Savour the Sunny Season

No other time of year inspires celebration quite like summer. Maybe it's because the months are loaded with enjoyable events both big and small: weddings, graduations, vacations, picnics, or simply swinging on a porch in the sunshine. Here are a few simple ways you can savor the sunny season.

Turn Your Home Into a Summer Getaway

• Use canvas slipcovers for beach cottage appeal or add bright throw pillows.
• Place seashells or fresh blooms on your coffee table or shelves.
• Replace heavy curtains with sheers or tie-backs, and dark pictures with lighter, brighter beach scenes or floral landscapes on loan from your library.
• Create "outdoor rooms" with weather-proof pillows and casual coffee tables.

Act Like a Kid

• Enjoy an icy cold cream pop.
• Throw on a swimsuit; grab a garden hose, squirt guns, or balloons; and invite some water mates to make a splash.
• Host a summer sports tournament. Badminton, sand volleyball, kickball, and croquet make for fun competition.
• Organize a trip to a park with friends, swing in swings, and see if you can still teeter-totter!

Make a Celebration Calendar

• Scan photos from your summers into a computer. Create a page and label for each summer month; add spaces for the days of the week.
• Note special events — vacations, weddings, graduations, cookouts, etc. — on your calendar and don't forget to add fun day trips such as park visits.
• Jot down a few memories and add more photos, and save your calendar as a memento of your summer.
• Make the most of every summer moment, and you'll create memories that last all year long!