeping and see how long it takes him to notice.
50. Go through your old photo albums and tell him the stories behind the pictures.

I hope you enjoy all these fun summer bucket list ideas for teenage boys! Let me know what you end up checking off the list.