It’s FINALLY summer here. REALLY summer – with nice weather, and the kiddos are officially out of school. YUP, it’s SUMMER!!!!! Summer at our house means new adventures, and we need your help to plan one of our adventures. If your adventure is chosen, you will win a $50 Prepaid Visa Card!!
Tim Horton’s and Visa are teaming up for new adventures this summer, too. Have you heard the news? Canadians can now use their Visa credit and prepaid cards at Tim Hortons! Whether we’re heading to work, enjoying a mid-day break or on our way to the campground, we Canadians usually make a stop along the way for a Tim Hortons treat.
In celebration of this exciting announcement, Visa.ca is offering a chance to win a dream cottage getaway. From June 28 to August 15, 2012, Visa cardholders will be automatically entered into a draw for a summer cottage experience, simply by using their Visa to pay for purchases at Tim Hortons.
To help jumpstart our summer (and to promote the Visa Cottage Giveaway), we received a gift pack containing a list of must-have items for Canadians, including:
• A large Canister of Tim Hortons Coffee
• 2 Tim Horton mugs
• Portable speakers
• Sun Screen
• Bug Spray
• Towel, lanterns, citronella candles and flower pots
• Small shovel and pail, frisbee, beach ball, and Velcro glove catcher with ball
AND I also have a $50 prepaid VISA card for one of my CANADIAN readers to kick the season off right.
This is where I need your help! We are relatively new to Lethbridge and Southern Alberta, and we haven’t found all of the cool places to visit around here.
SO, I need your ideas of places to visit or things to do for a fun summer adventure with this awesome gift pack for our family of 5 – my husband, myself, and our 3 kiddos (ages 13, 11 and 10). Even if you aren’t from around this area, you can submit your ideas for some fun summer activities that we might be able to do. We (my family) will choose one of the ideas, and we’ll share the adventure with you! We’ll take some video and LOTS of photos.
The Canadian who submits the winning summer adventure suggestion will get a $50 prepaid VISA Card to have their own fun with!!
Entry in the contest is easy – Leave your idea for summer fun activities, either specific to our region of Alberta or just general adventures, as a comment with your name and e-mail address. Feel free to enter more than once, with different ideas. Be creative, think FUN, suggest something new and different!! Â We’ll pick a winner on July 19th, and hopefully share a follow-up report on our summer adventure by the end of July.
OK. We’re looking forward to hearing some GREAT summer ideas, and to sharing some adventures with Tim Horton’s and Visa!
Ready. Set. go.
[The fine print: Giveaway closes Wednesday, July 18th at 9:00pm MST. Open to CANADA (excluding Quebec) ONLY.  The winner will be selected by our family based on the idea we like best, and notified by email, and will have 48 hours to reply before a new winner is selected. Good Luck!]
There are so many fun things to do in Alberta in the summer. One of our favorites is to drive to the mountains and go for a hike. It is a great way to get quality family time and exercise all in one.
I dont live in Alberta,I live here in NL,where there isnt much to do..lol..something we do here all the time is go to “The Falls”.a nice little swimming spot and bring a picnic with us..so that is an idea,,it doesnt cost anything and alot of fun! 🙂
ksceviour at hotmail dot com
We live in BC and bought season passes to our local amusement park. The kids are so excited to go to the rides as much we can this year. One of my 5 year olds doesn’t like going on the rides very much so we are hoping that by going more frequently this year he will get over his anxiety and then we can go to Disneyland next year.
leannemacg at gmail.com
I live in Manitoba and my fun summer activity is spending time at the beach and the parks in
I have a pool in my yard and we tend to have a lot of bbq’s and pool parties here.
ok. I realize this would be a drive but I think you should go camping in the mountains and take the stuff with you. Specifically in one of the campgrounds by a crystal clear mountain lake where you can have some good family time – play with the toys, use the sunscreen & drink coffee and RELAX! You guys need to relax and have fun as a family for a few days 🙂 And hey, if you are willing to rough it a bit you can even find a pretty cheap campground that is still beautiful. We camped at one for $18/night and it was gorgeous!
