With the lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, families with children have been looking for more and more ideas of things to do with them outdoors. If you’re lucky to have an outdoor space, then it really can be a blessing, and be transformed into a playground, to create lots of fun for the kids. Garden games are not only just for kids, though. All members of the family can get involved, and throughout all times of the year, not just during this lockdown period. Here are a list of things that you could try out:

• Water Balloon Dodgeball – this can be a lot of fun, and is perfect for a warm summer day. All you need is water balloons, filled with water. If you can get two colors, and two teams, then you just play a normal round of dodgeball, but you’ll get wet if you get hit! You could introduce no firing zones and other rules; whatever will suit your family.

• Cornhole: this is a fun game for the family to play, that can improve accuracy and throwing skills. A homage to a classic fairground game, you could even play for cotton candy! You can make your own cornhole game with cardboard and beanbags, or you could look at a site like Cornhole Worldwide to get things of your own. It works well for children of a variety of ages, and is the kind of game that will grow with them.

• Natural Art: this is all about collecting a variety of things that you can find in your yard, such as leaves, grass, sticks, and flowers. Then you can use what has been collected to make small things like nests and bug hotels. Of course, you could use some things like crayons, string, and tape that you already have, to help their works of art to last longer. 

• Cup Races: for this game, you will need some empty cups, string, and something to make a hole with (like scissors). Water guns are also a must, but water balloons could work well too. What you need to do is to build some parallel tracks using the string. Then make a hole in the empty cup, and thread the cup onto the string. Then you have to make the cup move by using the water gun (or popping the balloons). The cup that gets to the end the fastest wins. If you’ve got some competitive kids with lots of energy, this can be a great idea.

• Tug Of War: all that you need for tug of war is some players and rope. Make two teams that are fairly equal, and put a marker or flag in the middle of the rope. Once all players are ready to go and have the rope ready, the games can begin. Once a team succeeds at pulling across most of the other team, the rope will slide towards them, and then they will win the game. This can be fun for big kids and teens especially.