Backyard fun is just about my favorite kind of family fun to have. If it's not a jillion degrees, I love to spend all afternoon and evening in the yard. At my house, you can count on my playlist playing, cold drinks in the bucket, and dinner on the deck. Here are a couple of the games my kids have invented over the years, which have become STAPLES in our backyard fun regime.
Swing Ball
Don't be deceived. Swing Ball is a highly competitive sport at the Christy home. The "pitcher" lobs a soccer ball at the people on the swings (the "kickers") and they have to kick the ball and avoid getting "out." There are tricky pitches, tricky kicks, and plenty of all-in-good-fun trash talk. There are a ton of ways to get out, and often the spectators have to act as referees.
- If the pitcher catches the ball, you're out
- If the ball goes over the fence, you're out (and you have to jump the fence and get the ball)
- If you swing for the ball, and miss, you're out
- If you kick the ball twice, you're out
- If you don't kick a "kickable" ball, you get a strike. Two strikes and you're out.
- If you kick the ball but it doesn't leave the mulched area around the swing set, you're out*
- If you kick the ball but the pitcher knocks it back into the mulched area, you're out
*If you have multiple kickers you can yell "Help a friend!" and they can try to nudge the ball to the grass to save you from getting out. This is a tricky rule that has served to teach my kids about payback, strategic game play, and what goes around comes around - hahaha!
Eat It or Wear It Challenge
Not every kid will be up for this, but if you've got some adventurous eaters who don't mind getting messy then this is a memorable game for a family gathering. Head to the grocery store, dollar store, ethnic food store, or wherever and buy an assortment of things - preferably some that are delicious and a lot that are nasty. Put each item in a brown paper bag and number them with a marker. Get a quarter and assign "heads" and "tails" as "eat it" or "wear it." For each person's turn, they choose a numbered bag at random, flip the coin, then open the bag to reveal what they have to either eat or wear. And by "wear," we generally mean having this item poured, smushed, or squirted directly on top of their head. You wouldn't believe the hoots and hollers when someone has to wear a Twinkie but eat a sardine, or wear some mayo and eat baked beans. Get creative!
Nature Rush
This game is blatantly inspired by a cooking show my kids used to love called Sugar Rush. In the show, the bakers had access to a huge pantry of ingredients and they had to use whatever they could find to complete the baking assignment. In our version, the food is pretend and it's all made out of stuff we find in the backyard. So the judge might say "You have 15 minutes to create a 3 course meal featuring a soup, sandwich, and dessert." And then the contestants have to scrounge around for leaves and berries, pine needles and mulch and present their dishes "plated" and with an elaborate explanation of what they've made. If your kids aren't foodies like mine, there are surely a dozen other themes for the same basic idea. Bonus to this game? If you're the judge then you get to sit still for 15 minutes while your kids run around busily making their "food."
Give them a try and let me know what you think. And if you end up with a photo of your family wearing ketchup or playing Swing Ball, I'd love to see it!
I'll see you out there -
Holly
