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Summer schedules can be all over the place. Between vacations, camps, family reunions, and busy calendars, it isn't always easy to get everyone in the same place at the same time. That's why this month's list includes a mix of activities; some that work well for a traditional church gathering and others that can be completed throughout the month while still helping your group connect. Whether you're planning for Primary, Youth nights, Relief Society, or the whole ward, we hope these July activity ideas help you find something that fits your people, your schedule, and your goals.

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1) Pioneer Adventures

Growth Areas: Physical, Intellectual, Social, Spiritual

Create a rotating pioneer-themed activity night with stations. Participants can try pioneer games, simple crafts, and foods while learning about the faith and perseverance of the pioneers then and today.

Possible Stations:

Pioneer theme games with modern supplies- cups and ping pong balls
Butter in jar or other fun pioneer food
Make thaumatropes, rag dolls, even get started on a scrap rug- get the directions for Pioneer Crafts
Handcart relay or try some real pioneer games
Smaller group? Play Find a Pioneer instead.

Finish with a short discussion about how pioneers relied on faith in Jesus Christ during difficult journeys and joyful seasons and so can we.

2) Temple PIE-oneer Night

Growth Areas: Social, Intellectual

Invite everyone to bring a pie (homemade or store bought- no judgment here), or make things easy and provide a variety of pies yourself. Set up tables with slices of pie ready to enjoy, then turn each table into a team for an 1893 Trivia Night celebrating the year the Salt Lake Temple was dedicated. The team with the highest score earns the ultimate prize: first dibs on seconds at the pie table.

This is a great night to talk about the Salt Lake Temple upcoming dedication in 2027 as well as how people can stay in the loop with the Temple Square App. Or talk about your local temple, it’s dedicatory prayer (you can search for it on the Church’s website), and some of the symbols found throughout your temple. You can even make your own trivia game based on the year your local temple was dedicated.

3) Family History Summer Quest

Growth Areas: Intellectual, Spiritual

This is a great activity if your group can't meet during the week because of all the summer craziness but still wants to do something together. Send everyone home on Sunday with our free Family History Bingo card. As they complete squares and earn a Bingo, encourage them to share what they discovered on your ward's social media page or let a leader know so they can claim a small prize.

Throughout the month, you can keep the momentum going with encouraging texts, reminders, or even surprise "flash prizes" tied to specific squares. Then, when schedules settle down a bit, plan a follow-up activity where everyone can share their discoveries, learn more about finding ancestors, or even prepare for a future temple trip together.

4) Christmas in July: Get Ahead Before December Comes

Growth Areas: Intellectual, Social

Help participants reduce holiday stress before it’s even an issue with this activity. Set up stations or pick a few to enjoy all together. Here are some ideas:

Clean Out the House Gift Swap- Think White Elephant but you can’t buy anything. It has to be something you already own but is no longer need. It’s a little bit of Christmas in July combined with spring cleaning. The challenge with this version is limiting people to bringing only one item. Once they get started cleaning house, it’s hard to stop! There may be several who come with an extra “just in case someone else forgot.” If you do have extras, use them as prizes for other events or use them to minister to those who couldn’t make it.
Neighbor gift ideas- Share your favorites that you’ve given and received. Put some together if you have time like our Mini Nativity Candy Wrappers & Study which stores nicely in a glass jar.
Family traditions and service projects- Share some favorite traditions that help you focus on Christ. Check out our Christmas resources if you need new ideas.
Make Advent Calendars- Our giant one makes a great craft activity and can be personalized.
Ornament making- there are so many great ideas on Pinterest from painting your own glass ball ornament to felt creations to clothespin creations.
From Christmas to Easter- talk about what traditions, scripture studies, experiences you’ve loved that has made Easter a more intentional and joyful celebration of our Savior.

Everyone leaves with something crossed off their list.

5) Christmas Cookie Dough Exchange

Growth Areas: Social, Intellectual

Each participant prepares one cookie dough recipe and brings enough dough to share. Everyone picks a few favorites and goes home with several varieties of cookie dough that can be frozen for December. You could also include:

Recipe card exchange
Favorite holiday baking tips
Packaging ideas for neighbor gifts
Your favorite Easter treats

You could also provide the ingredients and make a few varieties of dough together then split them up.

