Whenever my grandkids come to visit, they are barely out of the car when they start asking “what are we going to make? what are we going to do?” They all know that the plan will always revolve around what I call old fashioned fun. We make things from recyclables when we can and we make up games just for the fun of it. I know they are storing up memories that will last them forever.
So, always trying to think up creative fun, I had a brainstorm when we were at the home improvement store the other day. I purchased three big, colorful and inexpensive buckets and then I bought some colorful balls at the dollar store. My idea was to make a “quick and easy” backyard game that you could play at a moment’s notice. The game? Bucket Ball!
We attached the bucket handles to the trees with large, heavy duty staples. It is best to stagger the heights. You could also hang the buckets using nails, cup hooks or even a bit of rope. Be sure to hang the buckets within reach of the tallest person playing, so that you can remove the balls to keep playing.
The kids had a blast, as did the adults! It’s a bit harder than you might imagine but a lot of fun.
Items Needed:
- Buckets
- Balls (2 or 3 per color per person)
- Fasteners
Rules:
- Players should stand back determined distance from buckets. Allow younger players to stand closer.
- Assign one player to be the caller. Caller should yell out color of bucket to shoot into.
- Each player gets 3 throws to that bucket.
- Score = 10 points per Ball in Bucket.
- Play continues until one player reaches 50 points or another pre-determined total.
Obviously, you can also just do free play and throw the balls … which we did part of the time. When we tired of this game, we just moved the buckets and balls into the pool and continued to play. Great fun for little money.
You don’t need money to create fun family experiences filled with laughter and pure and simple fun.