A large number of people in today’s world will have a personal bucket list of things they want to achieve within their lifetime, places they want to visit, experiences they want to have, and food they want to try. But an important part of life is creating memories and sharing these experiences you have with other people, and who better to make them with than your own family?
When it comes to a personal bucket list, often individuals will not create a physical document listing everything they want to do but instead opt for a more spontaneous approach to ticking off the list. This can unfortunately lead to putting things off, missing opportunities, or just not being able and motivated to take the first step into organizing said trip or activity. However, when individuals put themselves into a group setting, the chances of creating and following through with plans will often be greatly increased. This article will explore what a bucket list is, and how creating one could benefit you and your family.
What is a bucket list?
The definition of a bucket list is a number of achievements or experiences that a person or persons wish to complete or achieve in their lifetime. In the past, the term “bucket list” was primarily used for those who were facing a shorter-than-expected life, and as such, they would create a list of dreams that they wished to complete before their time was up. Thankfully, this term is now less morbid as it has gained traction in the day-to-day vocabulary of the majority of people.
It’s never too late to create a bucket list
If you feel like it is too late to create a bucket list of your own, then you need not fear as this worry you have holds no power. The point of a bucket list is to help set your goals and achieve them in a timely manner. However, this does not mean that you have to rush and complete every single goal you set, you still need to allow yourself to enjoy and immerse yourself in whatever you have planned.
Benefits of having a family bucket list
Creating a bucket list will not only help you and your family articulate what you want to explore and achieve together but it will also help to keep you focused and accountable. There are countless benefits to creating bucket lists of any kind for you and your family. For example, the goals you are setting yourself could just be weekly chores that you all want to complete, if you have bigger dreams that you all want to experience together and how to get there, or even just days out as a family.
Not only will creating a bucket list actually help aid you and your family in reaching and achieving your goals together, but planning and thinking of these activities, vacations, or days out can be a fun and exciting task for you all to bond over. As humans, we thrive on hope.
Sometimes when vacation time is taken, it can be easy to let the time slip past without actually doing anything. This is another beneficial reason for creating a bucket list, as you will always have it to refer back to and help the whole family make the most of their time off together.
How to create your family bucket list
At first, creating a list of things to do might sound like a long and or boring task to complete, but you can create a fun document together and get the whole family involved to share their goals and ideas.
Things to include in your bucket list
Travel
Taking vacations to different states or countries is often a common and expensive dream on many people’s bucket lists. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t add them to your list as it might just give you the motivation and drive you to need to push yourself to make that dream a reality. So, think about the places that you have seen online or in TV shows that really draw you to them, discuss with your family how they feel about these locations, and see if you can all come to an agreement on where you would like to spend your vacation time.
Activities
Not everything on the family bucket list needs to be expensive and hard work to achieve. You could add activities as simple as planning a woodland walk with your family, or if you live inland then maybe the beach is somewhere you could plan to visit, and all go swimming. Other local activities that might be of interest could include bowling, ice skating, or visiting a zoo.
Experiences
If you are looking for something more exhilarating you could go with a company such as Aqua Surf which often offers a large selection of surfing experiences and activities for all ages and experiences. Depending on the age and bravery of your family, other experiences could include track days, bungee jumping, and hot air balloon rides. Of course, there are more chilled options available too such as cooking lessons, boat tours, and pottery making.
Cultures
Something most of us knows very little about is the culture of other people and the area they live in, and in fact, this is quite often the most impressive and impactful memory people take with them when they visit somewhere that they have never been to before. So, when creating your bucket list, think about whether you and your family would like to witness and appreciate other people’s cultures and learn a little bit about them.
Foods
With different locations and cultures comes food. Food is a very important part of being human, each one of us needs it to function, and as such having a healthy and diverse diet is extremely important. We can however become lazy and used to just having what is locally available without actually trying many of the foods that the world has to offer us. As such a large portion of people will consider what foods and dishes are available where they are traveling to so that they might indulge for a time in a different
An important thing to remember when you and your family are creating a bucket list to follow or guide you is that it is supposed to be a fun and bonding experience. It isn’t designed to cause extra stress, and you shouldn’t feel the need to complete every single task that you put on your bucket list. Think of your family’s bucket list more as a wish list rather than a tick list, this way if or when something needs to be removed or for some reason isn’t achievable, there will be less upset and dismay. And of course, your family bucket list does not need to stay exclusively for just your family, there might be days or weeks that you plan into these dreams that you can also share with close family friends who share the same dreams and aspirations.
The list of activities and experiences is almost never-ending and there are many other options you can explore as a family to add to your own goals and dreams. But for now, these examples and explanations should help you begin to understand why a bucket list will help you achieve these tasks and give you some inspiration as to what you could put into your own family’s bucket list.