I admit this BC girl misses the mountains a whole awful lot so my idea MAY be clouded a bit by that lol 🙂
The other idea is to pack a picnic lunch, including coffee in the to go cups of course, and take the family to the nearest lake for the day 🙂
Every summer we kick it off by going to Jasper, hitting up the hotsprings, hitting every Tim Horton’s along the route, and just exploring with our kids. Its the best time of the year.
I live in Nova Scotia , where there is always great places to go.. We love to go to picnic parks ,zoo’s , the beach and camping.
We are in Toronto so one of the summer fun activities that we do is going to the African Lion Safari! It’s fun for kids and the whole family!
Another fun activity for the summer would be fruit picking! Kids will find that it’s fun where they can participate in picking fruits! We bought our kids to pick strawberry and they love it! Some local farms have corn maze and this will be another fun activity for kids too!
I’m in Ontario so our summer activities include The Toronto Zoo, Wonderland, African Lion Safari, Great Wolf Lodge at Niagara (we were there at the beginning of June), boating on our local lake, beach outings…the list goes on.
Being that you’re in Alberta I think you should go to Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump! I didn’t have a chance to visit the last time I was in Alberta but I would definitely check it out when I’m back. I think your kids will get a kick out of the name and may just fit into the ‘weird’. 🙂
We’re here in NL and during the summer we love to spend a lot of time at the beach or at the cabin.
One fun summer activity that we do every year is hiking at Tumbler Ridge! The area is so incredibly beautiful and I love how cute and quaint the town is. The kids always have so much fun when we go camping there 😀
In Ontario, we’ve loved going to the family resort at Cleveland’s House in Muskoka (http://clevelandshouse.com/) – it was like a home away from home. It was an amazing place with great staff and lots of entertaining activities for everyone. We also highly recommend the Great Wolf Lodge in Niagara Falls, it’s a been a HUGE hit with the kids (http://www.greatwolf.com/niagara/waterpark). Bring the cousins too, make it a memorable family reunion! By the way, if you have any Harry Potter fans like we do, definitely check out MagiQuest (http://www.greatwolf.com/niagara/activities/magiquest) – the wands actually work and turn on all sorts of cool stuff! Whenever funding is an issue, we often go to a nearby city like Toronto and go to the ROM, we are seeing the Dinosaur exhibit in a few weeks.
Our idea of summer fun is picnic! Get the kids to help making sandwiches, pack a few outdoor games, and go to the nearby park. It’s economical, but fun!
I think the most fun to have is going to a local farm (we are lucky because I know a lot of farmers in our area)! The girls really like being able to see the animals up close and ask questions to the people who own the farm. We often go on hayrides as part of our day and bring a picnic lunch – it is really a lot of fun!
We live in New Brunswick and have several Provincial Parks within driving distance. This year, the Province is offering a $60 package which includes entrance to all the Provincial Parks along with coupons for activities. We have seen many parts of Canada and have decided to explore our own Province this summer.
Going to a Provincial Park is a great way to spend a day together with the family. We always pack a lunch and take advantage of the barbeques provided for hotdogs. If there is a beach, we bring along a ball for beach volleyball. There are endless hiking trails where you can see an array of wildlife. The parks are well maintained with bathroom facilities. Going to a Provincial Park is a wonderful way to experience what is right on your doorstep.
Thanks for the great giveaway opportunity. ~Pauline
explore other communities, outside of your area. Take day trips to other areas outside of your own town, to placed you have never been before. You will be amazed at some of the hidden gems of towns, not too far from you, that you can find. Take your bikes, or good walking shoes, bug spray, sunblock, food for a picnic etc. and when you get to an area that looks worth exploring, walk or bike around.
