1. Dunk Bucket
Need to cool down? Make your own dunk tank! The hotter the day, the more volunteers you'll have for the hot seat.
Full instructions at The Happy Housewife.
2. Lawn Twister
Use circular stencils and spray paint to turn your lawn into a game board.
Full instructions at One Good Thing by Jillee.
3. Giant Beer Pong
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Traditional beer pong, only with trash cans (or buckets) replacing the cups and volley balls (or cheap rubber balls from the toy section of Walmart or Target) replacing the ping pong balls.
Leave out the drinking portion of the game if you want to play with kids.
4. Frozen T-Shirt Race
Soak a bunch of t-shirts in water, place them in plastic bags, and then stick them in the freezer overnight. The next day, hold a race to see who can "defrost" and pull on a frozen t-shirt the quickest. This is a great choice to play on a sweltering day--you'll want to keep the chilly t-shirt on even after the race is over!
Full instructions at A Girl and a Glue Gun.
5. Giant Jenga
Use 2x4 pieces to make a super-sized version of the famous stacking game--be sure to get out of the way when the tower starts to fall!
Full instructions at A Beautiful Mess.
Slip and slides are fun enough on their own, but turning one into a game? Even better. Throw yourself down the slide, stand up, spin around, and try to get a frisbee through a hole to earn points for your team.
Full instructions at How Does She.
7. Bean Bag Ladder Toss
Easy to set up and easy to play: grab a ladder from the garage and toss bean bags through the different rungs to earn points.
Full instructions at Landeelu.
This one is pretty self-explanatory: dodgeball... but with water balloons. Just don't aim for people's faces.
Full instructions at Posh Sitting.
Do you have long toes? They may come in handy (or foot-y) while playing this game! You stick your feet into a tub of freezing water and try to pick up as many marbles as you can using your toes.
Full instructions at Whimsy Love.
10. Yard Dominoes
This tutorial teaches you how to make a beautiful (and huge!) domino set you'll be using with your family for years and years to come.
Full instructions at So You Think You're Crafty.
Pool noodles! They're fun in and out of the water.
Full instructions at The Joys of Boys.
12. Picnic Basket Relay
Teams compete to see who can set up a picnic first (lay down the blanket, set up the silverware and plates, etc.). When one player finishes setting it up, they rush to get everything back in the basket, and then pass it off to the next player.
Full instructions at PARTIES4ME.
13. Outdoor Pictionary
Make a chalkboard to put on the side of your garage (or a fence) and use it to play a giant outdoor version of Pictionary (basically charades, but with drawing). You can also use the board to keep score for any other yard game.
Learn how to make the chalkboard at Tiny Sidekick.
Read Pictionary instructions here.
14. Glow in the Dark Capture the Flag
A fun update of your favorite game from gym class using glow sticks instead of flags.
Full instructions at Let's Get Together.
15. Giant Bananagrams
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Use cardboard and paint to make oversized Bananagrams tiles and bring your favorite word game out onto the lawn--now playing is a work-out for your brain *and* your body.
Full instructions at Constantly Lovestruck.
16. Glow in the Dark Bowling
Add glow sticks into ten bottles of water to make bowling pins you can use at night.
Full instructions at Crafts By Amanda.
17. Flipper Fill Up
A relay race involving silly flippers and a very, very full bucket of water.
Full instructions at How Does She.
18. Spaghetti Scavenger Hunt
Pie eating contests are messy and hilarious, but they tend to make people feel ill from overeating: this game allows you to have messy food fun *without* gorging. You hide small items (like gummy bears or peanut M&M's) in giant plates of spaghetti, set the plates down on a tarp-covered picnic table, and have the contestants search for them--using their mouths!
Full instructions at Stumingames.
19. Bon Appétit
If you're not bothered by the idea of actually eating something, play this sandwich making relay race game. Teams line up beside a table and work together to make a sandwich FAST (one person spreads the mayo, one person adds the meat, etc.). When the meal gets to the end of the line, the last person has to eat it.
Full instructions at Stumingames.
20. Giant Kerplunk
Made using balls, pipes (or dowels), and tomato cages.
Full instructions at Design Dazzle.
21. Blanket Run
Grab some blankets and attempt to pull your partner across the lawn as fast as you possibly can. Obviously things will be a lot easier if your partner is under 4 feet tall!
Full instructions at Sweet Dreams Are Made Of These.
22. Drip Drip Dunk
Instead of going around in a circle innocently tapping people on the head and saying "duck, duck, goose," you go around in a circle dribbling water on everyone's heads until you finally choose someone to "dunk" and completely dump the cup (or jug) of water on.
Full instructions at PARTIES4ME.
23. Yard Yahtzee
Turn some 4x4 wooden cubes into dice, grab a bucket, and get ready to roll!
Full instructions at Nap Time Creations.
24. Watch Your Step
Players have a balloon tied to each of their ankles and everyone runs around the yard trying to pop other player's balloons using their feet--whoever keeps their balloons intact the longest is the winner.
Full instructions at Stumingames.
25. Cup Races
Use an arsenal of water guns to propel plastic cups down a rope track.
Full instructions at All For The Boys.
26. Sponge Launch
Who doesn't like playing with a sling shot? It's just not something that fades with age. In this game, you use one to launch wet sponges at your teammates, who catch them and wring them out into a bucket. The team that fills their bucket with water first, wins.
Full instructions at How Does She.
27. Giant Lawn Matching Game
Print out the free summer-themed stencils and start making up your cards. This tutorial uses cork tiles, but rug scraps, foam board or even cardboard would work.
Full instructions at Studio DIY.