The Big Bucket List Book

Jennifer “Gin” Sander is the New York Times bestselling author of many popular lifestyle books. A former senior editor and chief book developer for Prima Publishing, her work has been featured in Cosmopolitan, People, the Boston Globe and USA Today, and she has appeared on Fox & Friends, C-Span’s Book TV, NBC and more. She lives near Sacramento, California.

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

GALAS, PARTIES, AND GET-TOGETHERS: MARVELOUS WAYS TO MIX, MINGLE, AND MEET NEW FRIENDS

Opening Night $$$-$$$$

Create Your Own Club! $-$$$$

Go behind the Scenes on Broadway, at the Opera, or Anywhere $$

Host Your Own Literary Salon $

Mr. Hearst Will See You Now $$$

Join the Explorers Club $$$

Find Your Congregation or Community $

Throw an Annual Theme Party $-$$$

Own a Hot Auction Item $-$$$

Enjoy a Polo Match in the Summer Sun $$

Share Your Birthday with Someone Famous $

Be a Delegate at a National Convention $

Check Out Classic and Vintage Car Shows $-$$

Get Your Own Crown and Royal Entourage $

THRILL YOUR TASTE BUDS: FOOD AND WINE EXPERIENCES

Spend an Evening in a Wine Cave $$$

Take a Turn as an Apprentice Farmer $-$$

Learn to Cook Another Language $-$$$

Become a Master Fermenter: Make Your Own Pickles, Beer, Bread $

Harvest Wine Grapes in France (or Work in a Vineyard) $-$$$

Make Your Own Customized Coffee $-$$

Follow the Pie Rules of Conduct $

Try a Meatless Monday and Cook Up Something New $

MAKE YOUR MARK: IRRESISTIBLY FUN DIY ACTIVITIES AND SKILLS

Find Your Own Food $-$$

Build It Big: Create Something of Lasting Value $-$$

Open Your Own Bookstore $-$$$

Shift into a Higher Gear: Drive a Stick $$$

You're On! Be in a Professional Opera $

Develop Your Own Line of Food Products $$-$$$$

Become an Art Curator $-$$

Attend Jewelry School at Van Cleef & Arpels $-$$$

Create Your Family's Memoir $

Live like Martha Stewart for a Month $$

Found a Festival $-$$$

Sail Away at a Wooden Boat Festival $-$$$

Designate Your Own Meditation Room $

LIFE IS LEARNING: MUST-KNOW NEW SKILLS

Sail with the Big Boys $$$

Around and Around You Go: Drive a NASCAR Car $$-$$$

Pick Up and Play: Take Up a New Instrument $-$$

Learn a Secret Language $

Cook Your Way through a Cookbook $$

Attend Oxford $$$

Get Your Hands Dirty: Participate in an Archaeological Dig $$$$

Restore an Object You Love $-$$

Learn a Long-Lost Skill for Today $-$$$

Drive a Real Train on a U.S. Railroad $

Get Silly at Clown School $$

CREATE AND INSPIRE: ART, FILM, THEATER, AND MORE!

Let Me Count the Ways... Become a Poet $

Take Up an Art and Create Often $

Start a Journal-and Stick to It $

Bespoke Shoes: Custom Made Just for You! $$$

Share Your Words at a Poetry Slam $

Become a Songwriter or Lyricist $$

Enter the Magic Castle $$

Reenact History $

Down in Front! Host Your Own Themed Movie Nights $-$$$

Draw, Paint, or Create Art in a National or State Preserve $

Score a Role in a Big-Budget Movie $

Be Like a Boy Scout and Learn Basic Survival Techniques $

Create a Motivational File $

Make a Documentary $-$$$

Revive the Art of the Handwritten Letter $

GIVING BACK: MAKE YOUR MARK

Run a Marathon $-$$

Become a Citizen Activist $

Volunteer in National Parks $

Those Who Can, Teach Others: Share Your Skill and Inspire Others $

Been Meaning to Give Something Up? Do It! $

Serve on a Grand Jury and Help Deliver Justice $

Help Create a National Park Larger than Yellowstone $-$$$

Be in the Olympics $$

Dig Up a Fossil $

Become a Theater Producer $$$

Participate in Audubon's Annual Bird Count $

Run for Office $

Start a Humanitarian Movement $

Participate in Cutting-Edge Scientific Research $

Get Ready to Be a Hero $

Focus on Family $

OFF THE BEATEN PATH: ONE-OF-A-KIND TRAVEL EXPERIENCES

Great Ways to Get There

Leaving on a (Private) Jet Plane $$$

Ride in a Vintage Bike Race in Tuscany $$$

See the World on Horseback $-$$$

Make a Pilgrimage in Spain $$$

Learn How to Use All Four Wheels at the Overland Expo $$-$$$

Cross the Seas in an Ocean Liner $$$

Old Roads, New Experiences $$$

Hike the Trails of the World, from California to the Alps $$$

Drive a Boat down the Canals of France and Germany $$$

Historic and Literary Destinations

Stay at an Actual Artists' Colony $$$

Forget African Safaris. Try an Indian Safari! $$$$

Attend a Masked Ball in Venice $$$-$$$$

Explore the Literary South $$$

Tour Literary and Book Towns $$-$$$

Travel Iceland's Ring Road of Fire and Ice $$$-$$$$

Walk in Our Leaders' Footsteps: Visit Presidential Homes $$

Join Dylan Thomas's Birthday Walk $$-$$$

See an Opera under the Stars $$$

Rekindle Memories down by the Sea $-$$$

Dip Your Toes into a Piece of History-Literally. Visit One of the World's Top Pools $-$$$

Learn How to Survive in the Wild $$-$$$$

Experience Autumn on the Road $-$$$$

Visit the World's Christmas Markets and Dickens Fairs $

Bedding Down

Private Lives $$-$$$

Live in a Castle $

See the United States in a Silver Bullet $-$$$

Have a Literary Sleepover in a Famous Author's House $-$$$$

Talk to Strangers $

Stay in the Favorite Hotels of the Stars $$

A Castle of One's Own $$$$

EPIC EXPERIENCES

Sample Delicious Port in Portugal $$$

Drink in Gehry's Celebrated Architecture in Spain and France $$$

Spend Twelve Months Skiing on the Slopes $$$-$$$$

Take a Trip around the Globe $-$$$$

Swim from One Continent to Another $$

Embark on an African Safari by Foot $$$$

Jump in with the Big Boys $$$

Travel Your Own Silk Road $$$

Have Dinner Up in the Eiffel Tower $$$

Dine Sixty-Five Floors above New York City $$$

Travel with Your Favorite Baseball Team $$$

Own a Tiny House Just for You $$

Let's Go Racing: Be Part of a Car Race $$-$$$

Surf the Best Waves in Europe $$$

GLAMOROUS GOALS AND GETAWAYS

Snuggle Up in an Ice Hotel $$$

Get Done Up and Be a Star in Photos $$

Have a Dish at a Restaurant Named after You $-$$

Celebrate Mardi Gras without the Crowds $$$

Up, Up, and Away! Ride in an Old-Fashioned Airplane $$

Shop the Best Flea Markets

Do What Scares You $-$$$

Glam It Up! $

Shhhhh! No Talking: Go on a Silent Retreat $-$$

Get a Producer Credit in a Documentary $$$

Dress to the Nines: Rent the Runway and Wear Couture Fashion $

Say Yes to Your Next Opportunity! $-$$$

AFTERWORD

ABOUT THE AUTHOR