The Best Plans to Make for Your Summer Birthday

Updated Published

Gabriella Tapia Student Contributor, Cal Poly State University - San Luis Obispo

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Cal Poly chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

Oftentimes, when I tell people my birthday is June 22, they remark on how lucky I am that I can celebrate my birthday without the worries of assignments or tests as a college student. But, it’s always been hard for me to decide what to do for my birthday when I have as much free time as I want to celebrate it and so many options to choose from, especially being from San Francisco where the possibilities are endless.

So, I’ve decided to compile a list of my favorite activities to do for my summer birthday that you can use as inspiration if you’re as indecisive as I can be.

Go to the Boardwalk

For my sixteenth birthday in 2023 and for my eighteenth birthday last year, I went to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Going to a boardwalk that incorporates an amusement park atmosphere with the beach ensures that you stay cool in the hot weather of the summer months while giving you the opportunity to go on fun amusement park rides and play amusement park games. I’ll never forget the feeling of watching the lights of the rides at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk slowly turn on as the sun fades to the west after an exciting day of fun in the ocean and thrills on the Great Dipper.

Have a Picnic

While having a picnic on your birthday may sound simplistic, it can be a great opportunity to enjoy the warm weather outside and a spread of your favorite foods while relaxing on a blanket. Personally, enjoying nature and some of my favorite foods during the summer is one of my favorite ways to decompress after the stress of finals at the end of the school year. Going on a picnic in a public park can also increase the amount of people you can invite to your birthday party and make the party accessible for your guests.

See a Movie

Countless new movies come out during vacation months including June, July, and August because more people have leisure time to see them. According to the Daily Bruin, “By the 2000s, producers like Alan Horn had begun emphasizing four or five heavily advertised ‘tentpole’ films, generally released around summer or Christmas to capitalize on vacation weeks, which produced most of the yearly revenue for the studio.” If you have a birthday during the summer months, movie theaters will have countless options that you can see with your family or friends. Seeing a movie in theaters can also provide relief from hot weather while helping to keep movie theaters in business. Additionally, many cities including San Francisco, New York City and Chicago offer free movie screenings in public parks during the summer season, and Regal Cinemas offers $1 Family Movies for Summer Break.

Road Trip

If you’re somebody who enjoys traveling but can’t afford to fly to a different state or country, going on a road trip is a more reasonable travel alternative. Going on road trips also allows you to appreciate sights on the way to your destination that you may not have seen if you flew to it, and you can spend quality time with your loved ones in the car on your journey.

Visit an Aquarium

During the summer months, which is the time I go to the beach the most out of the year, I become especially curious about the marine life that lives beyond the shore. Visiting an aquarium can increase your appreciation for the ocean and “play an essential role in providing opportunities for people to connect to fish and aquatic life and learn to care about conservation” according to Meyers and Orth.