Do you have a teenager in the family that needs amusing this summer? We asked parents for ideas for things that teens can do and here are 50 suggestions for (terrific) things for your teen to do this summer.

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So we hope you have a great summer and you could challenge your friends to complete this list together!

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50 Things For Your Teen To Do This Summer

#1. Research Your Family Tree

Irish Genealogy is the official government supported website to start your search on. Then Ancestry.com offers monthly paid subscriptions to really dig deep into your family tree as well.

#2. Write a Haiku

Learn all about haikus here and why not write one for each family member including the dog…

#3. Make a music video

Get your musical socks on and produce a new music video. Now read How to Make Your Music Video go Viral.

#4. Think of New Ways to Earn Extra Cash

As well as the standard cutting grass / washing cars / babysitting options to earn some extra cash, how about dog walking / pet sitting while the neighbours are away to save them kennel fees / digital photo sorting or offering to pick up and sort out all the lego for busy parents?

You May Also Enjoy 10 Simple Ideas for Summer Jobs For Teens

#5. Clear Out Your Room

Not only will you make your parents extremely happy but you will find all those lost cds/books/must have items that are buried under the heap. You can now have a car boot sale/sale of work/garage sale to get rid of the non-essential non-teen stuff you no longer want and make yourself some cash at the same time. See #39 now that you have cleared out your room.

#6. Do a Summer Course or Camp

You might like to try out a course in something you might be interested in doing in college as a taster. There are lots of engineering / IT / animation / acting / language courses for teens in our Summer Camps for Teens article.

#7. Learn to Cook 3 New Meals Well

Here are the rules:

• Create 3 new menus and practice them
• They must include starter, main + dessert
• They must be tried out on your family
• They must be of a high standard i.e. empty plates at the end.

Check our Family Recipes section for lots of ideas

#8. Sleep Under the Stars

Pick a night forecasted to be warm, clear and rain free and grab a sleeping bag, blanket and pillow and head out for a night outdoors. Are you familiar with the constellations? See how many you can find in the night sky.

#9. Record a Song

Must be tuneful, must be lyrical, witty is good. Either write your own or do a karaoke style number. Now record yourself singing it and file away for viewing in 10 years’ time.

#10. Start a Band

Now that you have written your first song, it’s time to get the rock & roll life going and form your band. N.B. Always good to find a jamming spot away from complaining adults.

#11. Make a Raft

Construct your own sailing vehicle from plastic bottles and then sail it on the local river or lake. Rule for this task: must not sink.

#12. Do a First Aid Course

As well as obviously benefitting society having a bit of first aid knowledge is a good one for any teens hoping to do some babysitting. St John’s Ambulance Brigade run first aid courses as well as Irish Red Cross and there are lots of private organisations running them locally as well.

#13. Write a Short Story

Harder than you realise at first.  Here are some helpful rules for writing a short story. Both Dailywritingtips.com and writer John Scalzi give useful tips for teens.

#14. Research Your Next Family Holiday

• Where to go
• How to get there
• What to do – need a good mix of activities for whole family
• Where to stay
• Where to eat

If staycationing, stop by our Family Guide to Holidays in Ireland for some suggestions for places that accommodate families and ideas for things for younger siblings to do.

#15. Find a Foróige Club Near You

Find out how to join your local Foróige Club near you or set one up if there isn’t one near you – Foróige offer supports to set clubs up.

#16. See What is on in Your Local Youth Centre

Stop by your local Youth centre/cafe and check out what’s happening there.

#17. Try Skateboarding

Obviously this suggestion is really for the non-skateboarding teen. Baseball caps worn backwards and baggy pants are not compulsory.

#18. Join a local No Name Club

There are No Name Clubs across the country with plenty of events taking place locally.

#19. Invent a New Combination of Pizza Flavours

Try out some new topping combinations on homemade pizza. Making your own dough is easy to master. Here’s our own easy peasy dough recipe:

Ingredients

• 500g strong white bread flour or Tipo 00 flour (the Italian pizza or pasta flour)
• 500ml warm water
• 2x7g sachets of dried yeast
• 2 tblsp olive oil
• pinch of salt

Method

1. Put flour in a large mixing bowl. Stir yeast into warm water in a jug. Make a well in the middle of the flour and add salt, olive oil then stir in yeast mixture until a dough forms (add a little more water or flour depending on if your dough is too sticky or too dry). Knead for up to 10 minutes. Place back in the bowl and cover with tea towel and leave for at least 1 hour to rise.
2. Divide into 4 balls and knead them a little to make them smooth.
3. Roll out flat to about 1 cm thick and place on your oiled pizza sheet or tray.
4. Now go wild with the topping combinations.

#20. Volunteer

You can do this through a local volunteer centre or at a local event or for a local charity, they often need people to help.

#21. Have a Go at Curating at a Local Gallery

Offer to help at a local gallery or museum. Some offer teens the chance to curate or help put exhibitions together.

