✨ A Summer of Whimsy: 20 Whimsical Activities to Do, 7 Whimsical Parties to Host, and a Fashion Guide for Practical Wardrobe Magic ✨
- Jun 9
- 6 min read
So, we're getting whimsical this summer, huh?
26 years ago exactly (starting something on a decade, century, and millennium-starting year sure makes it easy to remember), I was preparing myself for my first summer as a tarot card reader at a renaissance festival. I didn't choose the whimsical life, the whimsical life chose me.
As a former Manic Pixie Dream Girl, I am happy to share my tips for a whimsy-filled summer to distract from The Horrors. And since The Horrors are expensive, many of these tips are free, or very inexpensive.
I'm going to start out by saying that whimsy is cringe. Whimsy is the most cringe thing ever. If not being cringe is important to you, you're going to have to reconcile that with your need for whimsy. Okay.
The Look: most people seem to be interpreting "whimsy" as the 90's quirky look - I'm seeing a lot of pictures of Lisa Kudrow as Phoebe Buffay in Friends. I would say, focus on your own interpretation of whimsical style using the following elements:
Bright colors and color blocking.
Patterns and pattern mixing.
Accessories of all kinds.
protip: go to local artists markets to find unique pieces, skip the mass-produced stuff.
another protip: if you do want mass-market, chances are the Chinese manufacturer is selling it at wholesale price on Amazon, you just need to know how to search and what you're looking for.
Customized or repurposed pieces.
Considering it's summer, and I live in a place where the lakes and the corn both sweat, I also recommend prioritizing breathable fabrics - cotton, silk, rayon, viscose, tech fabrics, the like.
Three items that are absolute essentials in my summer wardrobe are "magic skirts," viscose caftans, and what folks are calling "bubble pants" nowadays. I generally top the skirts and pants with either a t-shirt or a tank top, and accessorize from there with jewelry, belts, glasses, and hats or headwraps.
Where else to acquire these clothes? That segways right into whimsical summer activities...
Now, before I get into this, a lot of this assumes you have a few whimsical friends. Not that you can't do any and all of these things solo, but this is all a lot more fun as friend activities!
Whimsical things to do:
Thrift hopping, antiquing, artists markets, farmers markets, and flea markets! That answers the clothing and accessories acquisition question. In my area, there's a whole bunch of antique malls lining the SE shore of Lake Michigan, and hopping from antique mall to treasure hunt, to county beach to rock hunt, is a treasured summer pastime. On a smaller scale, an afternoon of checking out what 3-5 thrift shops in your area have to offer will help build your whimsical wardrobe.
Host a swap event! You can swap clothes, jewelry, unused craft supplies, perfumes, games and puzzles, whatever you and your friends all enjoy and could use a switch-up of your collection.
Tailgate! No reason to tailgate? Make one! Your nephew's t-ball game! Before going in to see a movie! On the side of the road to watch the fireworks display! Get a little propane grill and a cooler, and turn pre-anything into a parking lot party. Because hot dogs make everything better.
Find a free concert! About the time the summer solstice rolls around, I can attend a free concert from a local band hosted by the town council or the city's tourism committee every single day of the week if I want to. And that's not counting all the local bars and restaurants hosting concerts free or for a low cover, nor the actual concert venues in the area. Go support your local music scene!
See what your library card can do! Many let you access passes to local attractions like zoos and museums. Also see if any of those local attractions have sponsored free days, and see if there's any discounts or passes for students, or through the Blue Star Museums Program, if those apply to you and your family.
Speaking of museums, if you're childfree, see if your local Children's Museum has an adult's only night, or see if you can tag along on a visit with a kid in your life. Children's Museums know how to draw out your whimsy like no other place.
Same goes for your local Art Museum's family studio.
Go camping! It's hard to get more whimsical than getting back to nature for a few days.
Set aside a few hours each month for a creativity circle. Everyone brings whatever creative project they're working on, whatever that is, and there's 2-3 hours for productive co-work, and another hour or two for socializing.
Add a weekly hike to your daily walk routine. Bring a digital camera, and record the interesting things you find on the trails. Start a nature photography blog. Check out the iNaturalist app, especially if you enjoy knowing exactly what you're looking at, and gamifying things.
Pick a random SFW picture that people will recognize and understand - I first saw this done with pictures of Nicholas Cage - and tape the image up around town in random public places, e.g. bus stop shelters, bathroom stalls, grocery store doors, light posts, you get the idea. Just to make people wonder why there's this picture of [thing] taped up there.
Go to a Renaissance Festival! Dress up to do so, you can literally wear anything to a Renaissance Faire, they don't require any kind of historical or cosplay accuracy, just individuality and public decency. If the big state festival sounds way too intimidating, there are many smaller festivals around. Check out local universities, and comic and gaming shops to find them.
Start a Dungeons & Dragons campaign. Or whatever TTRPG game you'd like to play. Make a point to do a "casual cosplay" of your character to each session.
Pick a night where everyone wears the formal wear left over from that prom, or that bridesmaid gig, or that they found at the thrift store or clothing swap. Go out for dinner (bonus points if it's a casual restaurant), then rent those motorized scooters for an hour or two and zoom around the city, finding good backdrops for pictures and spots for shenanigans.
Scatter an envelope of native wildflower seeds on a forgotten patch of dirt in your neighborhood, and make a point to water it regularly, so they bloom for the pollinators and humans to enjoy.
Start a Little Free Library. Or a Little Free Pantry. Or both.
Attend a Studio Ghibli Fest screening or three. Preferably with a kid in your life who's never experienced a Ghibli movie before, catch their childlike wonder while you're at it.
Attend a drag bingo game or drag brunch. Fun fact: queer performers perform all year, not just in June! Go support them!
Attend a county or state fair. I like going for rodeo night.
Set a whimsical goal to hit before Labor Day. To try every single soft-serve flavor your local ice cream parlor serves, to record 20 different kinds of insects on iNaturalist, to volunteer X number of hours to walking dogs for your local animal rescue, to learn to play three songs by heart on the ukulele you found at the thrift store, etc...
Host a themed party! Want some ideas? Here's some ideas!
A Fairy Tea: have everyone attending dress as fairies, bring a teatime snack, and you provide a few fun flavors of iced tea.
A Cemetery Picnic: This is actually customary in many cultures, and yes, you do have to do it respectfully - don't make a lot of noise, stay off the headstones, leave no trace of the picnic when you're done - but if you and your friends are on the goth side, what better place to hold a Death Cafe session?
Bring Your Own Pool Party: you do need a water source for this one to fill the pools, so check to make sure your public park has one if you decide to do this there - requirements for the party is to bring a dish to pass, and your own wading pool. A sprinkler/chair combo is also acceptable. As the host, you'll want to provide a grill and fuel.
Christmas In July: wear Christmas novelty items like Santa hats, play Christmas music/movies, decorate the BBQ area with Christmas lights, serve peppermint ice cream and iced hot chocolate and speculoos cookies, light up the artificial tree and have a White Elephant gift exchange.
Heathers' Croquet: acquire a croquet set, wear your best 80's prep look, and play croquet while calling each other "Heather" and using as much 80's slang as possible. Have everyone bring a teatime snack to munch on between turns. While this is plenty of fun in your backyard, it's especially fun at a public park.
Backyardapalooza: can't make it to your favorite music festival this year? Host a Livestream party!
Farmers Market to Table Dinner Party: all the party participants go to the Farmers Market together, and each person comes up with a dish to make using ingredients they find and purchase at the Farmers Market. Then, back to the host's kitchen/backyard grill for everyone to prepare their dish to serve for dinner that night.
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