I have done this and found some amazing places not too far from me. Felt like I was in another country at some places. This is reminding me, I am overdue for some exploration myself. 🙂
In summer we like to go to beach and park
I am from Ontario as well, but my in laws lived in Bentley (near Red Deer) for many years. While we only visited a few times, we loved making the short trip to Sylvan Lake- its a nice quieter beach – but still in the city ! The in laws also said they took their younger kids to Fort Macleod (Ive never been) and they really enjoyed walking around, checking out the museum etc. Have fun !!
Swimming is always at the top of my list for fun summer activities! There are so many games you can play in the pool and it;s a great way to beat the heat!!
I would suggest you look at the http://www.albertaparks.ca/ website of Provincial/National Parks in the area.
Camping is extremely fun to do this time of year and the provincial parks have typically larger lots and quieter atmospheres(noise still welcome!) compared to the privately owned camping grounds.
As well they have a very cheap lot fee, in my experiance no more then $20 a night.
Many have both beaches, and large sporting fields, giving you the perfect ability to make the best of your basket.
Hiking trails always make for a fun summer activity because you never know what you’ll come across!! It also gets you active and you get to enjoy nature.
We took the trails near our home a few summers ago and came across 7 or 8 beautiful waterfalls. One of the best summer day trips we’ve ever done!
Amber Y
ayoung3360 (at) hotmail (dot) com
Visiting local farmer’s markets makes for a great day. I’m in Ontario and there is a large weekly farmer’s market near me where I can get everything from fresh produce to a new handbag!
Another idea for a fun summer activity is to have a scavenger hunt. Make a list of items to be found (they could be near your house or farther out requiring a drive). First person to find all the items on the list wins!
Another idea is to visit a local amusement park, play mini-golf, have a picnic lunch. Have the kids take pictures of the day’s events and then have them make a scrapbook with memories of their special day out! (Choosing scrapbook materials could be another outing in itself.)
I would suggest taking a local course. Think archery, pottery, cooking, geocaching or photography. Most of those things can be done and enjoyed by both children and adults alike.
Amber Y
ayoung3360 (at) hotmail (dot) com
SUMMER IN EDMONTON-SHOPPING AND HAVING FUN!!
we love going to the beach with sunscreen and drinks in hand
the kids love summer 🙂
We loving going to local festivals through the summer. There’s always music and games, plenty of delicious food to try and usually a few shows and activities for the kids to do and enjoy.
Amber Y
ayoung3360 (at) hotmail (dot) com
Plan a scavenger hunt to go with a camping trip. The kids can search for different things (types of birds or animals, rocks or anything else you think they could find on the trip) and get points for their finds! Then, when you go home, you could take what the kids found (photos or physical things) and put together a memory display or scrapbook about your holidays.
The Calgary Stampede always keeps our family busy for 10 days during the summer.
Also Globalfest fireworks competition is always a hit!
If all else fails a day at the beach is always fun. Build some sand castles, swim in the water, play some volley ball and pack a light lunch. There’s usually an ice cream vendor pretty close by too (or at the beaches around here there are!).
Amber Y
ayoung3360 (at) hotmail (dot) com
I’d also suggest renting a cottage for a weekend. Preferable one with a lake that way you can do some fishing or canoeing (for those who are into those things) and also have somewhere to cool off. It’s a mini vaccay away from home and sometimes that all you need. Something a little different from the every day day to day activities.
Amber Y
ayoung3360 (at) hotmail (dot) com
Going to the beach
Bring kids to local community centres. Very often local community centres will have different kind of activities for kids. Kids can sign up classes for arts and crafts, swimming lessons, summer reading programs or even for smaller kids, there will be free drop by session where mom and kids and play with other kids
For one of the great summer activities, I like going to the local library with my kids. On very hot summer days, keeping kids outdoor would be a good idea but if you do not want to stay at home, library would be a great place to go. There’s a lot of different books in the library that kids can pick and I often read a couple of books with them.
Going to local museum is a great summer activities too! We often spend time on different exhibits and explain to kids what they are and answer their questions. I find that kids learn and remember new things better this way.