Oversized Yard Games for the 4th of July

Summer is the perfect time of year to enjoy the outdoors with family and friends. The 4th of July in particular is a great holiday to spend out in the yard. If you’re hosting the festivities at your house this year, why not prepare some fun yard games everyone can enjoy? With these DIY tips, you’ll have plenty of fun without spending a lot on entertainment.

Outdoor Twister

Everyone likes a fun game of Twister, but when you want to enjoy the nice weather, you might be worried about setting up your Twister mat in the yard. Never fear! You can still enjoy spending time outside without ruining the mat – just build your own outdoor Twister!

It’s easy. Simply trace a large plate on a sheet of poster board and cut out the circle, leaving the edges of the poster board intact. Take your template outside and pick a spot to spray paint the Twister grid on the grass. A classic Twister mat has six circles of each red, yellow, blue and green, but you can paint as many circles as you want to accommodate everyone who wants to play. Then use the spinner you already have and get twisted!

Find the full instructions and ideas for making your own spinner at SheKnows.com.

Giant Jenga

If you like playing Jenga with the normal-sized blocks, imagine how much more fun the game is when you use giant blocks! Fortunately, making your own Giant Jenga is easy. All you need is enough 2x4 lumber to cut 48, 10.5”-long pieces. When picking boards, try to choose those without large knots or holes in them.

If you have your own circular saw, you can cut the pieces yourself – or you can have your local lumber yard handle the task. You also need to sand the sides to eliminate the chance of splinters and help the pieces slide easily across one another. For the finishing touch, you can paint or stain the pieces. Even simply painting the edges of each piece brightens up the Jenga blocks and makes them more fun.

Get the full instructions from A Beautiful Mess.

Backyard Dominoes  

Mexican Train – the game you play by lining up dominoes across the floor – is a great game to oversize and play outside for the 4th of July. To make an entire set of dominoes, you need four 2” x 10” x 16’ wood boards cut into eight pieces (for 2’ long dominoes). Sand the corners to smooth them out. Then stain or paint one side of each board whatever color you want the dots to be. Let the boards dry completely before moving on.

Now place 3” felt circles where you want the dots to go and place a scrap piece of 2x4 down the center of the domino to separate each half. Spray paint each domino a bright color and lift off the felt pieces to see the end results. Once dry, flip over each domino the spray paint the back. Now you’re ready to play dominoes!

Get the full instructions and a traditional dot pattern to work with from Home Depot.

Clearly, fun yard games for the 4th of July don’t have to cost a lot. You simply need to plan ahead a little to make sure the games are ready when your guests arrive. For more fun ways to use your back yard to the fullest this summer, please contact The Grounds Guys^® today. With franchise locations all across North America, our goal is to help you enjoy outdoor living no matter where you live!