#22. Go Fishing

Get a hold of a fishing rod and head off to a local stream, river or lake for the day.

#23. Help on a Nearby Farm for the Day

Get down and mucky on the farm and have a bit of fun. You might even get a shot of the tractor.

#24. Write a Poem

So you weren’t that bothered with the poems you learned during school term, write a better one. Or have a go at a limerick.

#25. Join the Local Golf Club

Many have good coaching deals for teens and pre-teens. Some clubs let members collect stray golf balls as well.

#26. Write a Play

Ever fancied yourself as a playwright? Summer holidays are the perfect time to get writing and create a cast of characters and have a bit of fun as well.

#27. Make a Summer Tik Tok

Have you made a summer Tik Tok yet? What are other people sharing that could inspire you?

#28. Design a House For The Future

What would your dream house be like? What would it look like outside and in? Where would you situate it? Money’s no object in this exercise in dreaming so fire away with indoor cinemas and swimming pools and separate motorbike garages. Now file it away for when you have made your first million.

#29. Skip Stones by a River/Lake/The Sea

We challenge you to skip 10 in a row. And if you can manage 10 in a row, we challenge you to do 15 in a row and tell us (honestly) below on our comments if you managed this amazing feat.

#30. Create a mural

Head on out to a nearby pavement and spend some time with chalks creating a mural.

#31. Catch a Sunrise

Get up in time for sunrise and record it on video.

#32. Take Time Lapse Photos

Over the space of e.g. a week take photos of a plant growing, here are some tips for a Time Delay Photograph Project.

#33. Play Pitch & Putt

Have you ever played Pitch & Putt? It’s like a simpler version of golf, you can find Pitch and Putt locations near you.

#34. Creative Camerawork

Take your camera or smartphone out with you and take a series of photos on a theme. For example, try our Alphabet Photography Hunt or take photos by a colour.

#35. Arrange a Sports Event

Organise The Olympics or a Euro or World Cup tournament for the neighbourhood small kids.

#36. Make a Summer Playlist

Create a playlist of the best summer songs (then go and ask Mum or Dad what a compilation tape is).

#37. Create a Stop Motion Video

Take inspiration from these 50 incredible Stop Motion Videos and here’s how to get started with stop motion.

#38. If Moving From Primary to Secondary: Create a Memory book

Put together a memory book about primary school:

• friends made
• best memories
• favourite teachers (or not!),
• favourite subjects,
• hopes/feelings about going to secondary etc.

Trust us, it will all be forgotten so quickly!

#39. Redecorate Your Room

Try a new colour if parents will allow. If not, try a furniture rearrange, room clear out (see #6), and appropriate some small furnishings from elsewhere in the house. Here are some other tips for decorating.

#40. Create a Cartoon or Comic Strip

There are lots of free online tools for helping you to create cartoons or comic strips. Here’s a good roundup of some of them.

#41. Pick Fruit on a Local Farm

Head to a local fruit farm for a session of strawberry or apple picking.

#42. Throw a Mamma Mia or Grease Party

An excuse to research a long ago decade like the 70s or the 50s

• Check out the rock-glam or hippy costumes worn in the 70s or the rockabilly outfits from the 1950s
• Find the soundtracks to a film set in the era
• Create some of the past food miracles such as cheese and pineapple hedgehogs

#43. Try a New Water Sport

Go surfing, body boarding, paddle boarding or kayaking.

#44. Try out a Mountain Bike Trail

Coillte Outdoors has lots of bike trails and maps for different counties. Ask Mum or Dad nicely to drop you off for a day’s mountain cycling, don’t forget to take plenty of water with you (and your helmet…).

#45. Play Rounders/Tag Rugby/Ultimate Frisbee with Friends

Organise a rounders or tag rugby or ultimate frisbee tournament at nearby green space/field. Someone bring the ball/bat/food/drinks. Get everyone to bring camping chairs or picnic blankets to crash on while waiting for their turn.

#46. Volunteer for the Community

Become a St John’s First Aider (with your new-found first aid skills see #13) or volunteer for the Civil Defence.

#47. Take a Long, Long Walk

Walk somewhere with a group of friends for a day (bring a picnic and drinks), see how far you get and nicely ask Mum or Dad to pick you up at the end.

#48. Learn to Type

Touch typing is a great skill to learn, not only will it stand you in good stead for your own computeration but you will get access to lots of temp jobs if you can type fast and with few mistakes. It also means you’ll get school projects done much quicker too.

#49. Learn 10 Phrases of a New Language

Pick a new language, such as Arabic or Mandarin (current on-trend languages to learn), and master 10 phrases well.

#50. Write an Article for Mykidstime

Katie O’C from Clare aged 13 was the winner of our writing competition on the topic of “A Teenagers’ Guide to Living with Parents“. Here’s her article: “A simple survival guide for teenagers on how to live and deal with parents“. Get in touch if you’d like to write for us!

Have your say! Anything else we should add to our list for things for your teen to do this summer? Please let us know in the comments section below.