15 Awesome Backyard Party Games for Kids {For the Best Summer Birthday Ever!}

By Anna Wayne
Posted Jul 19, 2019 Parenting Just For Fun

While most kids birthday parties include games and prizes, summer birthday parties have the added bonus of being able to be held outside, opening up the possibility of water games, outdoor activities, and room for messy fun!

Check out our list of unique, kid-approved outdoor party games so your kids can have the best birthday ever. From water games and ball games to creative spins on old classics, everyone will have a blast at your kid's next backyard birthday party bash!

Photo Courtesy of Mama Told Me Blog

Lawn Twister
Let the kids get tied up in a game of twister outdoors! In the Lawn Twister game from Mama Told Me Blog, the yard becomes the Twister playing board, giving the kids plenty of room to play and a soft carpet of grass to fall on. To create this game, you'll need four colors of water-based spray paint, a circle stencil (cut out a circle from the bottom of a box), and foam board to create a spinner (or use the spinner from the original game). Allow the spray painted dots to dry for 30 minutes in the sunlight before playing. It will be hard to de-tangle the kids from this fun game!

Photo Courtesy of Fireflies & Mud Pies

Giant Paper Airplanes
Take your party to the next level with a GIANT paper airplane competition! The Giant Paper Airplanes idea from Fireflies & Mud Pies is both a fun party activity and a craft. All you'll need to create these awesome airplanes are poster board (one per kid), masking tape, and decorative craft items like stickers, paint and markers. The kids will have fun launching their paper airplanes from hills, porches or windows. Make sure to create a finish line so everyone knows the winning distance.

Photo Courtesy of Kid Friendly Things to Do

Elevated Ring Toss Games
Up the fun factor of this classic game with these unique ideas. This Glow-In-The-Dark Ring Toss Game from A Pumpkin And A Princess is very easy to make and will provide endless hours of entertainment and party fun. Use mini bottles and wrap glow-in-the-dark tape around them, then use glow sticks as the rings. Another fun option is Human Ring Toss from Kid Friendly Things To Do. The kids are the pegs and blown-up inner tubes are the rings. You'll need three inflatable pool rings per team and that's it. Who knew ring toss could be so fun?!

Frisbee Tic Tac Toe
Most kids know the classic Tic Tac Toe game, but this outdoor version has a fun twist. Frisbee Tic Tac Toe from One Creative Mommy will bring the excitement to any party. You'll need eight frisbees (use two different colors of frisbees or mark them with tape for "X" and "O"), a shower curtain or tarp, and colored duct tape or masking tape. Teams will take turns throwing a frisbee onto the "board" trying to get it to land in a square. Have fun knocking your opponents off the board with this exciting version of Tic Tac Toe!

Photo Courtesy of A Girl And A Glue Gun

Tin Can Bowling
Active kids will love Tin Can Bowling from A Girl and A Glue Gun. Separate the party-goers into two teams and see which team can knock down the most cans! All you'll need to create this game are tin cans (also a great DIY activity to show kids how to reuse and recycle!), spray paint, and something to use as a 'bowling ball' like rocks, a ball, or bean bags. What kid doesn't love knocking things down? You can also have your child help decorate the cans with stickers, paint, and glitter.

Photo Courtesy of Landeelu

Bean Bag Toss Games
Create a fun, point-based Bean Bag Toss Game from Mod Podge rocks. This game is similar to Cornhole. Use five clay pot saucers or paper plates, paper, glue, and markers to create the targets. Then, use bean bags to try and score the most points by hitting the highest point target. For an easier setup and a steeper challenge, check out Bean Bag Ladder Toss from Landeelu. Use a ladder as the point targets and try to throw the bean bags in between the ladder rungs to get the highest points. 

Life-Sized Lawn Scrabble Game
Life-sized games are always more fun than the regular version! Check out this Life-Sized Lawn Scrabble Game from Modcloth. This game is great for kids since it doubles as an educational game to keep their intellect sharp during the summer. Create the tiles out of wood, poster board, or cardboard and use stencils and paint or markers to create the letters and numbers. Let's see who is the spelling-bee champ of the party with this game!

