Cool bucket list ideas do more than check boxes, they change you.

Bucket list ideas motivate us in an uplifting, lasting, and deeply personal way. When we choose the right ones, they nuzzle deep in our psyche and help us live our fullest lives.

The idea of a “bucket list” boomed after the 2007 movie The Bucket List with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. A “bucket list” is the agglomeration of things we want to experience at least once before we “kick the bucket.” For some people, bucket lists are filled with travel destinations. For others, they include extreme sports. For most, it’s a wild and crazy mix.

Make your own bucket list and it will keep you in touch with what inspires you. Start with these bucket list ideas, and you’ll be adding things left and right — and living all the better for it.

Summer bucket list ideas for when the time is ripe.

There’s no time like summer. The warm weather invites friends and families outside, and the divine nights open possibilities that winter strictly denies. Most of us have more time, too, between vacations from work, summer break from school, and longer days that give everyone an emotional lift.

Summer bucket list ideas take advantage of the season. It’s the time of year when we have more energy and fewer excuses. Just remember, the best bucket list ideas are ones that align with what you care about. Browse this summer-specific list, and you’ll know a good idea when you see it.

Visit a pumpkin patch.

Go to a fall harvest festival.

Get in touch with local agriculture and fall will take on a whole new feel.

Pick apples at an orchard.

Take an hours-long drive through fall foliage.

Go on a hayride.

Get lost in a corn maze.

Take a spooky night walk.

Choose a nearby wooded area or residential area where the Halloween decorations are the absolute best.

Bake a pie with freshly picked apples.

Maybe these are the same apples you picked yourself at the orchard.

Toast pumpkin seeds after making Jack-o-lanterns.

Put the “guts” of your Jack-o-lanterns to good use.

Go horseback riding through a forest with changing leaves.

Make homemade hot apple cider.

Set up the best Halloween decorations on the block.

At least once, make your decorations the best.

Fall bucket list ideas to savor the season.

Surveys in the U.S. find time and again that fall is the most popular season. Between Halloween trickery, Thanksgiving potlatch, and pumpkin spice everything, you can savor the season even more with devoted bucket list ideas perfect for autumn.

Fall bucket list ideas take advantage of the harvest and the changing leaves. Most of these fun bucket list ideas are picture-perfect, too, making them an opportunity to get photos with loved ones. Commemorate any bucket list outing withphoto collages andletters to follow up, and the season spirit can live on even when winter sets in.

Visit a pumpkin patch.

Go to a fall harvest festival.

Get in touch with local agriculture and fall will take on a whole new feel.

Pick apples at an orchard.

Take an hours-long drive through fall foliage.

Go on a hayride.

Get lost in a corn maze.

Take a spooky night walk.

Choose a nearby wooded area or residential area where the Halloween decorations are the absolute best.

Bake a pie with freshly picked apples.

Maybe these are the same apples you picked yourself at the orchard.

Toast pumpkin seeds after making Jack-o-lanterns.

Put the “guts” of your Jack-o-lanterns to good use.

Go horseback riding through a forest with changing leaves.

Make homemade hot apple cider.

Set up the best Halloween decorations on the block.

At least once, make your decorations the best.

Winter bucket list ideas to keep the momentum.

Colder weather and shorter days slow everyone down. Winter starts with a jampacked holiday season, then drags into January and February when there’s seemingly little to do.

Winter bucket list ideas keep your momentum through the holidays and all the way until spring. These (sometimes literally) cool bucket list ideas are more magical because of the winter weather, not in spite of it.

Go skiing.

Cross-country skiing and slopes both count.

Volunteer at a charity for the holidays.

Organize a holiday cookie exchange.

Get friends and family on board for this with a cookie-inspired invitation.

See the Winter Solstice at Stonehenge.

Watch a holiday parade.

Spend Christmas in New York City.

Every corner of the Big Apple at Christmas is worthy of another Instagram story.

Go ice skating.

Visit a hot spring.

Go caroling with friends or family.

