Unique Outdoor Toys to Entertain Your Kids this Summer
Summer is incredible for so many reasons. The sun, the longer daylight hours, and the beach breeze all make for a truly wonderful season. But summer also means that school is out. So now, you’ve got kids bursting with energy to entertain and longer daylight hour, it can make for a frustrating situation if you aren’t prepared. I like to encourage my kids to be outside as long as possible in summer because soon enough the icy days of winter will be here. One way to encourage this behavior is to have fun, unique toys that they’ll want to play with! I’ve rounded up some personal favorite outdoor toys that we have and those items I’m eyeing up for the kiddos this year.
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Water Toys
When days creep up to 90 degrees or more, the best thing to do is keep your kiddos wet! Check out these water-based outdoor toys!
I came across Water Wubbles in the Target outdoor section and bought them on a whim last year. What fun they turned out to be! Regular water balloons are bad for the environment and messy to clean up – all those little pieces! These reusable water balloons are easy and fun to use. Simply submerge them in a bucket of water and they fill up and self-seal. Toss them at your opponent, watch the water release, and repeat! Water balloon fights have never been better.
A friend of mine got her daughters this Unicorn sprinkler and to say they are obsessed is an understatement. I like this rainbow arch version as well, but I think my boys would appreciate the dinosaur the most.
Baseball season just ended around here and my boys are missing it like crazy. Little do they know, I just purchased this baseball slip and slide to continue the fun well into summer. Now my boys will be able to practice their skills out in the hot sun, I have a feeling my husband will get some good use out of this toy too!
Many of my friends have inflatable bounce houses and I’m so envious. They are an investment, but I’ve seen how they get used again and again and again. I’m seriously debating purchasing this pirate version because it has a slide and sprinklers too. If I had the yard we have now when my kids were even younger, I wouldn’t hesitate.
Beach Toys
Summer days often mean beach days, but how do you keep your kiddos occupied in the sand?
A friend of mine debuted these at the beach Memorial Day Weekend and I immediately went out to buy some for my kids. The kids throw the Surfer Dudes as far as they can into the ocean, then the weighted bottom automatically corrects the surfer so that he or she is upright. The toy then surfs on top of the waves onto the beach, as if it’s a real surfer! They come in multiple colors and make for awesome beach entertainment.
My boys got ladder ball for the beach last summer and it was a huge hit! Lightweight and easy to transport, this toy kept the kids (and the adults) entertained for hours on the beach. Some people call it ladder ball, others call it ladder golf, but either way, the rules are the same. Toss the strung together golf balls and score points based on the rung they land on. The first person to earn a specific number wins the game. It’s totally addicting.
What kid doesn’t love making sandcastles on the beach? Now they can decorate their sandy creations with sand paint. How cool is that? It’s applied directly to the sand from the bottle so you can add color to your designs. This would work well in an at-home sandbox too.
Backyard Toys
Looking to have the best backyard in town? These outdoor toys will get you on your way!
My boys each received a phlat ball for their birthday and it’s quickly becoming their new favorite ball. Part frisbee, part ball this toy can be played with in so many ways. Flatten the ball in the center and toss it like a frisbee and it will turn into a ball in mid-toss. We use ours in our backyard, but since it’s made of plastic, it would make a good beach toy as well.
I love this foldable play tent so much. I love the idea behind those wooden or plastic outdoor houses, but the reality is that they quickly become covered in dirt and cobwebs. YUCK. This tent makes an excellent fort while your kids want to play it, but then can be collapsed and stored inside so it remains clean. Leave it to Chip and Joanna Gaines to come up with a perfect solution to outdoor play.
We’ve talked about this one a few times! The classic outdoor game of capture the flag gets a fun update! Stretch your days even later with this fun glow-in-the-dark version of everyone’s favorite camp game. I was debating between getting this and laser tag, but I think this is a toy they’ll play for years to come!
Isn’t this just the funniest thing you’ve seen? It reminds me of those funny little balls that hamsters roll around in! My kids love to rough house, but I can’t stand to see them do it. These bumper balls seem like the happy medium we’ve been searching for!
Another outdoor toy we discovered from a friend’s house, the extreme roller coaster provides hours of entertainment. Position it on a flat area of your yard, drag the car up to the top, sit inside and whoosh down the long slide! Make sure you have plenty of room to roll because the speed sends the car flying far into the yard! A word of caution, watch little ones around this as they tend to get underfoot when the car is on its way down.