Create Your Own Games for Summer Fun

The best toys and games are the ones your kids build themselves! Whether you have a bright sunny day and a backyard for activities or  you’re stuck inside on a rainy day, there’s plenty to do for summer fun. Check out these creative ideas for making your own games this summer. Plus, these activities will work their creative muscles and STEM skills too.

Outdoor Games for Summer Fun

Take the fun (and the mess) outside this summer with these games. With a few simple materials, your kids from littlest to teenager can have some summer fun with these hands-on activities.

First, what’s a summer day without playing with water? Create this DIY Water Sprinkler with just a plastic container, hose, and duct tape. Really, it doesn’t have to be fancy to be fun! And you can create this one for free.

How about making a kite to use on a breezy summer day? This paper kite design is easy enough for your younger kids to make with a bit of help. All you need is some paper for the kite, some plastic for the tail, and skewers and tape. Your kids will have hours of summer fun playing with their kites. Plus, they’ll love the creative aspect of designing their kite.

Inspired by the classic game of Corn Hole, this box toss game uses recycled boxes. Your kids will have fun painting the boxes then having some great competition to see who is the tossing champion.

Indoor Games for a Rainy Day

And on those rainy summer days, there’s still fun to be had with indoor games! Keep a few of these on hand when you have to cancel plans because of the weather.

Your kids ages 3-8 will love this Telescope Spotting Game. All it takes is a recycled paper tube plus some other materials you already have around the house to have some fun with memory skills with your youngest kids. 

Creating a Marble Maze out of simple household materials will keep your kids busy for hours. This is a great hands-on project for kids ages 5-11. The materials list is a bit longer than some of these other ideas, but you likely have most of it on hand. Here’s what you need:

• empty crate
• marbles
• bouncy ball
• scissors
• craft knife
• pencil
• paper
• white craft glue
• straws
• double-sided tape
• paper towel tube

Once you gather the materials, follow the step-by-step instructions to create your own strategy game. There are so many design options for STEM marble runs for indoor summer fun – and it’s sure to keep your kids busy for hours!

While your older kids create their Marble Maze, you’ll need an idea for your littlest ones. How about a fun game of Toppling Turtles? Your kids can create some cute googley-eyed turtles from bottle caps, then try their best to see how high they can stack them before they topple!

And here’s one more idea for the younger crowd to try on a rainy day. They can still have some summer fun with a DIY Paper Ring Plate Toss game. Recycling paper tubes and paper plates, your kids can have fun decorating and painting the materials before they practice their tossing skills. It’s a fun family activity when you can’t get outside.

More Activities To Try

And if you still want to get in some sneaky learning this summer, check out these resources for more ideas.

• Summer Fun Writing Prompts
• FREE Printable Summer Fun Guide and Journal
• 7 Ideas for Frugal Summer Fun for Kids
• Summer Fun Activity Pack
• 5 Fun Family Summer Homesteading Activities + Freebie
• Summer Math Fun Ideas
• FREE Summer Nature Study Makes Learning Science Easy and Fun