The living may be easy in summertime but the weather often isn't. During this steamiest of seasons when the car seats are hot and the cement is toe-scorching it's simple to understand why children beat a hasty retreat to the cool blue glow of the television set or to any place that is air-conditioned. But holing up inside the house or the local mall is no way to spend a summer vacation -- especially when the alternatives for cooling-off are so easy and accessible.

Here we describe 20 great ways for your kids to keep cool this summer. For the price of a package of balloons, a few squirt guns, and a plastic wading pool, you and your kids -- and a few of their pals -- could be well on their way to the most cool-as-a-cucumber vacation ever.

Barbara Rowley, a regular contributor to FAMILYFUN, keeps cool in Big Sky, Montana.