Looking for backyard ideas?? Is your backyard or patio the place to be? As the temperatures are warming up there is nothing I like to do more than sit outside with the teens and kiddos! Let them get out steam for an outdoor play.

Here are some backyard ideas and projects  – little tricks and changes (and maybe a couple of big projects) that can help make your backyard a place where memories are made!

…and most importantly a great backyard gives us a place for hanging out with our friends and play areas for the kiddos! SO many great backyard ideas!

Backyard ideas - collage boy holding wooden dice, wood pergoal with fire pit, trampoline spring covers, sandbox shed

You can journey to the ends of the earth in search of success, but if you’re lucky, you will discover happiness in your own backyard. – Russell Conwell

Make Your Backyard Unique with These Backyard Ideas

In a cookie-cutter neighborhood, breaking our yard into zones means that we have different spaces for games…

1. Make a Fairy House out of Pebbles, Grout, and a Bottle.  A great Garden Idea!

for backyard gardens… and fairy vacation destinations… right outside your door.

While you are building your fairy playhouse you can imagine what the fairy that moves in will be like.  Is she tall and skinny?  Short and pudgy?  Does she cook?  What does she wear? Maybe your fairy is a boy! It is so much more fun to build a house when you know who you are building it for.

Garden Ideas: Collage of progression of building fairy house from pebbles

2. Create your own backyard game of Kerplunk.

Test your hand and eye coordination with a giant backyard game of Kerplunk – All you need are some plastic balls, some chicken wire, bamboo skewers, and a platform of some sort (you can even use a milk crate)! There is something about playing organized games together. While playing the game, teenagers can chat! It’s building memories and interactions with backyard fun!

3. How about a fun game of Jenga in your backyard?  A great idea if you don’t have much play space!

If you like the anticipation of stacking things deck high as you can without collapsing you need to try Lawn Jenga. – My kids LOVE the set that our neighbors have! Made from two by fours, they build their tower and one by one take turns pulling the blocks until it all falls down!

Here’s another way to make your own lawn Jenga game! 

4. Make A Set of Backyard DominoEs

This is a fun project that everyone can help out with.  Add your own creativity flair so you know who’s domino is who’s.  In the end, you will have a full set of Yard Dominoes. – Aren’t these just gorgeous?

Here’s another way to make them! 

backyard ideas: collage of pictures showing jenga, dominos,
Yard Dominoes from So You Think You’re Crafty

5. Lawn Bowl in your own Backyard!  

Being outside is always beneficial – but make it a “super-good-time” with a game of Backyard Bowling – Regular bowling just is NOT as much fun! We promise! This gigantic bowling game is a crazy blast!  All you need is the giant ball, and some pins (or people) to knock over.

Backyard ideas: Child lawn bowling on green grass

6. Make a tent in your Backyard

You don’t have to sleep on the ground with a Tent Cot. – Go camping or a movie night in your own backyard with comfort and luxury! I look back on those backyard nights with fondness and am thrilled to pass the tradition on to my own kids! All the fun of camping and mom still gets her own bed! My folks were geniuses!

Backyard ideas: cot with tent canopy

7. Build a Pergola of Swings in your backyard!

You’ll be swinging and smiling with this Pergola of Swings – Check out how this family made a backyard destination with a massive swing set! I can see many marshmallows roasting nights and singing campfire songs, or swinging couch with pillows, a blanket, and a good book to read out here!

Backyard ideas: pergola with swings all around the outside and a fire pit in the middle

8. Update your Backyard In A Weekend

We all know a prettier backyard will be a yard you will want to hang out in! DIY Back Yard Projects not only add to the usability of your yard, they also are a great way to bond together as a family, build memories as you build in your yard.  It really helps make your backyard more family-friendly.

To make memories with your kids, having a safe space and activities that are made for them is essential! We like to create kid-friendly “zones”.

9. Safety up your Trampoline in your Backyard

Hours of fun to be had with a Trampoline – Too often the pad on the outside of the springs falls apart! We put pool noodles over the springs (and then covered them with the pad) for extra protection! It is a blast! The kids definitely LOVE the trampoline!

Backyard ideas: trampoline with spring covers

10. Build a Parking Garage for your kids!  What a great backyard idea!

Everyone’s cars are parked where they need to be when you make a Kiddie Parking Garage – organize the kiddie toys – without compromising on accessibility! This is a backyard parking garage, made from PVC pipes, shower curtain rings, and a canvas curtain. Genius!!

Backyard ideas: toy cars parked under a lean-to

11.  Backyard Trampoline Tent

You can do a Trampoline Transformation – The kids think they want a bounce house that we can blow up for events… but we didn’t want to keep the hassle of a big bulky bounce house? This is better! It is trampoline tent. Fill it with balloons and your kiddo’s party is made! Easy to set up and take down.

