100+ Bucket List Ideas to Try

What is a bucket list and what goes on a bucket list anyway?

I listed out over 100 ideas below, but let me start by saying the sort answer is, well, anything and everything you want to do! Your bucket list can contain places you want to travel, things you want to learn, any experiences you want to have, and even some of the big things you want to accomplish (like writing a book for an aspiring author or seeing your name in lights for an aspiring actor). The most popular type is a bucket list to travel. But there are plenty of ideas for bucket list without travel. You can make one giant bucket list, or make several themed bucket lists. Like a fall bucket list or a 2023 bucket list. 

Bucket List Meaning

A bucket list is a collection of all the things you want to do over a certain period of time, usually a lifetime. However you could make a summer bucket list or a college bucket list just the same.

Why is it called a bucket list?

The bucket list gets its name from the expression “kicking the bucket,” which means to die. So a bucket list is a list of the things you want to do before you kick the bucket. 

Why is a bucket list important?

The same way that keeping a planner or journaling can help you sort your ideas and organize your life, creating a bucket list is one clear way of identifying what you want to experience in your one wild and precious life. You don’t have to do everything on your list and your list might change over time. It’s still helpful to have an idea of what you want in life. Yogi Berra once said, “If you don't know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else.” It’s your life, you get to decide what experiences you want to chase.

I have a very long bucket list in a journal tucked away somewhere that I made in college. That list has everything I ever thought I would want to experience and achieve. It’s fun to pull it out now and then to cross things off and chuckle at what my 20-year-old wanted from life. Not all lists have to be comprehensive. I use a 6 month planner and like jotting down my top-of-mind bucket list ideas. These are more of the right now things with the thing I have always wanted to do but have just never gotten around to trying. That thing for me is scuba diving.

What are the top 3 things on your bucket list -

This is going to be different for each person. And that’s perfectly okay. There is no one right way to make a bucket list and there are no wrong answers. Just write down what comes to mind or scroll through the list below for some ideas.

A Printable Bucket List Worksheet

In the back of the Helm Planner, there are a number of relaxation activities, like breathing exercises, yoga guide and coloring pages. There are also several mindset exercises, like worksheets for designing your dream life and identifying your personal values.

One of my favorite activity pages is the bucket list page. On this page, you have space to jot down, list out or doodle all the things that come to mind. A messy (or neat) list of all the different things you want to try someday. 

I love this prompt. I especially love that this is a 6 month planner. Meaning whatever you write on this page is not permanent, it’s just your ideas for things ‘present you’ wants to try someday. Which goes a long way in giving yourself permission to not get it perfect, to scribble whatever comes to mind and cross off as you go. 

Do you have a bucket list?

In the back of the Helm Planner, there are a number of relaxation activities, like breathing exercises, yoga guide and coloring pages. There are also several mindset exercises, like worksheets for designing your dream life and identifying your personal values.

One of my favorite activity pages is the bucket list page. On this page, you have space to jot down, list out or doodle all the things that come to mind. A messy (or neat) list of all the different things you want to try someday. 

I love this prompt. I especially love that this is a 6 month planner. Meaning whatever you write on this page is not permanent, it’s just your ideas for things ‘present you’ wants to try someday. Which goes a long way in giving yourself permission to not get it perfect, to scribble whatever comes to mind and cross off as you go. 

Make your own bucket list

If you have a minute, we can try the activity together. This exercise is on page 132 of the Helm Planner. If you don’t have one, you can download and print this worksheet below.

I’ll give you a moment to get set up. *Papers flipping. Pens clicking. Drop markers. Printers printing.* Are we ready? Great! 

First, write down anything you might want to try someday. It can be a list, it can be sketches. It doesn’t have to be perfect or in any particular order. In fact, you could just brain dump anything that comes to mind, all over the page. Whatever fits your fancy. There’s one last step at the bottom of the post that we’ll do after you finish your list. So be sure to scroll all the way to the bottom!

100+ things to add to your bucket list of things to try

Maybe at this point you’re drawing a blank. Perhaps you have a long list, but feel like maybe it’s missing something important. Here’s a list of some ideas to help get you started. But remember, there’s no wrong answer. And anything you write is not etched in stone. I like to remind my little kids that nothing is permanent, and they’re are allowed to change their minds.

Bucket list ideas

Below you will find a long list of bucket list ideas. The list is in no way comprehensive and many of the ideas could fit in various categories. The headers are just for ease of reading for those of you who scan blog posts. If I added every possible bucket list idea, I might never get around to hitting publish! Which is why I focused on fun ideas that were not quite as common as you may have seen elsewhere. Feel free to add to the list in the comments as I would love to see what else you’re adding to your lists! PSST! Don’t skip the last step at the bottom of the post!

Travel Bucket List Ideas

• Explore a new city

• Visit new places in your local area

• Go on a roadtrip

• Travel by train

• Fill your passport

• Fill a journal with your travel memories

• Stay in a Hostel

• Hike through a national park

• Watch the sun rise over one ocean and set over another

• Attend a hot air balloon festival

• Live abroad

• Backpack through Europe

• Visit another state

• Visit major landmarks

• Find the local spots in tourist destinations

• Travel to another country

• Visit all 50 states (US)

• Travel to all 7 continents

• Travel to the 7 wonders of the world

• See the aurora borealis (northern lights) 
  

Adventure/Activities Bucket List Ideas

• Kayak

• White water rafting

• Skiing 

• Snowboarding

• Ice Skating

• Go sledding

• Horseback riding on the beach

• Walk through a waterfall

• Sing and dance in the rain

• Scuba dive (my ultimate bucket list item!)

