The Whole Yard
Having Fun At Home
By Fresh YQR Staff
As we (hopefully) ease our way out the pandemic, we’re likely still sticking close to home this summer. Luckily, there is plenty of ways to have fun around the house with the family. Here’s a few ideas to have a great time this summer right in your own backyard—literally.
1. Get out the games. Croquet, horseshoes, lawn darts and bocce are a fun way to pass the time outside. Make it interesting by setting up a tournament and crown a winning team with a fun trophy and some prizes.
2. You’re never too old for a swing. Have a sturdy branch on a big tree? A rope and an old tire can turn a tree into a swing set in minutes.
3. Test your vocabulary or your numbers. Sturdy cardboard and some sharpies or paint can create the lawn version of Scrabble or dominoes.
4. Flower beds can use more that just flowers. Smooth stones, acrylic paint and spray enamel can create colourful décor that pops (and keeps the kids busy all afternoon).
5. A blow-up pool with blankets and pillows in the shade becomes a great place to spend an afternoon with a good book.
6. Splish splash! Create an easy DIY splash pad with a sprinkler and a tarp.
7. Break out the bubbles. Our recipe for homemade bubbles: 2 litres of water, 1½ c. dish detergent (we like Dawn), and ¼ c. cornstarch. Pour the water into a bucket and slowly pour in the dish detergent. Stir gently without making bubbles. Add the cornstarch and stir gently to dissolve. Let it sit for 10 minutes and then start blowing. Hot tip: with a small plastic pool and a hula hoop, you can make Science Centre-style bubbles at home.
8. Planters can do double duty. Spray planters with glow-in-the-dark paint for night lighting.
9. Sundown doesn’t mean the end of the fun. Besides the usual backyard fire, you can set up lawn bowling with glowsticks in water bottles.
10. Make your own drive-in experience by hanging a white sheet and set up the projector (which are now shockingly affordable these days). Spread out the blankets and pillows, pop the corn, break out the candy and fill the cooler with drinks.