Family Outdoor Games – Let’s Play

 Let’s Get Outside and Play Family Outdoor Games

The weather outside is glorious, so why stay inside the house? Instead, let’s go outside, and play some family outdoor games. Not only will you have fun playing these family outdoor games, but they will also improve your mental and physical health. All while you are building priceless memories with your children.

Hey, don’t limit the family outdoor games to just your household. Invite your friends and neighbors over and to share in the fun. When it comes to playing family outdoor games, the more, the merrier. And if you are planning a picnic for the whole clan, then make these family outdoor games part of the entertainment and fun.

Fun Family Outdoor Games to Play

Badminton

Badminton is one of the fun family outdoor games we are going to talk about. Badminton can be played with two or four players. When two players play, they compete against each other. With four players, they divide into two teams, and the teams compete. The objective of the game is to hit the shuttlecock, better known as a ‘birdie,’ over the net in such a way that your opponent(s) cannot return it.

If you already have a badminton set, get it out, set it up, and begin playing family outdoor games. If you don’t have a set, then go online, and order one. Badminton sets come in all price ranges, so you can find one to fit any budget. This is a fun game for everyone. And if you have small children, you can even buy a set designed especially for them. Not only is badminton fun, it’s good exercise, and participating in a competitive activity, win or lose, builds character.

Baseball and Softball

“… For it’s one, two, three strikes, you’re out, At the old ball game.” (Jack Norworth, songwriter, and Albert Von Tilzer, music composer.)

If you have a large backyard and a large household, then baseball or softball might just be your favorite of the family outdoor games. You have the land, but not the large clan? Then call up friends, neighbors, and bring out the balls, bats, gloves, bases, and ‘PLAY BALL.’

Short on space for a ball game? Then buy a plastic ball, bat, and let the family outdoor games begin.

Basketball

Basketball, another of the great family outdoor games, can be played in many different ways. Play it by yourself, and just shoot hoops; after all, practice makes perfect. Or, talk a parent, a sibling, or a friend into playing a game of one-on-one. If you have more people available to play, then get up a game. Officially, a game is played with ten players – two teams of five. The team who scores the most baskets is the winner.

In order to play basketball, you need a basketball, a basketball rim, and a backboard. Basketball equipment can be simple or complex. Attach a rim to a building that will serve as a backboard, and you are ready to play. If you want something you can move, you might want one of the portable basketball systems. Of these, some are adjustable, so they can grow with the kids. Want to make the game more feminine – order a pink basketball. And for your future all-star player, they make a starter game for one-year-olds. So, grab that basketball, and let’s begin the family outdoor games by shooting a few hoops.

Croquet

A game of croquet is a great way to spend a relaxing afternoon. Or, on the other hand, it can be played with a great deal of enthusiasm and rivalry. However, you decide to play the game, you will have a fabulous time doing so. Croquet is a good game to play with children. In fact, for young children, you can order a set crafted just for them.

Croquet sets can be purchased for four or six players, and they can be ordered online for as little as twenty dollars or as much as thousands of dollars. Choose the set that suits your pocketbook, and have some fun playing family outdoor games.

Using their mallet, the first person to move their ball, through the nine-wicket course, is the winner. Also, there is a game called six-wicket croquet. Included in the croquet set you purchase, there will be instructions on how to set up the course and the rules for playing one of the best known family outdoor games.

Horseshoes

Pitching horseshoes has been one of the favored family outdoor games for years. The rules for setting up the horseshoe pitch site include adjustments for men, women, and children. Pitching horseshoes is a good way to exercise, and have fun at the same time. This is another one of the family outdoor games that you can entertain yourself with – while improving your skills at the same time. Then, when you get the clan together, you can compete on a one-on-one basis with another person, or when four people want to play, split into two teams.

When playing horseshoes, you want to throw the shoe in such a way as to get it to go around the stake. This is called a ringer, and it’s worth three points. Getting your shoe to land, and lean against the stake, is worth two points. Other points are made in different ways, and the first player or team to accumulate twenty-one points is the winner.

Horseshoes can be ordered online, from Amazon, and you can choose from many different sets. Prices run from ten dollars to seventy dollars.

Soccer

While it is one of the hottest sports being play today, by young as well as older players, it does require a large space. However, learning and practicing ball handling agility skills can be done in your backyard. All the equipment you need is a soccer ball. Ball handling agility skills can be a wonderful workout for anyone. Competing against each other to see who can keep the ball moving the longest, could make it one of your family outdoor games.

Touch Football

Touch football is a part of our American culture, and it’s one of the most played of the family outdoor games. Regardless of the season, whenever a group gets together, someone will want to play touch football, and it can be played by both the guys and the gals. In some households, Thanksgiving Day just isn’t complete until a game of touch football has been played.

Most families make their own rules of play, so all you will need is a football. If you don’t own a football, you can order an official size one, one that glows in the dark, a poof foam football, or one designed for the three-year-old and up crowd. This is another of the family outdoor games that offer fun and exercise at the same time.

Volleyball

Regulation volleyball is played with twelve players, two teams of six, and beach volleyball is played with four players, two players per team. However, in this article we will not be talking about Olympic Volleyball, but instead, family outdoor games – sports simplified to make learning easy, fun, and exciting. There are many rules and regulations to volleyball. As your skills improve, it makes the family outdoor games more fun and challenging to incorporate more of the rules and regulations.

Since my clan is not Olympic Volleyball material, we just have fun playing our family outdoor games. We divide our group up into two teams, grab a volleyball or beach ball, and have fun in the sun and fresh air. If you already have a badminton net setup, then just use that when you play volleyball. Or, go online and order a volleyball set. They run in price from twenty dollars to several hundred dollars. Choose one that will get you started on playing family outdoor games.

In Closing

The family outdoor games listed above are great ways to spend time with your loved ones and friends. In addition to backyard fun, many of these family outdoor games have associations or clubs that you can join to play with other members and in organized competitions. Keep this in mind, also, when playing and teaching family outdoor games to your children. You never know what door one of these activities will open. Think of all the many students who are going to college today on baseball, softball, basketball, football, soccer, or volleyball scholarships. What an opportunity – so call the gang together, and play some family outdoor games.