There’s nothing more important than spending quality time with your family over the summer. When the kids are out of school and you’re ready to cash in your vacation days, you want to make the most of the warm weather and the freedom to go outdoors. After a long winter, nothing will feel better than improving your tan or just sitting outside with a book in the backyard.
With some outdoor improvement tips, you can transform your backyard into an outdoor extension of your home.
First, start with patio furniture that’s conducive to spending hours outside. A glass or metal-top dining table and weatherproof chairs will have you eating al fresco seven nights a week. With a barbecue or a fire pit, you can grill up anything without having to heat up your home.
Second, installing a fire pit for your backyard not only opens up a whole new world of dinner options (including smoky barbecued meats), but you can also enjoy the warmth and light of a campfire without having to get out of town. Fire pits are the safest way to enjoy a fire in your backyard.
If you want to use your backyard more often at night, you need some good lighting. Your home’s back patio light can be over-bright and kill the mood. Instead, try using strings of fairy lights to add some charm, solar lights in the grass, or even hanging tea candles in jars around your patio.
Of course, even with the weather, getting your kids out of the house and enjoying the outdoors can feel like a battle. Even the summer sunshine has a tough time competing with smartphones, laptops, and video games.
Instead of struggling to coax your kids outside when the sun is out, try organizing some backyard games with friends or family on the weekends. These fun game ideas require minimal equipment.
- Giant Jenga: This outdoor take on a classic family-oriented game will have you on the edge of your seat. Instead of tiny wood pieces, paint some 2x4s to replicate the game. Not ideal for small kids, but with older kids, it will be a blast. Just get out of the way when that tower starts to come down.
- Water Balloon Dodge Ball: When it’s so hot out that a blast of cold water exploding on you feels like a real relief. There’s only one rule in water balloon dodgeball – don’t aim at the face.
- Glow-in-the-Dark Capture the Flag: If you’ve got an enormous yard that’s perfect for running around, try an evening game of capture the flag that uses glowsticks instead of flags.
These are just a few ideas to get your kids outside for some family fun and activities. If you don’t feel like getting wet yourself, save them for the next time you have people over on a long weekend and you can let the kids tire themselves out.
The summer is your time to shine. Get your backyard in shape for days and days of fun, games, guests, and tasty meals.
