Making Memories Before School Starts

There’s something special about the weekend before school starts. Summer is winding down, the back-to-school lists are starting to come out, and everyone knows that those long, lazy days are almost over. But before the backpacks are packed and the alarms are set, why not end summer the best way we know how? With one last camping adventure?

One of my favourite childhood memories is spending those final summer nights in our family pop-up trailer. Every year, the week before school started, my mom would load up the coolers with snacks and meals, pack up the camping gear, and we'd head off for one last weekend together.

It became our own little end-of-summer tradition.

We didn't need a big itinerary or an expensive vacation. We just needed a campsite, some food in the cooler and a weekend to enjoy being together before life got busy again.

There were campfires, late nights, swimming, bike rides, snacks, games and probably a little sibling arguing thrown in for good measure. We stayed up later than we should have and squeezed every last bit of summer out of those final few days.

And looking back, those weekends weren't really about what we did.

They were about ending summer together.

There is something magical about that last weekend before school starts. The kids are still in full summer mode, but you can feel the season changing. It's a chance to slow down before the routines begin again—to have one more campfire, one more swim, one more s'more and one more night under the stars.

Make It Your Own End-of-Summer Bash

Your final camping weekend doesn't have to be complicated. Make it a celebration of everything summer has been.

Have a big family breakfast.
Plan one last swim.
Play your favourite campground games.
Have a family tournament.
Make a ridiculous amount of s'mores.
Take a sunset walk.
Put on some music.
Tell stories around the fire.
And, of course, stay up just a little too late.

Let the kids make up their own games. Let them get dirty. Let them run around until they're exhausted.

Because these are the moments they'll remember.

Years from now, they probably won't remember exactly what they ate or which campsite they stayed on. They may not even remember what year it was.

But they might remember that one last camping weekend before school.

They'll remember the smell of the campfire.
They'll remember laughing with their family.
They'll remember staying up late.
They'll remember summer feeling endless for just a little bit longer.

So before the school bells ring and the routines begin again, make one last weekend of it.

Pack the cooler. Load up the trailer. Grab the sleeping bags and the marshmallows.

Come celebrate the end of summer the camping way.

Because sometimes the very best way to say goodbye to summer is simply to spend one more weekend together.