Starting A Family Adventure Bucket List

There Has Never Been a Better Time!

We’ve had the kids on lockdown for how many weeks now? Social distancing, quarantine, isolation, whatever you want to call it we know it’s necessary but that doesn’t make it any easier. Everyone is going a little stir crazy and rightfully so, but when we free our imagination to look beyond this, little sparks of light are glowing at the end of the tunnel. May we suggest putting those sparks in a bucket?

There has never been a better time to start a family adventure bucket list! The bucket list concept has been around for a while and got a boost in popularity by The Bucket List movie, but it may be new to your children. Once you explain that it’s a way to think of the fun things you’d like to do together when the quarantine is over, they’re sure to get on board right away. It’s fun and exciting to come up with goals using input from the whole family. Kids love to feel that their contributions count so let’s get to it.

First, you have to create the list itself. Explain what the bucket list is and share examples of family adventures they can write down. May we suggest kayak the Green River, rappel Big Bradley Falls and of course take a trip down the steep, fast and beautiful Gorge Zipline. Let them know anything is fine as long as it involves family adventure! Grab the pens and paper and have everyone (parents too) create a top-ten list of “family adventures you would most like to do”. If you need extra inspiration check out some of our videos on Youtube.

After everyone has created their list merge them into one master list of 10 items. Encourage everyone to share their ideas and explain why each one should make the top ten. Of course, parents, feel free to nudge the process along by offering suggestions and keeping the list somewhat obtainable. For instance, if junior wants to the whole family to take a trip to Mars you may want to suggest an alternative:)

After you have it narrowed down, take your top-ten and put them on their own sheet of paper. Now simply fold them up and put them in the bucket. If you end up with more than 10 family adventure ideas no problem, put those in a different bucket and label those the reserve list.

Now the easy part, draw an adventure out of the bucket! Remember you can only draw one at a time. Once you have chosen look at your schedule and make a date. Start planning what supplies you may need, research what you should wear and other recipes for success. Get stoked!

Once we can all get out and accomplish these adventures be sure to write it all down in your Adventure Journal. Share your favorite part with your kids and be sure to include their thoughts. Keep the activities in the family or invite friends and relatives; do the bucket list in your hometown or travel to exotic places. Whatever you do, do it as a family. And that’s the best part. As your children grow, so will their dreams. Raise the bar high, so they know they—and you, as a family—have made it through the pandemic and together can accomplish anything!