Inflation has been going crazy recently, and interest rates are going up! If you’re a parent currently, you definitely feel the effects. Plus, unfortunately, family activities are getting more and more expensive. Here, we compiled a list of 5 low-cost kids’ outdoor activities for spring that will get your children off the couch, outside, and having fun!

These games are designed to be easily made with everyday household items, most likely lying around. The only thing holding you back is your imagination!

1. Egg Walk

This game is enjoyable and can be versatile. Kids put the egg in the spoon and race from one point to another without breaking or dropping the egg. You could play with a real egg or use fake eggs. The choice is yours!

There are several ways to play this game, and the game doesn’t have to be played the same way twice. One way is tournament style, have the kids go head-to-head, seeing who can get from one side to another first until a winner is crowned; let them go one at a time and see who can get the best time, or let the kids go all at the same time. 

It all depends on what is used to play the game and if there are enough supplies for the particular way you want to play.

2. Outdoor Tic-Tac-Toe

Tic-Tac-Toe has always been a kid favorite! To play this outdoors, you can use a nearly infinite supply of items, but grab some paper or paper plates to keep things simple. Use markers or sharpies to draw your Xs and Os as big as possible.

To create your tic-tac-toe board, you can get creative! Try using thick, multi-colored yarn and make circles, sticks from trees, or PVC pipe. Almost anything could be used to create a makeshift board to play with, and gathering these items can be fun and is all part of the process.

Creating an outdoor Tic-Tac-Toe with your children helps activate their creative side and enables them to feel a sense of accomplishment.

3. Can Toss

If you have a little time, you could try collecting your aluminum cans to create a can-toss game! 

Once you use whatever is in the can, simply wash the can out and use duct tape or another tape that sticks well and tape up the top of the can so that you are safe from the sharp edges. You could use duct tape to decorate the rest of the can and use sharpies to draw numbers or faces on the cans.

Once the cans are made, you can stack them or line them up by numbers. Use a ball to try to knock down the cans, or if the cans are numbered, you could try to hit specific cans to earn points!

Another spin on this, which my son absolutely loves, is with nerf guns! Use the cans as targets and try to shoot them down!

4. Skee Ball

One of the most popular arcade games is Skee Ball! This game is also super fun to make and play in your front yard!

There are many ways to design this game, and many of them utilize items you have around home. For instance, using just paper and cardboard, you can create the example above, created by the user uniyor1 on Instructables. Check out the full guide.

Another simple way to build a Skee Ball game is to use paper plates and put the number of points on each plate. You can prop the plates slightly with sticks or staple them to stakes and push them into the ground. Then use plastic or tennis balls and try to toss them toward the plates. For each plate you hit, you get the number of points on the plate!

A third way to set up this game is to collect roughly five sand buckets. Use decorated paper plates taped to the pails with the number of points and try to toss the ball into the pails. If you make the ball into the pail, you get the points!

5. Tarp Toss

A drop cloth, an old sheet, or a poster board are a few things to make this game possible. Once you have the tarp, cut out holes of different sizes and tape the edges with colorful tape to make it more fun and interesting. Near each hole, write the number of points each hole is worth.

There are a couple of common ways to stand this game up:

• Taping it to the side of a sturdy house or shed
• Hang it from something such as a clothesline
• Tie it between two poles or trees
• Lay the game on the ground and prop one end of the tarp up using sticks or poles

Once you’re set-up, grab your balls, beanbags, or other appropriate items and start throwing!

Conclusion

What’s best about these 5 low-cost kids’ outdoor activities is that they are simple to piece together, and the kids can help decorate and assemble them! They will enjoy every step of these activities, you will get to spend precious time together, and you get the added bonus of keeping the kids away from screens for a few hours.

Summer activities do not have to be expensive for your child to enjoy them. With these activities, you will get the most out of your time together. Not only will your child love them, but the adults will too!