Families Say They'll Cherish Summer Vacations Even More This Year, Survey Finds

As families are planning how they're taking back summer, 63% of parents surveyed agreed a second spent indoors this summer is a second wasted

Photo: SWNS

It's official, Americans are counting on summer 2021. A new survey of 2,000 American parents found families are planning to reclaim summer 2021 and just have fun.

After 2020, it's no surprise that 62% of respondents said summer 2020 didn't really count due to the pandemic — and 58% have very high expectations for summer 2021.

In fact, seven in 10 parents are devising a plan to safely take back summer with their families this year, and 68% plan to make up for lost time.

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With all of this in mind, it's no wonder respondents said the best part of summer is spending more time with family.

Conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Juicy Juice, the survey found American parents are ambitious as well, with 64% wanting to safely plan a year's worth of activities into their summer schedules.

An additional 64% of parents polled agreed this summer is a welcome relief to the challenges they faced over the past year — between at-home schooling and working remotely.

As families are planning how they're taking back summer, 63% of parents surveyed agreed a second spent indoors this summer is a second wasted.

Nearly three-quarters of respondents also shared their families are depending on feel-good fun, like beach days or backyard festivities, to make up for the events of the last year.

Some of the top planned summer activities include beach days and socially distanced barbeques, followed closely by camping trips and pool days.

Thirty-four percent of respondents are also eager to find a way to safely visit their family this summer, while a third of respondents are kicking it old school and camping in the backyard or even going on a summer road trip.

Other family activities in the summer 2021 agenda include movie nights (29%), game nights (24%) and picnics (20%).

Respondents also plan to spend time outdoors by going to a lake (17%), playing in the yard with classics like hopscotch and sidewalk chalk (16%), and hiking (15%).

Just over a quarter (26%) of parents are also planning to break out the hose and water balloons or even just run through the sprinklers with the family.

Parents also reflected on their favorite summer memories with the family and shared personal moments from summers past. The survey found that the best summer memories may just be the simplest, with many respondents recalling backyard nights, beach days and family vacations as favorite memories.

Respondents also shared fond memories of bicycle rides and campouts.

Regardless of their summer plans, 66% of parents polled agreed they're going to cherish every single memory made this summer to make up for losing out on summer 2020.

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