6) Faith Photo Scavenger Hunt

Growth Areas: Physical, Social, Spiritual

When schedules are busy and people can't all meet but you still want to do something, try a Faith Photo Scavenger Hunt. Participants complete a photo list throughout the week and submit their pictures. Share submissions in a text thread or your ward’s social media page.

If you can meet in person, use the same idea but give everyone 30 minutes to find all the objects and take photos. Pair people up in twos or threes so everyone gets to actively participate. Teams get points for each square they finish, an extra 5 points for a Bingo, and an extra 25 points for a blackout.

Use our free printable Faith Photo Scavenger Hunt to get started.

Print Scavenger Hunt

7) Ward Shark Tank

Growth Areas: Intellectual, Social, Spiritual

Participants become “consultants” hired to solve common challenges faced by families, youth, leaders, and ward members. Divide everyone into teams and give each team a challenge card with 20 minutes to develop a solution.

They'll need to create a product or plan that can solve the problem, give a 2-3 minute pitch, and answer questions from the “sharks” (leaders, bishopric members, parents, etc). Sharks then award prizes for creativity, practicality, most likely to actually work, best presentation, etc. You can also have everyone vote for their favorite pitch- people’s choice award.

Here are a few challenge ideas:

Helps busy families hold Family Home Evening more consistently
Get more people to read the scriptures daily
Improve ministering
Solves the problem of always being late for church, activities, and meetings
How can church be more welcoming- especially for first timers
Help families be more consistent with their family prayers
Help youth prepare for missions
Create a ward service project that people will actually participate in
Help people get more from General Conference
Increase temple and family history work participation

8) Garden to Table Night

Growth Areas: Intellectual, Social, Spiritual

July is one of the best times of year to celebrate the fruits of our labor, literally. Invite participants to bring something from their garden, whether it's a basket of tomatoes, zucchini, herbs, flowers, raspberries, green beans, or even just a photo of what they're growing. Those without gardens can share a favorite recipe or simply come ready to learn.

At a Recipe Exchange Table, participants can swap recipe cards featuring seasonal produce. At a Gardening Tips Station, experienced gardeners can answer questions about watering, pests, harvesting, composting, and best plants for your area. At a Seed Swap Table, participants can exchange seeds, cuttings, or starter plants. If you have enough produce, set up a Taste Test Station where participants can sample homemade salsa, jam, zucchini bread, herb butter, fresh vegetables, or garden-inspired dishes. You can also have a station focused on the best ways to preserve your harvest- canning, freezing, etc.

Finish the evening with a short devotional about spiritual growth. Discuss scriptures such as the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13), Alma's seed of faith (Alma 32), or Doctrine and Covenants 4:4, which teaches that "the field is white already to harvest." Ask questions such as:

What conditions help both gardens and testimonies grow?
What weeds do we need to remove from our lives?
What happens when we neglect a garden? What happens when we neglect our faith?
What “fruit” have we seen from living the gospel?

Working with a younger audience? Plant something together and learn how to properly care for it and why people love that plant. Herbs are great to plant together as you can also taste it and talk about how to use it in recipes. Perhaps a future activity could be cooking with your herbs.

9) Stargazing

Growth Areas: Spiritual, Intellectual, Social

Gather after sunset and enjoy God's creations while you star gaze. Identify constellations, set up a telescope, and read a few scriptures about the stars, the greatness of God and His creations like:

Genesis 1:14-18
Psalm 19:1
Isaiah 40:26
John 1:1-3
Alma 30:44
D&C 88:41-47
Moses 1:37-39

You could also create a constellation scavenger hunt.

Don’t have a good place to star gaze without driving for hours? Go to your local planetarium or make constellation flashlights and design your own star show on the ceiling.

10) School Supply Service Project

Growth Areas: Spiritual, Social

Late July is a great time to help teachers and students prepare for the new school year. There are all sorts of service projects you can do including assembling school supply kits, decorating encouragement notes, creating teacher appreciation cards or gifts, collecting backpacks, and organizing clothing donations. Check JustServe.org to see what the needs are in your area. Don’t see anything? Call your local school, they’ll point you in the right direction.

As you plan your July calendar, we hope these ideas give you a starting point and maybe even inspire a few new traditions of your own. If you try one, we'd love to hear how it goes! And remember, check back next month for a fresh batch of activity ideas and free printables to help you make them happen.

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