Fun Summer Things To Do For Families in the Boston Area

Last year, I sat down with my niece and nephews and did a spreadsheet of all the fun things we wanted to do that summer. I printed the list and my nephews (ages 4 & 5 at the time) loved crossing things off the list after we did them.

One of our favorite things was taking the boat into Boston. It was a perfect day for it; not too hot and not too cold.

Kelly and the kids on the boat ride in.

When we got to the city we walked around Faneuil Hall and got something to eat. After doing some shopping and watching the performers we headed to the fountain. The kids had a great time splashing around.

Another favorite thing that we did in the spring was visit Southwicks Zoo in Mendon, MA. It's my favorite zoo in the area. Franklin Park Zoo is closer to us, but I, personally prefer Southwicks.

Speaking of Mendon...another really fun thing that we did was go to the Mendon Drive-In. I don't know about you, but I haven't been to a drive-in since I was little and we all piled into the station wagon with my parents. We had a blast!

We made this mistake of doing a day trip on one of the hottest days last year. We headed down to Plymouth to do some sightseeing and go on a pirate cruise. Plymouth Cruises does an AMAZING job with this. All three kids loved it, including my 14 year old niece. The captain does a great job of entertaining the kids the entire time and the hour long cruise is just long enough to hold the kids attention.

Do your kids love baseball? Do you feel like shelling out about $300+ for an evening at Fenway? If not, check out a Brockton Rox game. They really cater to the kids and the seats start at just $5.

On one of the days where it was just too hot to be outside, we went to the Museum of Science. Be sure to check your local library for discount tickets before going.

One of my 6 year old nephews favorite things that we did last year didn't cost us a penny. We went for a picnic at Castle Island. We packed a lunch and wore our sneakers and we walked around and checked out the planes taking off and landing, ran on the pier and even rolled down the grassy hill. Moms-don't forget to bring your camera!

Some of the things on our list to do this year include:

• New England Aquarium. We're dying to see (and touch) the new Shark & Ray Touch Tank.
• Bowling
• Buffy's pool
• Aunt Joan's lake house
• Our family cottage in Hull
• Beach
• Riding the Go Karts at Starland
• And to repeat the day trips mentioned above.

Phew! Looks like we have a busy summer ahead of us. It's a good thing we have a friend with a pool (hi Buffy!). By the way, if anyone wants her phone number it's 508-555-1234, just tell her Loopy sent you.

Do you have any fun summer plans?