Home-made garden games that are easy on the purse

Parents looking to keep children entertained outdoors during lockdown have been thrown helpful suggestions.

With the sun set to continue, what better way to enjoy it than in the garden with your children, and entertaining, homemade versions of your favourite games. Family bragging rights are also at stake!

Here are seven DIY games to challenge children.

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Home-made noughts and crosses

Noughts and crosses is as old as Ancient Egypt, perfect for children of all ages.

You will need large stones, sticks or paper, paint or chalk.

Simply find nine good-sized stones and paint or chalk an X and an O on opposite sides.

Line up six sticks - or draw lines on a piece of paper - and your playing board is ready to go!

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Bean bag ladder toss

Time to put that dusty ladder in the back of the garage to good use. The grown-ups don’t need it, right?

You will also need card, pen and beanbags.

Simply lay the ladder down on the ground and create a bean bag target game by giving the gap between each rung a score for successful throws. The higher the rung, the higher the points!

Target practice

With football returning, it’s time to get your shooting boots back on.

You will need an old bed sheet but first check that it’s not mum and dad’s finest linen, scissors, hooks or string.

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Practise your passing and shooting with the help of several, different, sized holes in an old bed sheet or duvet cover. All you will need to do is cut out the various shaped holes (bigger than the ball of course!) and get shooting!

Award higher points for the smaller targets.

Patio hopscotch

The Guinness World Record for hopscotch is 1 min 1.97 seconds but that should not put you off from making your own game.

You will need chalk and parental permission to draw on their drive or patio.

Simply draw your pattern and see how quickly you can get to home base!

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Water pistol target practice

Is there anything more fun than water pistols in the sun? Definitely not for the kids, but adults may disagree!

Practise your aim (and avoid a soaking) with water pistol target practice.

You will need water pistols, empty bottles and table tennis balls.

Simply line up empty plastic bottles and place table tennis balls (or other light objects) on top and take aim!

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Garden bowling

Ten pin bowling is just one of the things little ones will have missed in lockdown. For the time being, why not transform your own garden into a personal bowling alley?

You will need empty plastic bottles and a football or tennis ball depending on the size of the bottles.

Transform the bottles into pins and roll the ball towards them.

If the bottles are a bit wobbly, half-fill them with water to keep them still!

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DIY quoits

Quoits, or ring toss, can get very competitive, very quickly.

While lovely wooden versions are available to buy, you can create your own.

You will need sticks and empty sticky tape rings. If you haven’t used all your tape yet, then homemade rings can be made from twigs tied together (or taped!).

Plant the sticks in the ground as the targets and it is time to throw!

These DIY garden games were shared by house builder Miller Homes.

(Photo by Daniel Korzeniewski/Shutterstock).

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