Ever since I was 15 years old, I have had an ongoing bucket list in my journal. If I saw something neat or heard about an experience I thought I would love to try, I wrote it down. Thus started the beginning of my lifelong adventures! It started with going bungee jumping on my 16th birthday (yes I am one of those adrenaline junkies).
I have added to my list over the years while checking off items too! I love looking at my list and recalling the fun or unique memories I made as well as discovering new bucket list items to add. I also love working on a bucket list with my husband and kids and talking about and planning the adventures we will go on as a family!
Why should you have a bucket list?
WHY CREATE ONE? Doing things you enjoy can make you feel energized and give you purpose.
Additionally, it can help you bond with those you do the activities with. Moreover, a bucket list can help you break out of your comfort zone to grow personally, prioritize what is important to you, open a new world of possibilities, give you ideas for milestone dates (like birthdays and anniversaries), and bring you joy!
Each person’s bucket list will be different based on your own desires and what makes you happy.
However, other people—including this blog—can open your eyes to new experiences and places you may not have considered. Therefore, make your bucket list personal to you.
For example, you may be a huge foodie and want to visit all the sites from your favorite food network show, like a friend of mine did with her family. Alternatively, you may love something like lighthouses, like my mother-in-law, and want to visit as many as possible in your life.
Similarly, many people have “Run a Marathon” on their bucket list, but I have never had a desire to do that. On the other hand, I have “Visit Africa and go on a Safari,” which my husband has no desire to do.
In short, make it your own and find items to do with your family. Personally, one of my most anticipated bucket list items is going on an Alaskan Cruise, which I am finally doing this summer for my 40th birthday. I am very excited to experience it!
Free “Make your Own Bucket List” Printable
Have you written down your bucket list? Did you know that written goals are 80% more likely to be accomplished? To start, I encourage you to take the time to write down your bucket list—either a personal one, one with your spouse or family, or both.
As you begin, you may even want to pull out your calendar and schedule one or two items right away!
To help you get started, I am providing a list of 100 bucket list ideas below as well as a FREE printable list and templates to create your own personal or family bucket list.
To break it down further, I added sections such as travel, culinary, self-improvement, conquering fears, health, and more.
However, if you don’t have anything in those categories, that’s okay too. You can cross them out or leave them blank and just keep adding ideas as you go!
100 Bucket List Ideas – To use or spark your imagination! Create the best list for YOU!
Travel Goals
- Visit all 7 continents and see all 50 states.
- Visit all National Parks as well as all hometowns of my ancestors.
- Go to Alaska, then spend a week in Hawaii.
- Go to Japan and go on a Safari.
- See the Northern Lights while visiting Australia.
- Visit Atacama Desert (Chile) and Machu Picchu (Peru).
- Hike Mt Whitney.
Experiences & Adventures
- Be on a game show or get scuba certified.
- Learn to play an instrument and learn a second language.
- Earn a graduate degree and record an audiobook.
- Visit all the Presidential Libraries and see Niagara Falls.
- Visit DC during the Cherry Blossom season then stay in an over-water bungalow.
- Stay at an all-inclusive resort or see a Broadway show on Broadway.
- Ride a train, embark on a cruise, or go white water rafting.
- Tube down a river and walk on a black sand beach.
- Stand on the 4 Corners then visit Banff National Park.
- Bike the Hiawatha Trail in Idaho and ride horses on the beach.
- Ride an elephant or adopt a dog.
- Ride a camel and have a campfire on a beach.
Festivals & Events
- Go to Coachella or Stagecoach and watch a Grunion Run.
- Swim with sea turtles then watch baby turtles make their way to the ocean.
- Climb to the top of a lighthouse or try stand-up paddling.
- Swim with dolphins and kayak through icebergs.
- Take a surfing lesson then do a haunted tour of a city.
- Go on a dog sled or get in a hot spring.
- Go on a swamp tour and attend a Cirque du Soleil show.
- Attend a movie premiere then go to a lantern festival.
- Go to a rodeo or try parasailing.
- Learn to cross-country ski then ride in a hot air balloon.
- Canoe the Boundary Waters (Canada/Minnesota) and hike every trail at a state park.
- Ride a Segway and see a frozen waterfall.
- Go to a drive-in movie or sleep in a treehouse.
- Spend the night in a cave then try out a yurt.
- Go glamping or try goat yoga.
- Go indoor skydiving then complete a marathon or a triathlon.
- Go hang-gliding and try cliff jumping.
- Fly on a trapeze or take a cooking class.
- Take a photography class then be a part of a Guinness World Record.
- Start a nonprofit or attend the Olympics.
- Be on TV and do a bike trip in another country.
- Live in another country then give a motivational speech to over 5,000 people.
- Go bungee jumping or see a lunar eclipse.
- Attend a Presidential Inauguration and get floor tickets to a concert.
- Go to an opera then watch the sunrise and sunset in one day.
- Do a mud run or visit a castle.
- Go skinny dipping then watch a meteor shower.
Personal & Giving Back Goals
- Start a blog or read the entire Bible.
- Start a YouTube channel and ride a mechanical bull.
- Donate blood, then research my family tree.
- Eat at a 5-star restaurant and make a difference in someone’s life.
Journal your Bucket List
I encourage you to create your own bucket list journal or set aside pages in your existing journal to write down your experiences. I wish I had started this part of my bucket list journey sooner, but better late than never. In your journal you can put:
BUCKET LIST ITEM:
DATE ACCOMPLISHED:
WHERE I WAS:
WHO I WAS WITH:
WHAT WAS MY FAVORITE PART ABOUT THIS EXPERIENCE:
Now go and have fun!
Remember, you are the only person who is accountable for your personal bucket list! No deadlines, no pressure, no specifics, just you and your list of hopes and dreams! Now go out there and get started writing down your ideas! You are on your way to bringing more joy and adventure into your life and creating experiences that will last a lifetime!
Share in the comments any ideas you may have for more Bucket List items or your favorite Bucket List thing you have ever done!
Many of these are on my bucket list. I also want to run the Vegas Rock & Roll Marathon (COVID interrupted my 2020 plans)…the race is on the strip at night!