Make a merry banner to hold while you visit homes.

Drink hot chocolate by a bonfire.

Take a winter hike through a forest.

Visit a Christmas market.

Spring bucket list ideas to revitalize the spirit.

Spring arrives, and every blooming flower invites metaphors of renewal. You can revitalize your sense of adventure, too, with spring bucket list ideas that get you outside and interacting with nature.

Peruse this list of spring-inspired bucket list ideas, and when you find yourself smiling, you’ll know you discovered the perfect spring activity for you.

Go on a wildflower hike.

This bucket list idea has to be timed right and mapped out. Learn where large numbers of wildflowers bloom, lace your boots, pack the trail mix, and devote a day to a hike.

Plant a garden and watch it grow.

Go birdwatching and spot migratory birds.

Make daisy chains and wear them as crowns.

Visit a tulip farm.

Paint or dye Easter eggs.

Turn your Easter eggs into a memento by photographing them and sharing with friends in an Instagram story.

Volunteer at a community garden.

Bake pastries with fresh spring fruit.

Visit a butterfly conservatory.

There are few words for the charm and peace that overcome you surrounded by thousands of butterflies.

Attend a spring craft fair.

Organize a nature scavenger hunt to find signs of spring.

Design your own scavenger hunt and make a map to go with it.

Go on a cherry blossoms tour.

Bucket list ideas for couples that are better together.

Bucket list ideas change a lot place-to-place, person-to-person. For a couple in Manhattan, it might be a treat to abandon the city and drive for hours to a field dark enough for stargazing.

Couple and family bucket list ideas are all about the ideas that are better together. Look for those that resonate with you, share them with your partner, then decide when to make the first one a dream come true.

Attend a red carpet event.

Become homeowners.

Whether this is a house or condo, the experience of becoming homeowners together is singular.

Try an extreme sport together.

Dance in the rain.

Have your galoshes ready for the next big rainstorm.

Eat at a Michelin-starred restaurant.

Make it the date of the year if you have to, but do this at least once.

Volunteer together.

Visit one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

Stay up all night talking.

Send a message in a bottle.

Some bucket list ideas for couples are also great family bucket list ideas. For this one, each family member could add something to the message before sending it.

Spend a whole day together without using your phones.

Explore your city together like tourists.

Fund a college account for your kids.

Learn to play music together.

Attend a fitness class together.

Go skinny dipping.

This one requires a bit of planning to make sure you don’t break laws (or get caught).

Reverse roles of who does what in the house for a day.

This one could give you a good laugh if you both forget to do things the other does without being asked.

Be debt-free.

Get a matching tattoo.

Dress up together for a Renaissance fair.

Tour Venice in a gondola.

Going to Venice itself is a bucket list item, and riding a gondola is the icing on the cake.

Make a short documentary about how you met.

What would the movie poster for this documentary look like?

Rent a penthouse for a night (or more).

Take a spontaneous road trip.

Sign up for a cooking class.

Go stargazing.

Tour a winery.

Write love letters back and forth.

Never miss a chance to write a love letter to one another.

Create a collage of your relationship memories.

Pick photos for your collage that represent each phase of your relationship.

Take dance lessons.

Get a couples massage.

Have a boudoir photoshoot.

Whether you print a favorite photo in a poster for the bedroom is up to you, but the shoot itself is fun.

Recreate your first date.

Pamper each other with an at-home spa day.

Take a day trip to a nearby town you’ve never been to.

Set up a memory jar.

Whenever random memories occur to either of you, write them down and slip them into the jar. Open it on special occasions.

Make a vision board for your future.

Putting your future into pictures and words is a great vision board idea.

Take a scenic train ride.

Plan a second honeymoon.

Write a love story together.

This could be about how you two really met or it could be an opportunity to get creative and see what the other finds truly romantic.

Unique bucket list ideas to live off the beaten path.

There are times when we crave experiences beyond the ordinary. Even some extreme bucket list ideas have become commonplace — everyone says they want to skydive, for example, or swim with the dolphins.

