Put the play into summer parties

Looking for inspiration to make your summer birthday parties and celebrations more fun? We’ve rounded up 5 fantastic ideas for you, perfect for outdoor parties.

1. Turn your backyard into a bowling alley.

Bowling is a great game for all ages and works well outdoors (or in a party venue with lots of space, just make sure there are no breakable items nearby!). Collect empty plastic soda bottles with lids, remove any labels, and paint them in bright colors. Get a large soft ball to use as a bowling ball and make some funky scorecards. Think lots of stickers and glitter! To make your ‘skittles’ look even better you can pop a glowstick into each, ideal if your party continues until dusk or dark.

2. Set up an obstacle course in your garden.

Kids love a fun timed challenge (but, if there are any who don’t want to take part, just get them to be helpers, like timing each person’s course with a stopwatch).

Here’s an example of a course:


  • Start off with a small ball and some evenly spaced out cones (or you can use plastic bottles weighted with a little sand). The challenge is to dribble the ball around the cones.

  • Next is a hula hoop challenge, competitors can’t move on until they make the hula hoop spin around their waist!
  • Now on to a skipping event. Pick up the skipping rope and skip, whilst moving forward, from one marked point to the next.

  • End by hopping on one leg, or hop from one paper plate on the ground to another, to the finish line.

3. Play the colored corner game.

Place a different colored balloon or flag in all four corners of the yard. Pick one person to be the caller and everyone else will be runners. Have the caller stand in the middle of the yard and close their eyes. When the caller says “go” all the runners must move around the yard. When the caller says “stop” everyone has 10 seconds to get to a corner of their choice. The caller shouts out one of the colors represented by the balloons. Whoever is standing in that corner is out of the game. Everyone else stays in, and moves around when the caller says go again. Keep on playing until you have 4 people left - they have to all go to different colored corners. The game ends when only one person is left standing in a corner. This person becomes the new caller, and the game starts again for as long as you want it to.

 

Popsicle Piñata, Rainbow Party Piñata, Mermaid Piñata, Sun Piñata

 

4. Go piñata crazy.

Kids (and adults!) love a piñata and they’re even more fun outdoors with lots of space for little people to take big hits! Or, for a change, try a water balloon piñata game (Beware, only suitable if your guests are wearing clothes they/their parents don’t mind getting wet!). Perfect for really hot days. Simply replace a traditional piñata with a water balloon and hang it in a tree. Each person takes their turn to bash it, and whoever pops it gets soaked! Or – and this is one of the funniest games we’ve come across – try the human piñata game! This involves gluing small packs of candies, cookies and mini-toys onto a large t-shirt. Get a brave adult to wear the t-shirt and prepare to run around the yard. The kids have to chase after them and try to pull off the treats! If you have a mix of age groups at your party,  we suggest you have 2 adult piñatas and let the younger kids go first and older ones afterward. 

5. Compile a fabulous summer party music playlist.

Choose summery tunes everyone will love to sing or dance along to. Ideal for traditional games involving music like pass the parcel. Take a listen to our Meri Meri Summer Party Fun list here.