My 10 FAVORITE BACKYARD SUMMER TOYS FOR KIDS
Do you love summer: the sunshine, the warm air, the being outside? Your kids love it too! I don’t know about you, but my kids are always far happier when they spend more time outside playing, running, yelling, jumping, and digging in the dirt. So, I wanted to share with you my 10 favorite backyard summer toys for kids!
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These are items that we not only use but LOVE in our backyard. Most of these items are for children over the age of 2, and I make no representations as to safety. (You can see why below). But, I can tell you that our three kiddos and their friends have all loved these toys.
Beat the summer “I’m bored” complaint with these 10 backyard toys that are well worth the investment. But, if you are money conscious, know that some of these are just a few dollars all the way up to a couple of thousand dollars. If you are looking for summer activity ideas, check these out.
1. The backyard playground.
I told you that one of these was a big one. Our kids were gifted a playground several years ago, and it is probably the most-used children’s product that we own except for their beds.
It doesn’t matter if it is raining, cold, hot, or windy, our kids are swinging, climbing, and creating imaginary adventures on our playground.
Even if we didn’t have a single other toy in our backyard, our kids would spend hours a day in the summer playing on the playground.
2. Bubbles and a Bubble Machine
So, if the sticker shock of #1 has you a little frightened about this list, you can spend hours outside with a half gallon of bubbles and a bubble machine. Better yet, try this bubble gun.
We have tons of these bubble wands. Inevitably within a few short minutes of opening the bubble wands, the bubble blower has spilled the entire contents and proceeds to crying.
So, use this mom hack that a friend taught me: tape the bubble container to a pole, the side of your garage, an outside table…anything. Then, your children can continue to blow bubbles without risk of spilling.
Or, better yet, fill this bubble machine with bubbles, sit back, and watch the fun.
Honestly, our dog likes the bubble machine even more than the kids!!
3. Inflatable Unicorn Sprinkler
I bought this on a whim because it is just so cute. My kids LOVE it.
Sometimes, I think that I have the only kids in the world who don’t know how to play in a sprinkler. I would put the hose outside, set up a small sprinkler and tell them to go play.
They looked at me like I had three heads; I had a very wet yard, and no one played in the sprinkler.
Then we bought this adorable SIX FOOT unicorn, and my kids love it.
You will want to be sure that you have an air pump (or a hair dryer with a cold setting) to blow this up. Otherwise, you will pass out before the kids get to play with it!
I like these inflatable toys because they don’t take up too much room in the off-season!
4. INFLATABLE BUMPER BALLS
While you have the air pump out, blow up these hilarious bubble bumper balls.
Our kids have been having sooooo much fun wrestling in the backyard with these.
Mommy and daddy have even had fun with them!
I make no representations or warranties as to safety. These are kind of rough toys!
We have had hours of entertainment just sitting back and watching our children collide, run and roll, and wrestle with these!
5. Water Beads
If you are looking for something that doesn’t take so much time, effort, or space. My kids love to sit out on the back deck playing with water beads.
My kids were always begging me to buy the Orbeez at the store, but after a few times of playing with them, they were dirty, lost, or broken.
After doing a little research, I found that you can order bags of dehydrated Orbeez beads for only a few dollars.
I add 6 cups of water to 2 teaspoons of beads, and I still have tons of water beads to replace them. In fact, the tiny pouch of beads I purchased a year ago still have several uses .
I like to use large pretzel or coconut oil containers to keep our water beads.
6. Play Dough
Maybe you all are much nicer moms than me, but in my house play dough is an OUTSIDE activity.
Play Dough is one of my favorite backyard toys.
I don’t allow my kids to bring any of their play dough into the house because I know exactly where it will end up: everywhere.
So, I keep a big basket of play dough, toys, and creative play by our backdoor. They can take the whole basket outside and spend hours leaving the mess outside.
7. Inflatable Water Slide
Hot day? Having a party? Try this inflatable water slide.
Although maybe not something that you will want to keep up all summer long, it is great for a hot afternoon, a birthday party, or even a summer cookout with friends.
Want to keep the kids happy for hours without a screen and out of the house?
Try this super fun inflatable climber and slide.
8. Collapsible Soccer Net
Our family is fairly active. We enjoy walking, running, hiking, and playing sports together.
Honestly, the sports gear has started to take over the yard and garage.
However, we found this collapsible soccer net, and because it is easy to store and set up, we keep it outside all summer.
Our kids can simply pull it up or down to play with it. Then, we don’t have to worry about it killing the grass, or blocking the neighbor’s view.
It even falls down in the wind, so you don’t have to worry about it blowing away. I highly recommend having one of these if your family enjoys playing soccer in your backyard. No setup, cleanup, or storage!
9. Baseball Tee
My kids are constantly asking me to play with them. While I am certainly happy to oblige, I can’t pitch, kick, sculpt, and chase all at the same time. So, backyard toys that promote a little more independence are a must for our house.
Our son had this awesome self-loading better batter baseball tee, but after a few years, he wore it out.
Now, we have a simple baseball teethat he can take out to the yard whenever he wants. He doesn’t have to wait for mommy to get done changing diapers or pushing someone else’s swing.
10. Gardening Set
I have one child who is less into sports and more into dirt. So, we also keep a small gardening set in our yard.
Little gloves, shovels, trowels, a small rake and a watering can next to a pile of dirt are hours of fun.
Plus, I can usually convince this child to get some actual yard work done using their little gardening set. Pulling some weeds, fertilizing the potted plants, and cleaning up some of the edging are all bits of work that can be done while having fun!
GET THE TOYS YOUR KIDS WILL ACTUALLY LOVE!
Your kids, if they are anything like mine, have sooo many toys. And, most of them get played with very little.
However, in our house, we have found that these 10 items are some of the most used summer toys for our backyard.
