The New York Times - 7 ways to prepare for summer

Summer is a season all about extra time. The days are longer, and with that added daylight comes also a palpable energy to make the most of each additional minute. All of this extra time—real or perceived—can act as a sort of catalyst to do something fun, where fun once wasn’t.

After-work hours reserved for the couch or kids’ homework in winter months morph into park picnics with friends or dusk diving-board competitions. And once-hasty weeknight dinners get upgraded—and elongated—when you finally whip the cover off the grill.
‌

The beauty is that plenty of these “extra” moments will happen organically as the summer stretches on. But in the spirit of jumpstarting the season, we asked Wirecutter staffers for the one thing that has helped to maximize their summer fun in years past. Here’s their advice: 

• Designate a “summer” cup: Head of newsletters Sofia Sokolove keeps her tote bag stocked with a few cheerily colored Corkcicle wine tumblers for spontaneous park hangs. “I always feel like a very good friend when I have a few extra cups to pass around,” she says. “My sister has a matching bright yellow one, and every year she’ll text me a picture of it. And I’ll send her a shot of mine back. It’s like, Ahh, OK, the cups are out, we’re officially in chill(ed) season.”
• Summon some friendly competition: Updates writer Sarah Gannett says the “raucously fun” and easily packable Spikeball lawn game we recommend in our gift guide for 8-year-olds will be making the rounds with her this summer. And for keeping a gaggle of kids occupied, senior staff writer Jackie Reeve swears by the simplicity of a soccer ball. Recently, at her daughter’s 12th birthday party, the ring toss and cornhole games she bought “were totally ignored,” she says. “All those kids needed was a soccer ball.”
• Control your string lights from your phone: Supervising editor Daniela Gorny recently paired Wirecutter’s recommended outdoor smart plug with our outdoor string light pick and calls it “the best thing ever.” Gone are the days of shuffling back outside after the last barbecue guest is gone to unplug the ambiance.
• Sit on a comically large picnic blanket: For park hangs, head of social Julia Bush, a self-described “real picnic girlie,” says her summer MVP is a giant blanket, like this one her friends got last summer. “We are all deeply obsessed with it. It’s so big! It has room for all our friends, snacks, and card games.”
• Pre-pack your beach bag—and keep it that way: “My start-of-summer tradition is to fill our family beach bag, the trusted Boat and Tote, with rolled-up towels, a sub-bag of lotions and sprays, sun hats, and enough sand toys for a full castle,” says editorial director Lauren Sullivan. “It’s parked at our front door from May through September, on standby for whenever the beach, splash pad, or park mood strikes.”
• Put out a communal jug of sunscreen: Several staffers swear by keeping this “sleekly curved beaut” (read: massive jug) of Supergoop by their entryway to ensure the whole gang slathers up before heading out. And at staff writer Michael Cohen’s get-togethers, “it gets put out for the whole party to use.”
• Bring your own … fan?: Take a page out of deputy editor Annemarie Conte’s book and BYOF this summer. This portable, rechargeable, battery-powered fan “allows me to pick it up while it’s still running and bring it from room to room and from indoors to outdoors, as well as on camping trips and to outdoor gatherings,” Annemarie writes. You can be the unexpected, fan-toting hero of the group.

As fun as craft cocktails can be, sometimes you just can’t beat the convenience of a cold, boozy beverage that’s ready to drink with the crack of a can—no shaking or stirring required. To hone in on the best hard seltzers, we taste-tested 12 brands in 40 flavors to find the cleanest-tasting, most refreshing ones readily available in stores. And we landed on two crisp favorites.
‌

Have a fizzy summer→

Here’s some evidence of Julia’s picnic blanket use. And we’ll leave you with her final picnic tip: “My boyfriend (who has a real ‘chef-y’ thing going on right now) recently bought red, blue, and green checkered papers to wrap our homemade sandwiches in. It’s not only a great way to transport them, but it’s also surprisingly cute and fun—a simple, small upgrade to an already-great summertime joy.” Precious.