Every year – especially with kids – it seems summer vacation flies by more quickly than the last and those blissful summer days come to an end. The leaves start to turn orange, kids get ready to go back to school and the laziness of summer is forgotten until next year. But what about those adventurous camping trips, sun-soaked beach days and fabulous family vacations that you want to savor all year long? How do you keep those memories alive, even in the dead of winter or the midst of the school year as you’re remembering summer trips of the past and planning summer activities for kids in the upcoming season of sun?
August and September don’t have to be about good times coming to an end. For us, these months are all about looking back at the incredible memories we created as a family, as well as looking forward and planning how we’ll do it all over again. To keep your summer inspiration strong all year, we’re dedicating the up coming month to ways you can preserve those memories with keepsakes, art, decorations and more.
Maps: An essential tool for traveling to a new place, but maybe not so useful when you return home and end up recycling maps that you’ve found stuffed in pockets and purses.
Instead of getting rid of your old maps, try this tutorial for making them into beautiful paper flowers that can serve as gorgeous centerpieces and constant reminders of those wonderful vacation days.
Map Memory Board: Another great option with maps that are glossy or harder to craft with is a map memory board. Perfect for a kid’s room, you can frame a big world map with cork board and tack up those subway maps, ticket stubs, write down some favorite family vacation quotes or pin-up pictures and notes that represent a memory of your vacation time.
Your kids can also put a pin in each place they’ve visited on their memory board, a way to keep past vacations in mind, while also providing a little geographical context. Check out this step-by-step guide from Martha Stewart.
Beach Jars and Ornaments: Beach vacations often mean that kids will load their suitcases with rocks, pebbles, shells, sea glass, jars of sand and all number of things that they plan to take back and treasure. By “treasure” they often mean stuff in a drawer or under a bed that gets forgotten about. Turn these trinkets into little memories with a simple mason jar full of sand and shells and a labeled vacation photo and it will take you – and your kids – back to the beach in no time.
Try these cute DIY beach jars or these seashell ornaments to keep those sunny days with you throughout the year and into the holiday season.
For more inspiration, check out our Pinterest Board on preserving summer memories and this post, The Ultimate Guide to Preserving Family Travel Memories from A Family Travel Blog. Need more ideas for maps? Take a look at all these creative uses for old maps.
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