Fun Outdoor Games

Fun Outdoor Games add excitement and fun to any outdoor activity. Family and friends connect on a different level when outdoor play is involved. Consider the last family picnic how much fun you had just tossing a ball or participating in group volleyball. Think back when you played your last outdoor game and consider the relationship building that occurred. Without even trying to make it happen, you probably can identify at least one individual, where a deeper connection was made and bond created because of the game.

Neighborhood block parties are a great place to include fun outdoor games. Neighbors renewing old acquaintances and neighbors getting to know each other for the first time can ease into relationships with a fun outdoor game. The games do not have to be complicated. They can be as simple as water balloon toss. It isn't so much the game as it is the act of participating in outdoor community fun.

Want to get to know your nieces and nephews better. Take them fishing. Find a local lake and spend time with them fishing. Fishing is outdoor play that builds character in you. and builds relationships with them. Some will enjoy the act of fishing, some will want to throw pebbles at the fish, it doesn't matter. All will want to do it again next year. Enjoy the moment.

Participating in fun outdoor games is relationship building. With outdoor games you can find common ground with a toddler tossing ball, a teenager serving volleyball, or a senior pitching horseshoes. Take the opportunity to get to know your family and friends on a different level. Engage someone in a fun outdoor game and watch the relationship build.

Several years ago I decided I wanted to get to know my nieces and nephews outside of just family gatherings. There are four families of nieces and nephews. I knew I had to find something that I could do that was the same with all to eliminate any issues down the road. I needed to plan something for four different times. To me the natural choice was to take them fishing. Fishing was great outdoor play, something I like, and for most kids, there is at least a little bit of interest.

I am going into my third year of this and the rewards have far exceded the challenges. Each family of kids brings in different dynamics. We go to a local fishing lake and spend time together. There is no fishing on my part. I spend my time baiting hooks, removing hooks from trees, and replacing hooks from various snags. Once in awhile a fish is hooked and to be part of that child's experience as she or he work to land the fish is priceless.

After fishing we go get an ice cream and they just talk. It is so wothwhile to spend this time with them. Now when spring rolls around each of my nieces and nephews ask me when we are going fishing. With this simple little act, we have a bond that won't be broken.

Labor Day was spent with some old friends and their families enjoying the weather and playing outdoor games. Toss a ball, soccer, and volleyball were the standards. But there was this one game that consisted of two inverted boards, 2' x 4' in size with a 6" hole cutout, spaced 27' apart, and 8 filled 6" square bags that intrigued me the most. The object of the game was to throw the corn filled bags at the hole. If you got a bag in the hole, three points, one on the board one point, and your opponent could cancel your points by doing the same or knocking your bag off the board. As I observed from the side lines, adults and kids could play, and male and female could compete, without any apparent advantage. The game was called cornhole.

The game was fun. You can play as partners, two on a team, or as singles, one playing against the other. The game plays to 21, with the first one reaching that number or greater declared the winner. Cornhole does not take a lot of energy, you pick the bags up from the boards after they are tossed and toss them back. It does not take a lot of strength, the bags have about a pound of corn in them. Generally the game does not take a lot of skill, unless you want to be a superstar. Cornhole is similiar to horseshoes without the danger of taking a metal shoe on the shin..