5 Lawn Games For Labor Day Celebrations
By Merissa Principe
Bring the whole family together this Labor Day weekend with these five fun lawn games. Get ready to bring your "A" game as you challenge your guests to some friendly fun. From trivial puzzles to full on physical battles, you'll find something for everyone on this list. Use a chalk board to track the winners of each game and offer fun prizes in addition to family bragging rights. Regardless of the outcome, your guests are guaranteed to have a blast while you take home the gold for party of the year.
Spikeball
You may not be able to fit a volleyball net in your backyard but you can certainly opt for the next best thing, Spikeball! Played with four players split into two teams, Spikeball involves spiking the ball against a net while the other team has three touches to return the ball back to the net. A point is earned when a player from the opposite team misses the return. The first team to 21 points wins the game. Team work and quick thinking are crucial in this game making it a great choice for kids 7 and up.
Bowling
This mainstay of family fun is easier to bring to your backyard than you'd think. Try an inflatable bowling set that's easily set up within minutes. Children of all ages are welcome to play this game as the inflatable ball and pins are safe and fun for everyone. Of course, if you're the kind of family who really knows how to get down, stack the inflatable pins at the end of a basic slip slide and encourage a few brave souls to slide down the lane and into the bowling pins for a perfect 10/10! Which also happens to be the rating your guests will be giving your party after this exciting day.
Ladder Golf
Meet the new "ring toss" game all the millennials are crushing on. Although not physically demanding the amount of hand eye coordination required for this game is substantial. The game is played with four players split into two teams with an opposing member of each team on either side of the ladders. Toss the rope so that it lands on a vertical bar on the ladder. The top tier is worth three points, the middle worth two points and the lowest is worth one point. The first player to 21 points wins making it a fun and accessible game for ages 6 and up.
Yahtzee
Much like the classic board game, the lawn version is played with five large wooden dice. You can purchase a set or make your own with some scrap wood fashioned into a cube and markers. Use a bucket to "shake up" the dice or have each player roll the dice individually. Five matching numbers makes Yahtzee, fill up every box on your scorecard, tally up the points at the end, highest score wins. You can use score cards from the real board game or print out a free version online making this a great addition to any party while exercising your brain.
Twister
Test your guest's physical skills with this classic game that combines flexibility and perseverance. Bring the original board game to the great outdoors or DIY with a few cans of spray paint. Cut out a circle in the bottom of a deep cardboard box and use as a stencil to create four colorful rows with red, blue, yellow and green using washable "marking paint" to mirror the game. You can use the spinner from the board game or create an identical version with some markers, a cut-out arrow and a tack to fasten it all together. Your kids will certainly get a kick out of this game and you may even be surprised to find yourself entangled in a game or two.
Merissa Principe is a teacher and a freelance travel blogger from NYC. Teaching early childhood education has provided Merissa an opportunity to travel all over the world and live in new places. Be sure to follow her at Citygirlriss.wordpress.com for all things travel, beauty, fashion and New York City.
