One of the best ways for families to have fun is to ditch the TV, phones, computers etc and engage in some good old-fashioned outdoor games. If you’ve got a trampoline, this becomes even easier, as you’ve got a ready-made fun factory on-tap.
The following are 12 of the very best, with options for hot and cooler days, meaning you can embrace Mother Nature at all times of the year. You can easily adapt the games to be played either on the lawn or on a trampoline.
- Popcorn drop: Attach small (unbreakable) cups to the player’s shoes. Using rubber bands is the easiest way to do this. Put a box for each person/team at one end of the trampoline/lawn. Fill the cups with popcorn and the players have to rush to deposit their popcorn into their boxes. Believe us, it’s not as easy as it sounds.
- Outdoor twister: The same as the indoor game but outside (and bigger and better!). Make the coloured circles from old pizza boxes (a great excuse for a family pizza night) and paint or colour them. If you like, you can use coloured spray paint on the lawn instead – although probably best not to do this on a trampoline mat. Then play the game – you know how to do it…
- Sack race: All you need is some old sacks (pillowcases will suffice if you don’t have any). Hilarious fun will ensure, either on the lawn or on a large trampoline for smaller kids.
- Bottle catch: Thoroughly clean some old squash or bleach bottles and cut the bottoms off them. Hold them by the handle and use them to catch balls thrown by the other players. Great fun on a tramp – especially if you throw multiple balls at the same time.
- Tug of war: Always a firm favourite, this can be played with any number of people. Add in the wobbly challenge of being on a trampoline and it becomes even more fun! Or, if you want to play on the lawn, get the tuggers to stand on a crate, with the aim being to make your opposition fall off.
- Slip ‘n slide: Lay a large tarp out on the lawn and spray it with water. Leave a hose running for a continual water flow, take a run up and… slide! Great fun for all ages.
- Blanket race: The kids (or smaller people) sit on the blanket and the adults pull them along. Set up a course, on your marks – and go!
- Scavenger hunt: Create a list of things to find and decide on a time limit for finding them. Make it challenging but not too hard – plus make it age appropriate. Items to include might be a large leaf, certain flowers, a grey rock… You get the idea.
These are just a handful of games that the whole family can play. Adding your own spin is truly memory-making, plus you end up creating family traditions that the kids are likely to pass on to the next generation.
So get inventing – it’s another game in the making! And the only limit is your imagination…
