Kicking Off the Summer Sweet

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Disclosure: This post is in part of a partnership with Hudsonville Ice Cream. All opinions are 100% our own.

hudsonville

Summer time is a season we welcome with open arms around here. It means we’ve made it through all 7 of Indiana’s spring and winter phases and can finally enjoy all that summer time brings with it. We’re talking summer fun ideas like warm weather, trips to the lake, staying up late, running barefoot, loosening the rules, and throwing caution to the wind. Summer comes like a breath of fresh air after long cold winters and struggles to finish out the most interesting school year.

But summer this year looks a little different. It comes accompanied by cancelled family vacations, uncertainty about kids’ summer birthdays, mourning what could have been, and a little bit of fear of the unknown. While this all felt heavy on our shoulders, as parents it’s important to keep the memories going for our families. One way to do that is with ice cream – a constant in an unfamiliar time, and a way to make the summer a little sweeter. Hudsonville Ice Cream has always focused on making moments sweeter, big and small, and we are making Hudsonville part of our game plan to bring some consistency and fun to our summer kickoff. After all, to kids this is the time of year to be free, run wild, and fully let go to be themselves.

Here are just a few summer fun ideas from Indianapolis Moms to kick off the season and celebrate with our families:

Paige + Family

We decided that the best way to kick off our summer is with one of my favorite summer family traditions – banana splits. It’s our night of letting the kids make their own rules (and mess) and just have fun. We wanted to go a little crazy and do something special this year so we picked out some fun unique flavors to jazz it up!

banana split

Here’s what you need:

  • Bananas
  • 3 flavors of Hudsonville Ice Cream – Traditionally, I use vanilla, chocolate, and a fruity flavor like strawberry or black cherry, but with the number of flavors Hudsonville Ice Cream has available, the combinations are endless and you’ll have a hard time choosing! We swapped the strawberry for Strawberry Cheesecake (one of my favorites) and the vanilla for their Crunchy Peanut Butter. This flavor is from their Extra Indulgent line and was a family favorite! My son loves peanut butter with bananas so it was an easy decision to make this swap. For our third flavor we went with their Chocolate ice cream- why mess with a good thing? 
  • Toppings – Since Hudsonville Ice Cream is packed with goodies we kept these to a minimum and stuck to chocolate sauce, whip cream, sprinkles, and of course a cherry on top. You can also try crushed pineapple, strawberry topping, nuts, or anything else! The flavor options and topping combinations are endless.

banan split

All that’s left is to assemble! Slice your banana in half, scoop your ice cream, top, and enjoy!

summer fun

Trying to pick which flavors was the best part. Here are a few other flavor combos to try:

summer fun with family


Amanda + Family

When I think back to my childhood I have so many summer fun ideas that bring me back to what would signal that summer was finally here. The smell of fresh-cut grass, riding bikes with my sisters until the fireflies came out, and my mom stocking up the freezer with ice cream. 

As I grow my own family it is very important for me to build traditions of my own. The days are finally longer and with that, it gives us the opportunity to enjoy more outdoor time together as a family. 

summer kick off fun

A small tradition I have started with my preschool-aged son is wrapping up dinner and finishing the day on a sweet note. We take a family walk or bike-ride together after our meal is finished. We abandon the dishes in the sink and just enjoy each other. Along the way we ask our son questions like what flavor of Hudsonville Ice Cream he will choose once we meet our destination (even though he will always choose Creamery Blend Vanilla), will he enjoy it in a bowl or on a cone? His excitement peaks as we turn the corner and he knows dessert is just a few minutes away.

I hope that when he is older, and the days grow longer and summer arrives he looks back at these family bike rides and eating ice cream on the front lawn together fondly. Maybe, he will carry this tradition on with his own family.


Kait + Family

As crazy as it sounds, summer really did sneak up on us. Maybe because we haven’t had the hustle and bustle of baseball and end of the school year events or the warm, sunshiney days that we love. But regardless, summer is coming and we are here for it! 

The outdoors is our place. Our family will spend hours riding bikes, taking walks, jumping on the trampoline – we love spending the days outside for as long as we can. On the warmer evenings, we often take our dinner outside whether we grill out or roast hot dogs on the fire. It’s a summertime favorite that I don’t see us getting rid of anytime soon!

summertime fun

But I think our favorite part of these evenings is the dessert. Hudsonville Ice Cream is always stocked up in our freezer with an over abundance of ice cream cones boxed up in our pantry. The best part is letting my kids scoop their own cones and even though a mess is expected, the laughter and joy during the whole process makes up for it. And because it’s summer, sometimes we even splurge for two with the compromise that a bath will immediately follow. It’s about the memories and time together as a family, which seems more important than ever lately. While summer make look different this year when compared to what we are used to, our ice cream cone tradition will ultimately remain the same, even though we’ll keep trying out different flavors of Hudsonville along the way! It’s the best way to kick off the start of our favorite season as a family!


While things around us may be a bit different than we are typically used to, that doesn’t mean our summer memories have to change. In fact, we’ll keep finding ways to make sweet moments together with our families, whether it’s an outdoor activity or a scoop of Hudsonville we can share. No matter what, we’ll take time this summer to create new summer fun ideas and make it the best summer yet for our families!

We’d love for you to share with us – how is your family kicking off the summer season?

Let Hudsonville Ice Cream help you get a kickstart start on that sweet summer – download this Buy One Get One coupon to stock up those freezers the summer! 

 

About Hudsonville Ice Cream

Hudsonville Ice Cream is about more than just ice cream. For them, it’s all about making life a little sweeter. It’s about the feeling you get, the experience you have, and the people you share a scoop with. Their Midwest creamery has been perfecting the art of ice cream making for more than 90 years. While they enjoy creating creamy, delicious and exciting new flavors, many of their ice creams use a base recipe that was created back in 1926! With more than 50 flavors to choose from, including the world’s best French Vanilla and Dairy Free options, Hudsonville Ice Cream has options for everyone to enjoy.

Find Hudsonville at a store near you using their Scoop Locator tool!

 

summer fun for the family

7 COMMENTS

  1. When I say summer I think about sunny weather and a lot of ice cream! Thanks for these suggestions!

  2. Oh my goodness, I am so envy seeing these kids eating their ice cream. That ice cream brand looks delicious and I would love to try it right now!

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