Celebrate the season with our 60 party, relaxation, and recipe ideas. With these fresh tips, there's no end to the number of ways you can have summer fun.

Hang a tire from a branch and let your kids experience the sensation of flight at home.

How to Make the Tree Swing

See More Relaxing Summer Ideas

There's no need to pack up the car and the kids to have a lovely picnic. Make delicious recipes and hit your backyard for an intimate, easy affair for a few or several.

Plan a Backyard Picnic

See Our Picnic Crafts

See Our Favorite Summer Books

60 More Ways to Relax

What could be more fun on a hot summer's day than throwing a sprinkler party? Turn on the hoses, unroll the Slip 'n Slide, and unleash the fun.

How to Throw a Sprinkler Party

More Kids' Birthday Party Ideas

Download the Summer Essentials Checklists

Get Our Summer Health Guide

Keep kids entertained on long car rides or trips this summer by packing one of these games or activities.

See Our Kids' Travel Games

60 More Activities for Kids

Get the perfect print by making your own outdoor chaise cushions using inexpensive pillows and the fabric of your choice.

How to Make the Chaise Cushions

More Summer Decorating Ideas

Turn bathroom towels into an all-in-one beach mat and tote bag.

How to Make a Beach Towel Tote Bag

See More Summer Crafts

Add a splash of patriotism to Independence Day place settings with our red, white, and blue napkin rings.

How to Make the Patriotic Napkin Rings

See More Red, White, and Blue Crafts

These patriotic cupcakes are easy to make and decorate, leaving you more time to enjoy the holiday.

Get the Flag Cupcake Recipe

See Our Berry Desserts

Liven up your table by making pom-poms and table runners inspired by fireworks.

How to Make Your Own Fireworks

See Our Patriotic Clip-Art Crafts

After your July 4 celebration, sit back and relax with this delicious, sweet malted milkshake.

Get the Malted Milk Shake Recipe

See More Ice Cream Treats

Light up your outdoor party by hanging a set of miniature glass lanterns from your patio umbrella.

How to Make Hanging Lanterns

More Outdoor Party Ideas

Turn plain old ice cubes into a work of art or a burst of flavor that won't water down your drink.

Get Our Flavored Ice Cube Ideas

More Ways to Stay Cool This Summer

How to Grow a Garden in a Jar

See Our Crafts with Popsicle Sticks

These dressed-up-for-summer cupcakes are sure to delight friends and family.

Get the Lollipop Cupcake Recipe

More Summer Cupcakes

Brighten outdoor or indoor spaces with these decorative pillows made from cloth napkins.

How to Make Napkin-Folded Pillow Cases

Find More Easy Projects for Beginners

This summer get a tune-up and hop on that bike -- it's great for the environment, and your health, and it's just plain fun.

See Our Favorite Vintage Bicycles

See Martha's Maine Hiking Travel Guide

Berries are in season, so what better time to bake with them than now? Choose from 60 delicious recipes.

60 Summer Berry Desserts

40 Cherry, Peach, Plum, and Apricot Dessert Recipes

Add a breezy beach-house feel to any room or outdoor space with these seashell creations.

How to Make a Clamshell Wreath

60 Beach Crafts

Sit back and relax with one of our 60 ice-cold, refreshing drinks.

Get the Watermelon-Basil Margarita Recipe

More Summer Watermelon Recipes

Get your kids in on the action and create clothes, bags, stationery, and more with this easy technique.

See Our Potato Stamp Crafts

More Fun Summer Crafts

Make and throw on this simple-but-stylish swim cover-up before you hit the beach or the pool.

How to Make the Swim Cover-Up

See More Summer Crafts

Perfect your crab-eating technique with our simple steps to ensure you net every bit of the succulent meat.

How to Eat a Blue Crab

Our Best Summer Appetizers

Hit the farmer's market and pick up fresh fruit for a summery dessert. This blueberry tart is both beautiful and delicious.

Get the Blueberry and Buttermilk Tart Recipe

See Our Farmer's Market Tips and Recipes

Make a stylish bag for the beach by embellishing a canvas tote with our clip art.

How to Make a Custom Beach Tote

60 Summer Good Things

Here we offer up 39 unique ways to dig into this summery fruit, seed spitting optional!

Get the Watermelon Salad with Rum and Mint Recipe

See Our Tasty Peach Recipes

You don't have to live in Cape Cod or on the beach to have a clambake. Follow our steps and get inspired by our ideas to throw your own at home.

How to Throw a Stove-Top Clambake

Get Our Summer Menus

From bamboo fishing poles to sea-inspired desserts, we've pulled all of our favorite crafts and recipes inspired by this summer pastime.

Get Our Fish-Themed Ideas

21 Fun Things to Do This Summer

Having a summer get-together or spending a nice night out on the porch? Serve up one of our favorite summer appetizers.

Get the Flatbread Topped with Mint, Feta, and Lamb Recipe

60 Summer Side Dishes

Stamp a checkerboard on one side of a place mat and a tic-tac-toe grid on the other. Then, gather stones or shells for the game pieces and let the good times roll.