All bucket ideas have merit, of course. The best bucket list ideas, though, are the ones that align with what you want in life. For truly crazy bucket list ideas that shape you in unimaginable ways, peruse this list and discover what you’re inspired to do.

Fly in a hot air balloon.

Ride in a motorcycle with a sidecar.

Would you rather drive the bike or sit in the sidecar?

Attend a traditional Mardi Gras celebration.

Milk a cow.

Participate in a TV studio audience.

Bundle up to visit an ice bar.

Jump off a large waterfall.

Watch a drive-in movie from the roof of your car.

Make the news.

Stay on a yacht.

If you rent a yacht to host a special occasion, let people know it’s a bucket list dream come true when you send the invitations.

Catch and cook a fish.

Make graffiti art.

Get VIP tickets to a major concert.

Ride a dog sled.

Paraglide.

Explore Yellowstone Park.

Be sure to send postcards and letters to loved ones from Yellowstone letting them know that it was a worthwhile bucket list trip.

Sail across the sea.

This could be a trip across a sea like the Mediterranean, or something bigger like a transatlantic voyage.

Shuck an oyster.

Roast meat on a spit.

Finish an ultra-endurance race.

Whether you’re into biking, running, or another sport, any kind of ultra is an mind-blowing challenge with equally incredible reward.

Pilot a plane.

Co-piloting counts.

Bungee jump off a famous bridge.

Whether you do this on a bike or a motorcycle is up to you.

Learn to do a wheelie.

Stomp grapes to make wine.

Start a fire without matches.

Sleep in a capsule hotel.

Look up all the places in the world where capsule hotels are available, then check off a special destination from your bucket list at the same time.

Go jet skiing.

Build a piece of furniture.

Memorize poetry or scripture

Patent something.

Leave a 100% tip.

Do this not just once but every once in a while, and you’ll make people’s day.

Extract honey from a beehive.

Take a polar plunge.

If you do this for a fundraising effort, make a flyer and send cards to promote it. Remember, it’s all easy to make in Adobe Express — no experience required.

Walk on a bed of hot coals.

Learn how to pick a lock.

Who knows? This skill might come in handy someday.

Forage for truffles.

Truffles grow in specific environments in places like France, Italy, Spain, Croatia, and parts of the United States. Maybe you can cross a special destination off your bucket list, too?

Ride on a seaplane.

Travel bucket list ideas for trips near and far.

Everyone says they want to travel. What does that mean, though? When does a trip constitute “traveling?” When people say they love to travel, does that mean they love to take guided tours, or stay in backpacker hostels, or immerse themselves in local languages and culture?

Travel means different things to different people, and so there are lots of bucket list ideas to consider. For new cool bucket list ideas and destinations, see how trips near and far could become “once in a lifetime” experiences with the power to change everything.

Take a road trip on Route 66.

Watch an active volcano.

Places like Antigua, Guatemala are great destinations sitting in the shadow of active volcanoes.

Ride on the Orient Express.

See the Northern Lights.

Aurora Borealis (the Northern Lights) is visible in the far north (including parts of Alaska, Canada, throughout Scandinavia, etc.) in winter months.

Fly first class.

Celebrate Día de Los Muertos in Mexico.

Visit all 50 states.

Run a destination marathon.

Pick a location on your radar, anyway, and you can also check “run a marathon” off the list.

Go on a cruise.

Learn a new language.

This isn’t a travel item per se, but it changes travel in ways you’ll want to experience.

Climb a mountain.

Hike to Machu Picchu.

Machu Picchu can be reached by train or on foot via the Inca Trail.

See the pyramids.

If you don’t have Egypt on your bucket list, there are also ancient pyramids in Mexico, Indonesia, Peru, and several other corners of the world.

Go on a wellness or meditation retreat.

Swim in all the world’s oceans.

Take a helicopter tour.

Go on a cross-country cycling trip.

Take a cooking class in another country.

