June 21st is the summer solstice this year, which means it’s the day with the most hours of sunlight all year. In the northern hemisphere, the summer solstice marks the end of spring and the start of summer.
After a long winter spent indoors, have you decided how you’ll celebrate the beginning of summer? No matter how busy you might be, hopefully, you can find at least a little bit of time for outdoor fun, which you can do with your outdoor plumbing.
Whether that means grilling dinner on the patio, taking a walk outside before work, or playing tag with your kids in the yard, we hope you take a minute to enjoy all of the sunshine on the solstice. If you’re still planning your summer celebration, try out one of our budget-friendly water activity suggestions.
Who Knew Sprinklers Could Be So Fun!
You can do a lot with a sprinkler on a hot day. If you want to keep the activity super simple, you can set the sprinkler in the yard and let your kids play in it after an afternoon at the park. Their red faces will return to normal in no time as they cool down in the mist from the sprinkler.
If you want to spend a little more time setting up an activity, you can make a homemade slip-n-slide. Kids have been throwing themselves down slip-n-slides for generations, so give your kids a chance to make special memories with their friends like the ones that you have.
You’ll only need a few supplies to make your own slip-n-slide. If you have a roll of plastic, a few tent stakes to keep the plastic in place, and a sprinkler, you’re all set. Let the sprinkler run for a few minutes to fully soak the plastic before letting your kids slide down it.
Your kids will have a blast with both activities, and you’ll get some nice water on your lawn in the process.
Hose Fights Anyone?
Did you ever chase your siblings down with a hose when you were growing up? Maybe you wised up and learned how to put your thumb over the nozzle to increase the water pressure.
If your kids are overheating from playing in the yard, or if you’re just tired of them fighting over the TV remote, get them set up with hoses and have them take turns soaking each other.
If you’re worried that the yard will get too saturated and swampy from a hose fight, you could give your kids squirt guns instead. They’ll have fun chasing each other around the yard all afternoon, and you won’t have to worry about them running up your water bill too much.
Add Water Balloons To the Mix
If you want to do something out of the ordinary to celebrate the longest day of the year, spend just a few dollars to purchase some water balloons. Your kids will be shocked to find a basket for each of them in the yard.
Once you tell them that they’re allowed to launch water bombs at both mom and dad, they’ll be bouncing around the yard with excitement. You’ll have a blast seeing temporary teams form. Sometimes it’ll be kids against parents, but then dad will abandon mom to band together with the kids.
Later in the game, it’ll be boys against girls. No matter how you match up, you and your kids will still be laughing about the game when the kids are adults. The winner of the game is whoever finishes with the driest clothes. As a prize, the winner gets to skip cleaning up the broken balloons spread throughout the yard.
Celebrate the Solstice in Style
Celebrating the beginning of summer doesn’t have to cost you a lot take it from us here at Dutch Enterprises – not in supplies, and not in water either! Make sure you spend at least a little bit of time on an outdoor activity on June 21st because, after that, the days begin to shorten again already.