How to Make the Portable Beach Game

More Fun Beach Ideas

Take a trip to your local farmer's market and whip up one of these fresh, delicious recipes using ingredients you find.

See Our Farmer's Market Recipes

20 Summer Salads

Gather the kids and create a fresh flower accessory by linking daises to make a long bohemian strand, a demure choker, or a summery bracelet.

How to Make the Daisy Chain Necklace

More Summer Good Things

Banish prebeach pandemonium with a station featuring boldly numbered hooks and cloth baskets for each guest or family member.

How to Make the Stenciled Hallway Organizer

60 Summer Decorating Ideas

With this easy sling, toting a woven mat for your summer picnic is a breeze.

How to Make a Picnic-Mat Tie

Get Our Picnic Sandwich Recipes

Invite friends and family over for a modern twist on Sunday dinner. With a seasonally driven menu, everyone will celebrate community, cooking, and the summer's freshest food.

Get the Sunday Brunch Menu

More Summer Menus

Bring the vegetable garden indoors with a centerpiece that you can eat. 

How to Make the Crudite Centerpiece

Get Online Invitations For Your Summer Party

They say corn will be good if it's knee high by the Fourth of July. Test that theory by picking up a fresh crop of corn and creating one of these delicious recipes.

Get Our Summer Corn Recipes

Delicious Summer Pasta Salads

How to Make Sun-Print Pillows

60 Summer Decorating Ideas

Brighten up your summer wardrobe with beautiful braided accessories made from fabric, yarn, and leather.

See Our Braided Crafts

See Our Floral Accessories

These soups, salads, and sandwiches are seasonal and refreshing, and, best of all, they won't overheat your kitchen!

Get the No-Cook Summer Recipes

Make No-Bake Treats

We'll show you how to start a collection of your favorite finds (bottles, jars, vintage bicycles), once and for all.

See Some of Our Favorite Collections

60 Summer Decorating Ideas

Get our bargaining tips for smart flea-market shopping and discover an economical (and fun!) way to outfit your home.

Get Our Flea Market Shopping Secrets

60 Summer Decorating Ideas

Cool off with a twist on this summer classic. Sips such as hibiscus-mint and raspberry-rosehip will keep you refreshed all summer long.

Get the Hibiscus-Mint Iced Tea Recipe

60 Summer Drinks

Head outside and give your clothes, pillows, and baskets a crisp, band of color with our easy dip-dye ideas.

See Our Dip-Dyeing Ideas

See Our Summer Color Tips

Bring the beach to your party table with an elegant centerpiece made of sand and seashells.

How to Make the Sand Centerpiece

Get Our Sand Castle Tips

Brighten up lanterns, straws, gift bags, and place cards with beautiful fluttering creatures.

Get Our Butterfly Craft Ideas

See Our Stunning Sea-Glass Crafts

Wrap the kids in comfy terry cloth after a swim. This homemade poncho frees kids' hands to enjoy that ice cream cone they've been eyeing.

How to Make the Towel Poncho

Get More Beach Ideas

Create these personalized pots to plant herbs in. It's a great way to identify seedlings, and you'll never snip the wrong sprigs again.

How to Make Personalized Herb Pots

See More Great Ideas for the Garden

Dig into one of our 12 versions of this classic summer side dish, including whole wheat and Greek-style. These updated seasonal pasta salads will be the star of the meal.

Get the Pasta Salad Recipes

See Our Best Summer Appetizers

Decorate an indoor or outdoor table with these candles made from bamboo.

How to Make Bamboo Candles

See Our Nature Crafts for Kids

Make sunburn solutions, eye soothers, mood mists, and body scrubs all from simple ingredients in the privacy of your own home.

Get Our DIY Summer Spa Treatments

Read Our Summer Health Guide

Become a pro at charcoal grilling before your next barbecue with these easy techniques for heating, cooking, and cleaning.

How to Master Charcoal Grilling

Get Our Easy Grilling Recipes

Create a new spot to stay cool outdoors with one of our simple canopies. Whether free-standing or attached to a wall or fence, these are perfect for easy summer living.

How to Make a Canopy

Find More Ways to Relax

Brighten up the party with raffia pom-pom drink stirrers and a decorated pitcher. 

How to Make the Raffia Cocktail Set

60 Outdoor Party Ideas

Celebrate summer with a colorful sundae fun day! Set out toppings in folded-paper fortune-tellers and let guests make their own delicious creations.

How to Make the Sundae Party Fortune Tellers

60 Ice Cream Treats

Create an instant garden on your windowsill by arranging your favorite blooms in small jars placed inside flower pots.

How to Grow a Garden in Your Windowsill

See Our Summer Homekeeping Tips

Don't let the hot weather keep you from losing your favorite treat. Use this trick to keep ice cream from dripping out of the bottom of a cone.

Get Our Ice Cream Drip Tip

More Summer Good Things

Have kids create their own treasure chests by gluing their summer collections to folded pages in a box.

How to Make Treasure Chests

More Summer Scrapbooking Projects for Kids

Make your summer vacation memories last forever by displaying postcards, maps, and flags in a shadow box.

How to Make the Vacation Memory Shadow Box

More Vacation and Memorykeeping Crafts