Go to the top of the tallest building.

This could be the tallest building in your country or continent, or in the world.

Attend the Olympics.

When the Olympics are hosted somewhere you’d love to go, make it happen.

Take a solo backpacking trip.

Go to space.

This is possible now on a commercial basis.

Take a road trip coast to coast.

Visit the Great Wall of China.

Attend a TED or TEDx conference.

These are hosted all over the world, so take your pick.

Go scuba diving.

Volunteer for a humanitarian cause.

Different humanitarian missions could take you just about anywhere in the world.

Explore the Amazon.

Tour a castle.

Attend a major film festival.

Go on a safari.

Safaris aren’t just popular in Africa. You could go on an Indian safari, too.

Go on a gastronomic tour.

Collect a lifetime of photos of you “holding” up famous buildings.

Everywhere you go, get one of the classic shots of you “holding” a famous building in the background.

Swim in bioluminescent waters.

Attend a major sporting event.

Take a cross-country motorcycle trip.

Make a poster for family and friends that shows a map of your route and your planned destinations so they can follow along.

Visit the Vatican.

Volunteer at an animal sanctuary.

Animal sanctuaries are all over the world, each caring for local endangered species.

Take a hot spring bath.

Attend Oktoberfest in Munich.

Funny bucket list ideas to spice up your “must do” missions.

Funny bucket list ideas ensure moments of pure joy. For lighthearted adventures, add the bucket list items designed for no better purpose than to laugh.

When you share your bucket list with friends, it will be these fun bucket list ideas they notice first. Who knows? Maybe you could get some of them in on these adventures, too.

Learn how to walk on stilts.

What social event could you attend a head above the rest?

Make fake awards to hand out to friends.

Think up as many ridiculous awards as you can, then make certificates to hand out.

Start a slow clap in public.

Have a “yes” day.

A “yes” day is where you agree to everything (within reason).

Start a conga line at a dance party.

Host a “first try” talent show.

At this talent show, everyone has to perform a skill they’ve never done before.

Host a pet talent show.

Whose pets have the best tricks?

Ask strangers for directions to a place that doesn’t exist.

Compete in an air guitar competition.

Get this on video to share as an Instagram story, and you’ll get plenty of hearts and reshares.

Learn a synchronized swimming routine.

Sing a song to strangers and ask if they know the name.

Hire a private investigator to investigate you.

Challenge someone to a pool noodle duel.

Attempt to break a Guinness World Record.

Start a rumor about yourself.

Then, see how far it spreads.

Prank call your parents.

How long can you egg them on?

For a whole day, communicate in texts and emails using only emojis.

Wear pajamas in public for a day.

If this is already your M.O., switch this for dressing in formal attire for a random, regular day.

Make a piece of art and put it on sale for an exorbitant price.

Ride a mechanical bull (without falling off).

Learn how to juggle.

This gets even funnier if you learn how to juggle awkward items, like bananas.

Speak in an accent all day.

Speak Like a Pirate Day is waiting for you.

Pretend to recognize a stranger from a made-up scenario.

Run a marathon in a superhero costume.

Walk into an elevator without turning to face the door.

You end up facing everyone, and everyone feels confused and awkward.

Eat vanilla pudding out of a mayo jar in front of other people.

Leave random gnomes in neighbors’ yards.

Organize a flash mob.

Throw an elaborate pet birthday party.

Take a family portrait with everyone dressed in costume.

Ask a taxi to follow another car.

Perform as a mime in a park.

You might even make a few bucks in spare change.

Fake an uncomfortably personal call in public.

Recreate your most awkward childhood photo.

This one is worth turning into a small poster and framing as a gag gift for a parent or sibling.

Challenge someone to a dance-off.

Let someone draw on your face while you’re sleeping.

Crash a wedding reception.

Hold a “blindfolded painting” competition.

Whoever paints the best (or worst) wins.

Attend a yoga class in costume.

Send a Hogwarts acceptance letter to a Harry Potter fan.

