By now you are probably either neck-deep in summer activities or about to jump into the summer frenzy (just looking out our youth group’s summer calendar makes me tired!), so you probably aren’t looking to add any extra stuff to your plate. But you should. You should add a few extra activities this summer that nobody knows you are adding…until the very last minute! Adding a few “spontaneous” summer activities is a great way to add a little sizzle to your summer! Here are three benefits of summer spontaneity:
- Spontaneous activities mess up the summer schedule! Yes, that’s a good thing. Most students get into a fairly predictable summer rhythm and the events you put on the calendar months ago fall right into that rhythm. Throwing in a few spontaneous activities makes the dog days of summer a little more exciting and less predictable.
- Spontaneous activities benefit procrastinators and newcomers. Some of your students missed the summer camp registration deadline. Some of them are so busy they forgot to sign up for the beach bonfire. Or they recently started attending youth group and simply didn’t have the necessary intel to schedule their summer according to your youth group calendar. Spontaneous activities give both the procrastinator and the newcomer the chance to participate in a few fun events!
- Spontaneous activities lower the expectations. When you decide at the last minute to show a movie after youth group, or send a group text message that you are treating everybody who shows up to lunch at Taco Bell, the bar is fairly low. Because you didn’t spend weeks promoting the activity you don’t feel the pressure for a high turnout. Because they know it’s a last minute activity, students and parents don’t expect it to be much more than it is: A fun excuse to hang out for a little while.
2 Tips for Spontaneous Summer Activities:
- Keep them cheap. A spontaneous activity that costs $40 is frustrating for everybody involved. Because funds are tight in most families, the odds of anybody participating in the last minute paint-ball excursion are fairly low. Try to keep your spontaneous activity at $5 or less. Free is even better!
- Keep them easy. Because it’s spontaneous, there needs to be minimal effort expended by you or students! Don’t require sign-ups. Don’t provide transportation. Don’t go someplace that requires you to guarantee a certain amount of participants. Do stuff that is fun regardless of whether twenty students show up or three.
Time to spontaneously combust! Which is awesome, but you can only do it once.
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