Garden Games for Children

We all love our gardens, they offer a great space for little legs to be stretched, endless play opportunities and that all important fresh air. But they have never been so important as they are in these current times of isolation. With families staying indoors and taking the necessary steps to practice social distancing, our gardens offer that precious outdoor space that can help bust boredom for the whole family.

However, even the most creative little one may need some inspiration for fun activities and games to transform your garden into the best adventure playground. We’ve pulled together our favourite tried and tested garden games to entertain your little ones for hours, plus, we’ve even got some ideas that the whole family can get involved in.

We wanted to make sure all of our ideas can be done with things that you often find around the house. So you’ll be glad to hear you can get going with these games right away without spending a penny, you’re welcome!

Bowling

You may not be able to go to your local bowling alley at the moment, but who said you can’t bring bowling to you. This is the perfect game for the whole family, there is no limit to the amount of players so everyone can get involved and it's fun for all ages. To keep it simple, we often use old cans we’ve popped into the recycling bin, or you could even use old bottles, and of course you will need a small round ball.

Head over to our “Recycled Arts and Crafts ideas” blog to find out how to make colourful bowling pins out of recycled tin cans. We are pretty chuffed with this garden game, you’re getting 2 for 1 on activities, a bit of arts and crafts that then creates a game for endless fun. We know, we are pretty good at this.

Ball Throwing

This one is a home made version of what you quite often find at the local fair. It’s super easy to set up, and a game your little ones will love to play. The idea is to simply get 4 or 5 different size and shape containers; these can be bowls, storage units, cardboard boxes, bins etc. They just need to be the right shape to catch either a ball or bean bag.

Simply line them all up in varying distances from each other to increase the level of difficulty to help the game last longer. We also like to pop on a point system per bowl, so for example the closest one is worth 10 points, then the next furthest distance away is worth 20 and so on. Then let the games begin!

We also encourage our children to add up their own scores and keep track of the bowls they land their ball into to help develop their maths skills in a fun and interactive way.

Find the matching pair

We absolutely love this game, it’s another 2-in-1 activity as it requires a touch of arts and crafts fun to help get prepared for game time. The inspiration for this garden game comes from the classic memory game format of finding the matching pair from all the pictures. You can have some fun with this and get your little ones involved in the preparation. All you need is some paper and start drawing whatever you like, it can be numbers, fruit, colours, drawings, flowers, whatever your little artist feels like creating! The only catch is they have to make 2 of each drawing exactly the same so each drawing has a pair.

Once these are finished and ready, you simply need to place them down upside down in the garden and let your little find the matching pairs from memory as they turn over each piece of paper.

This is great for their development and memory skills, whilst also being fun.

 Natural Art

We all know arts and crafts can be messy business, so why not take it outside and let them make arts and crafts with things they have found in the garden. Nature is beautiful and can inspire your little one in so many ways once they start to let their creativity flow. Let them explore your garden to see what they can find that would create the perfect mini nature masterpieces.

You’ll be surprised what their little minds can create from twigs, flowers and leaves. Add in a little of the more traditional arts and crafts items like glue, crayons and glitter, and the possibilities are endless. It is a lot of fun, and your kids will get their creative juices flowing once they realise how amazing it is to bring these ideas to life. Plus, it’s all without the worry of your carpets getting ruined, need we say anymore!?

Bottle Catch

You will be surprised how much fun you can have with normal household items, and how many of your every day items can be transformed into a fun game if you just use a little imagination. We came up with this idea when our little one wanted to play tennis, but we couldn’t find our old tennis rackets, typical!

We thought outside of the box and created useful catching containers out of old milk cartons and cleaning bottles. Hunt around your house, or in your recycling bin for a suitable plastic container or bottle that can be used to have the bottom cut off and used as a ball catcher. It’s time to add a bit of magic into these old items and create a game your little one will love. Simply wash these bottles out thoroughly, cut the end off all the way round, add a bit of colour with some paint or coloured tape for an extra bit of fun. Then you’re ready to grab your ball and play catch.

 Balloon Pop Tag

We like to think of this as a new version of tag but a little trickier to ensure they stay entertained for that little bit longer. Dig out those old party balloons and some string and you’re all set! Simply blow up some balloons, one per each player, then cut the string into roughly 15inch lengths and tie to the end of each balloon. To play all you need to do is loosely tie the string around their ankle or attach to the shoe of each player, and then let them loose to run around trying to stomp or pop each other’s balloon. The person with their balloon still standing at the end wins! 

There you have it, some of our tried and tested outdoor games inspired from items you can find around your home that are guaranteed to keep your little ones entertained, whilst getting that all important fresh air and development stimulation in the garden.

Garden Toys

To help keep your little ones entertained we also have some amazing products that makes playtime in the garden simple and easy. All these toys make the perfect garden game activities and games for your children.  

Liewood Beach Set

Even though you might not be heading to the beach this weekend, it doesn't mean these gorgeous Liewood bucket and spade sets can't create endless fun in your garden too. If you have a sand pit these are perfect for sand castles and sand play, or you could even think outside of the box and create a mud kitchen.

Plan Toys Mini Golf Set

We love this little golf set from Plan Toys. It's just perfect for endless garden fun for the whole family. It comes with everything you need for a mini golf tournament  in the garden.

Liewood Gardening Set

There is no better toy more suited to garden fun than this gardening set. Get your little one involved in some green fingered fun helping you to plan some new plants or weeding the garden. They will love to get involved and help.

Moluk Bilibo

This may look a little odd, but the Bilibo is such a versatile toy that little ones just love playing with for hours. It's so versatile the play possibilities are endless; they can rock, spin, hide or sit on it to help keep them engaged. 

Play & Go Outdoor Play Storage Bag

These storage bags are so useful. We have them around the house to help store all those thousands of toys that get left everywhere, then when it is play time simply open the bag out and it acts like a play mat. This one is perfect for garden play as it's designed to be used outdoors on rougher ground. Such an easy way for them to take their indoor toys outdoors without all the faff or worry about dirt or water ruining their toys. 

We would love to see how you are all having fun at home or in the garden, don’t forget to tag us in any of your family fun pictures so we can share to help other parents with fun inspiration.

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