Photo Courtesy of The Crafting Chicks

Hula Hoop Croquet
Add Hula Hoops and large rubber balls to this classic backyard game for a kid-friendly twist. Check out Hula Hoop Croquet game from The Crafting Chicks for a fun summer party game. All you need are Hula Hoops (cut in half), tree branches or wooden dowels, and large rubber bouncy balls. Time the kids to see who can kick their ball through all the hoops first, or create teams and have the kids play against each other.

Water Games

Pass the Water Cup
A fun game played in a group or in teams, this one is bound to get everyone soaked! Pass the Water Cup from Ask Multitasking Maven only requires two things: plastic cups and a pitcher of water. Everyone will receive a cup and stand in line. The person at the front of the line will fill their cup with water and try to pour the water over their head into the cup of the person behind them. Once your cup has been poured out, head to the back of the line until all the water is gone! 

Photo Courtesy of All For The Boys

Water Fun Cup Races
Similar to the squirt gun water games at the fair or amusement park, this one can be made in your own backyard! Check out the Water Fun Cup Races game from All For The Boys. To create this game, you will need cups, a hole-puncher, and string. Slide the cups onto the string. Kids will aim their water guns at the empty cup to propel it along the string until it reaches the end. On your mark, get set, blast away!

Photo Courtesy of A Girl And A Glue Gun

Water Balloon Toss
Instead of the classic throw and catch balloon toss, this version of Water Balloon Toss from A Girl And A Glue Gun has the kids catching the balloons in cut-off milk jugs held by the handle upside down. You'll need one milk jug per kid, painters tape (to tape over rough edges), and water balloons. Good luck staying dry with this game!

Water Balloon Volleyball
Water Balloon Volleyball from It's Always Autumn is a great game for encouraging teamwork and getting the water balloon fun to last a little bit longer. For this game, you can use a volleyball or badminton net, but you can also play without a net. Split up the party into two teams. Each team will need one towel and some water balloons. Just like classic volleyball, the teams will launch a water balloon over the net to the other team, but with the goal of keeping the water balloon from exploding by catching it in their team's towel. Little kids or extra players can be "runners" for the other teams and deliver new water balloons when the balloons break. This game is great for teens, tweens, and adults!

Games for Little Ones

Pool Noodle Race Track
For little kids, create a Pool Noodle Race Track from Ramblings From Utopia where they can take turns racing each other, or create a multiple-lane track for everyone to race. All you need is a giant pool noodle cut in half; insert toothpicks between the two halves to hold the noodles together to make a two-lane race track (use additional noodles and toothpicks to add more lanes!). Racers, start your engines!

Toddler Fishing
This fun water backyard Toddler Fishing game from ICanTeachMyChild.com only requires a kiddie pool, bath toys (or any small toys that can fit inside a net), and one little fishing net per kid. Each child uses their own net to 'fish' for toys. A fun idea is to buy toys that the kids can take home as their party favors!

Mystery Sensory Balloons
Little kids love touching and exploring everything in sight, so this Mystery Sensory Balloons game from Edventures is perfect for them! Kids will explore, touch and squish balloons filled with different objects and textures to guess what's inside. For this guessing game, you'll need multi-colored balloons, white sugar, powdered sugar, dry coffee grounds, baking soda, sand, popcorn kernels, dried beans, coffee beans, water, oil, shaving cream, whipped cream, and glue. Use a funnel to fill the balloons with the different textures and let the guessing begin! For younger kids, leave the items out that you used to fill the balloons to make it easier for them to guess what's inside.

For more family fun ideas this summer check out The Ultimate Summer Bucket List for Kids: 50 Activities to Fill Your Days With Fun!

Tags: Outdoor Birthday Party Backyard Games Kids Activities Summer

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