Trampoline with cover

12. Play Dice in your Backyard

Back Yard Dice Games are fun for everyone!  When I got married I discovered Yahtzee – it is a BIG deal with the in-laws! My kids are already pros at this game (can you be pros at it??). Play a BIG game of Yahtzee using homemade giant dice. It’s a great backyard game!

bucket of wooden dice, boy holding wooden dice

Make Your House the Neighborhood Destination

Do you want your house to be the one where the neighborhood kids come over and hang out? But maybe you don’t want all the mess and disaster that a bunch of hanging out tweens brings?? This set is GENIUS!!

13. Watch movies in your backyard!

Who wouldn’t want to watch movies in their backyard?  You can easily make a backyard movie theater! – The kids can leave all their popcorn outside for the birds to eat the next morning!

boy and girl sitting outside watching move on screen with collage of different set ups for screen

14.  Cocoon yourself with a Chair Hammock in your backyard.

Get rocking with a DIY Chair Hammock! This is a super easy hammock chair that you can make in under an hour! Grab some fun canvas, rope, and a bar – that tutorial is great!  When you are finished you will have your own cocoon to cozy up with your favorite book.  It’s also a great place to catch a quick nap

hammock chair

15. Backyard Ideas: Make a Construction zone in your backyard

Your kiddos will GO BONKERS!!  It’s a Backyard Construction Zone for the kids! Add tunnels, rocks, dirt, and other bits for your kids to move around as they are “working” on the roads.  Kids will spend hours and hours digging holes when they have a great place to do it.  Moving dirt isn’t just for adults!

Mini Trampoline turns into a Backyard Swing

You can make a Trampoline Swing – In the winter those mini-trampolines are great to help your kids burn energy inside. When it is warm out, get your kids outside AND on the trampoline! Make it into a swing.

silly back yard ideas collage of construction, bubbles, sandbox & swing

16. Build a Sand Lean-To in your back yard

Build a Covered Sand Lean-To – One of the things I LOVE about a sandbox is how the kids can just go out there and dig, scheme and plan these elaborate home creations – for hours!! The tubes in this sandbox make pouring the sand even more fun!

17. Have a Private Pool in your backyard

Create Your Own Pool – All you need is gumption, a lot of pallets and some super sturdy tarps! Can you believe it?! This one only cost $75 to make!!

Just think of all those memories!! The kids can play pool games to their heart’s content.  They will cool off on hot days, and your backyard will be the most fun place in town. Bonus!  The pool is also pretty easy to dismantle if you are moving or if your family’s needs change later.

Swimming pool made from pallets

18. Make your Own Garden Tee-Pee

Create a backyard Tee-Pee! Gardening is a blast, as is imagining all the things the clouds can be! Combine these loves with a tee-pee garden trellis! Your backyard garden just got a whole lot more interesting.

Creat a Backyard Teepee from Branches and Twigs - 19 Family Friendly Backyard Ideas For Making Memories - Together - One Crazy House

19.Take Your Tots Outside with You

Use a crib sheet as a shade for a playpen… What a genius backyard idea – bring your tots outside with you while you do yard work or whatever. They stay bug-free and in the shade. Use a bed sheet!  They get fresh air and you get things done!  If you are lucky, all of that fresh air will help them sleep better too!

baby in playpen with cover for shade
Use a Fitted Sheet Over a Playpen for Shade from Polly Danger

20. Climb Trees with Ease

Tree Climbers will get your kids exciting about climbing trees!   They can easily get to their tree fort or play a game of king of the castle.  Good wholesome fun! 

child climbing tree

Here are some more tips on how you can make the most of your backyard space:

  • Use an organic – kid-friendly lawn management system.
  • Consider getting a bug zapper! These will also help keep the backyard more enjoyable for your kids, especially at dusk!
  • Have zones for all your outdoor supplies. Consider adding a storage bench outside to help contain the various yard items that you need sporadically.
  • Slow down. Be intentional about your backyard ideas, and try to spend at least an hour outside each day in your backyard!

What memories do you create in your backyard? Share photos of your favorite backyards to our Facebook page or email them to us!! We love to share! [email protected]

Backyard ideas - collage boy holding wooden dice, wood pergoal with fire pit, trampoline spring covers, sandbox shed

More Fun Backyard Ideas From One Crazy House:

  • If you have a small backyard, that doesn’t mean you can’t have a beautiful, relaxing space. Go beyond with these backyard ideas.
  • These outdoor backyard ideas will surely be a hit not just with the kids but the whole gang too. Invite more friends!
  • Make fun memories together with the kids as you do these kid-friendly backyard ideas!
  • There are a lot of fun backyard toys for kids to play with. But keeping them organized can be tough. Learn about backyard toy storage ideas here.
  • Here’s a guide to some of the backyard games and ideas to get outside and have fun in the sun.

Which of these backyard ideas looks would you like to try for the whole family?


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