Backyard party games are some of the purest pleasures of childhood. A backyard party is a natural choice for Spring or Summer birthdays and holidays, and any of these simple-to-orchestrate pastimes makes a great addition to the afternoon. Often, a backyard party will include friends from different spheres of your child’s life (school homeroom, after-school sports teams, neighborhood kids, etc.), and these “sub-groups” of guests sometimes stick to themselves rather than play with each other. You can nip this problem in the bud with any one of these backyard party games. Backyard party games involve everybody, which makes it easy for all the kids at a party to join in the fun. Read on to discover backyard party games that are easy to play, and will make your child’s birthday party a blast. Try a casual, spur of the moment group activity that encourages kids to bond, or try a special centerpiece for the afternoon that’s well worth the light preparation.
Only Three Minutes
A Casual, Spur-Of-The-Moment Game
Only Three Minutes, one of the best backyard party games for a group of kids that could use a chance to meet each other. Just throw everyone’s names into a hat, and then pull out two at a time. Invite those two kids up to the front of the group, and introduce them. Once everybody is paired up, set a timer for three minutes. Then, tell them they have Only Three Minutes and only one rule: you have to stay with your partner, and you can’t talk to anyone except them. When the three minutes are up, have everybody tell the group one thing that they learned from or about their partner. This is one of the flexible backyard party games that can go for as long as the kids seem interested: one round or fifteen, it all depends on the group! Once there’s been a round or two and everyone is familiar with the rules, try out a few variations. Instead of talking for Only Three Minutes, suggest that the kids teach each other dance moves or songs; playing in the backyard means that they can have space and noise to really cut loose!
Fact: This game is based on a Victorian-era childrens’ party game called “Five Minutes Conversation.
Obstacle Course
A Creative, Active Game With Light Preparation
In the right setting and with a little imagination, even cardboard boxes can be the building blocks of backyard party games, as you’ll discover when you have kids play on their own obstacle course. An obstacle course takes advantage of one of the greatest joys of backyard party games: the fact that kids have plenty of room to run around in the fresh air. You can plan out and build your own obstacle course for the kids to run, but it’s even more fun to have the children build their own! That way, all you’ll have to do is a little bit of light preparation gathering materials. Get together enough items so that every kid has at least one thing to place on the course, hand out the goodies, and have everyone add their item to the course to create a wild, spontaneous obstacle maze. As for materials, anything goes so long as it’s safe (no sharp corners or hard edges, please)! Try to have a mixture of all kinds of things, from folding chairs to ropes to plastic cups to inflatable inner tubes and, of course, cardboard boxes. Once the kids have mastered the course, have them try to do it backwards, or blindfolded!
Fact: Obstacle courses make great exercise, but unlike many physically active games, they also accommodate all fitness levels. Sporty kids can run while less energetic youngsters can take their time.