• Go on a safari

• Go wale or dolphin watching

• Chase the sunset

• Climb a tree

• Go sailing

• Picnic in a new park

• Ride a rollercoaster

• Ride an Elephant

• Parasailing

• Water skiing

• Skydiving or Defy gravity indoor park

• Paintball

• Archery

• Rock climbing

• Ride in a hot air balloon

• Go to a concert

• Go off roading

• Go camping

• Sleep under the stars

• Sing Karaoke

• Go to a fair, festival or amusement park

• Take flying lessons

• Take a survival class

Cuisine Bucket List Ideas

• Try a new recipe

• Make your own recipe

• Cook a foreign cuisine you have never tried

• Use an ingredient you’ve never cooked with

• Try a food you’ve never eaten before

• Cook your way through an entire cookbook

• Make your own cookbook

• Pull together your favorite family recipes to create a keepsake

• Host or attend a potluck 

• Make ice cream

• Make and decorate a birthday cake

• Learn to cook your favorite dish

• Try a (virtual) cooking class 

• Cook a fancy meal with someone you love
  

Learning Bucket List Ideas

• Learn a new language

• Take a course in something you’ve always wanted to learn

• Learn to play an instrument

• Use a telescope and observe the stars

• Use a globe to locate all the countries in the world

Career/Business Bucket List Ideas

• Become an entrepreneur 

• Develop your personal brand

• Start a blog

• Create an additional stream of income

• Coach the person 1/2 step behind you

• Make a vision board

• Earn a college degree

• Give a speech 

• Deliver a presentation

• Find your dream job (or make it!)

Kindness Bucket List Ideas

• Bring a meal to a neighbor

• Volunteer

• Be a Secret Santa

• Adopt a grandparent as a pen pal (some nursing homes have this option)

• Mentor kids as a Big Brother or Big Sister

• Donate supplies to a school 

• Donate money or food to a charity

• Help someone without expecting anything in return

• Pay it forward

• Buy coffee for the person in line behind you

• Give flowers to a friend just because
  

Book Bucket List Ideas

• Read every book by your favorite authors

• Attend an author’s book signing

• Get a library card

• Read a book the librarian recommends

• Checkout an audio book

• Make bookmarks with your favorite bookish quotes

• Read all the books on your shelf :)

• Read all the classics

• Read a book outside your go-to genre

• Read everything on your book list

• Write a poem

• Write a book

• Write or illustrate a children’s book

• Make a book journal and fill it with reading lists, your reviews, quotes and musings 

Craft Bucket List Ideas

• Try calligraphy!

• Make candles

• Use gold leaf

• Make paper

• Assemble a notebook or art journal

• Join a design challenge

• Paint with a ink watercolor, gouache, acrylic or oil paint

• Try engraving

• Make sand art

• Make an Origami animal

• Make party theme decor

• Make a costume or mask

• Create your own paints or dyes from nature

• Send a wax-sealed letter

• Create with clay

• Create a sculpture

• Make a portrait

• Write on fabric (customize tees, banners, tote bags, etc)

• Tie dye a tee shirt or blanket

• Paint or write on acrylic sheets

• Make food art

• Make a chalkboard and create chalk art

• Try embroidery 

• Create a mural 

• Make stained glass

• Try glass blowing

• Create sun catchers

• Create dream catchers 

• Make your own jewelry 

• Make your own stationery 

• Make your own stickers or stamps

• Metal stamping

• Try printmaking

• DIY a gift to give

• Make tea dyed paper

• Fill a sketchbook

• Add gold touches to your craft

• Take an art class

• Make a scrapbook full of your favorite memories and best moments

• Make a shadowbox

• Press flowers

• Make a daisy chain or flower crown

• Try a relaxing art therapy design prompt

• Create a field notebook with finds from your backyard

• Make a mixed media collage

• Paint rocks and create a kindness rock garden

Fitness Bucket List Ideas

• Run a marathon

• Participate in a team sport

• Break a record

• Join a contest

• Attend the Olympic Games

• Attend a sporting event or competition

Other Bucket List Ideas

• Plant a garden

• Grow your own vegetables

• Plant a tea garden

• Watch an outdoor movie

• Movie marathon of your favorite flicks

• Roast marshmallows

• Do something that scares you

Next Step: Circle the bucket list items that can be done now

Whoa. That’s some list you made. I really loved making my bucket list of things to try. Visuals help me process information better and retain it. Which brings us to the end of the exercise and the last bit that is written on the bottom of the worksheet. 

Now that we have our lists, consider what would need to happen before you try these things. Anything… nothing? Go back and circle any that you could try today if you wanted to. 

I really loved this line. It puts into perspective that I’m in charge of a lot more of my life than I sometimes fall into thinking.

Curious what I’ve circled? Surprisingly, there was a lot on my list that didn’t require any special skills or resources. Things like trying new recipes, reading a new book series and exploring more of the parks around me, are all relatively easy things to do. All that’s left to do is decide when and where to do them.

This exercise got me thinking about new things I’ve been meaning to try but keep putting off. Simple things like whipping up a new dessert or a weekend hike on a new trail are things that I could toss in to the regular monthly routines without much effort. 

So… I figure, why not give it a try? I took my messy bucket list and moved a few easy things to the monthly overview page in my life planner. I’ll be sharing the specifics in an upcoming post so I hope you’ll stop by the blog again to follow up. 

Did you circle anything on your list? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!

Photo Credit (above): Kate Cherry Photography LLC

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