Bucket list ideas for kids that they’ll remember forever.

Kids don’t usually have bucket lists, because “kicking the bucket” is far from their minds. Still, bucket list ideas for kids get the wheels turning early on what life experiences they want to work toward, especially in the near future while they’re still young.

Just think about it: how would your own bucket list experiences have changed if you’d checked some of them off while you were young?

Kids’ bucket list ideas are also the kinds of experiences that, done early, will be remembered forever. They’re formative and loads of fun. See which bucket list ideas jump out at you for a kid you know.

Write a book.

Ride an elephant.

Build a spaghetti tower.

Using only spaghetti and marshmallows, build a tower and see how tall it can grow. Compete with someone else to see whose tower is tallest.

Sleep under the stars.

Have a dance party entirely of silly songs.

Draw a “crime scene” using sidewalk chalk.

Trace out a “crime scene” in front of your house. This bucket list idea is even more fun leading up to Halloween.

Host a flipper race.

Try to race your friends in a field while everyone is wearing flippers.

Learn sign language.

Learn to hula hoop with multiple hoops at once.

Make dinner for your parents.

Have a conversation entirely in pig Latin.

Put a 1000+ piece puzzle together.

This is no small feat.

Become a National Geographic Society fellow.

How many other societies can you become a card-carrying member of?

Live abroad.

Visit Sleepy Hollow.

Read all the books by your favorite author.

Create a time capsule.

Then, open the capsule in five years (or more).

Go fruit picking at a local farm.

Build a house of cards.

Make a sandcastle taller than you.

It’s better to cross this off your list sooner than later, because you’re just going to keep growing.

Go on a treasure hunt.

Plant a tree and watch it grow.

This is a lifelong achievement that can only be done if you start young.

Run through a field of wildflowers.

Learn a magic trick.

Paint a rock, then leave for someone to find.

Where could you leave your painted rock? In the park? Near a friend’s front door?

Pick everyone’s outfits for a family photoshoot.

Go paddle boarding.

Learn how to rollerblade.

Explore a cave.

Learn how to whistle.

Go on a boat ride.

Better yet, learn how to steer a boat.

Make homemade ice cream.

Sleep in a treehouse.

Win a prize at a fair.

Make a birdhouse and learn to identify the birds that visit.

Learn to swim.

This is a lifelong skill that will open up other bucket list adventures, too.

Watch a rainbow after a rainy day.

You might have to go hunting for a rainbow after the next storm, but when you find it, it truly feels like you discovered something magical.

Make a scrapbook.

Collect your favorite pictures — of you, your family, your friends, your pets, your projects — and turn them into a scrapbook.

Ride a horse.

Build an electronic gadget.

How to commemorate your bucket list ideas.

Crossing items off your bucket list is a thing to celebrate. To make that feeling last, you can preserve the memories in several different ways.

Since each bucket list accomplishment reflects a personal achievement of growth or adventure, take the time to honor the milestone with some of these commemorative ideas:

• Photo collages (for yourself or to share).

• Social media posts for widespread sharing.

• Cards or letters to loved ones that tell the story of a bucket list achievement.

• Posters or banners that display your bucket list triumphs.

• Flyers to spread the excitement before you endeavor for a bucket list feat.

• Video diaries to save and post as Instagram stories and more.

• Framed memorabilia like event tickets, postcards, and wristbands.

Exercise: How do you start prioritizing bucket list items?

Once you feel satisfied that your bucket list covers your greatest desires, how do you move forward? What do you do first?

Try this simple system to prioritize:

This simple exercise narrows your list down to the items that are meaningful and doable right now.

Adobe Express can help.

Adobe Express has templates and customization tools to put your favorite bucket list ideas to work. If you want to use these bucket list ideas in cards, letters, posters, banners, collages, flyers, or other creative projects, Adobe Express makes it as simple as picking a template and personalizing it, or making your own idea with easy-to-use tools. Whatever message you want to transmit, Adobe Express brings it to life, no experience required.

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