2squared Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 Can we brainstorm for a minute on ways to make backyards enticing for teens? We have a very social house, and I am to the point where I need to add outside options for the teen years. I'm looking for anything which will draw the teens to our house....anything interesting, entertaining, relaxing....things that make our house a destination for gathering. I already realize that food is the #1 attraction. :) We are in town close to the kids' schools and we have a mix of boys and girls, so we often have groups of kids of varying ages passing through. As the kids get older, I expect the groups may start mixing across ages (which already happens with my younger four who still play, but the teens aren't playing anymore). I know my 14yo is ready to host groups of boys and girls. We will be putting in a patio this summer, and I expect a fire pit as well. Any suggestions on furniture? Yard games? Areas to relax - swings, type of seating, etc? My husband is not OK with a trampoline for liability reasons (he's an attorney), and our community swimming pool is two short blocks away so I don't want to use my yard space for a swimming pool. Thanks! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah CB Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 Ping pong and badminton are two things we had in our yard that got a lot of use. We also had a fire pit - good idea. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hyacinth Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 Fire pit Outdoor speaker system for music Badminton set Food Food Food 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2squared Posted March 26, 2016 Author Share Posted March 26, 2016 Ping pong and badminton are two things we had in our yard that got a lot of use. We also had a fire pit - good idea. I wouldn't have thought of outdoor ping pong! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah CB Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 I wouldn't have thought of outdoor ping pong! We had an old table that we picked up at a garage sale and we kept it mostly outdoors, but sometimes in our garage. It was great fun to have outside and was well used. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bambam Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 We have a patio with a fireplace (sorta weird in TX, I know, but it is handy when it gets a little cool out there). The hearth can also be used as a seat. We made a ping pong table top to put on our conference size table out there so the table can be used for eating, and then you can put the ping pong table on top when you are finished. We've added a magnetic dart board too. Usually the kids enjoy playing capture the flag in the yard, playing games, and chatting. I think a lot of it is very few people invite others into their home anymore, so the kids enjoy the parties we have. I also just provide food (main dish, I usually have them bring toppings/chips/drinks/dessert) and suggest they bring a game if they want. We had a Star Wars watch party before the Star Wars movie - that was a big hit. Just a TV, DVD player, pizza, drinks, and sofa/chairs/floor pillows. They want to do it again, so we have arranged a Captain American Watch party. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 When we were teens, my dad put a large lounging net up in the trees for us. Hugely popular. Hammocks big enough for more than one person would be less of a liability, I guess. We had those, too. Fire pit, croquet, and badminton were also popular. Outdoors darts and pingpong would be good. What about a screen house? Nan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2squared Posted March 26, 2016 Author Share Posted March 26, 2016 We had a Star Wars watch party before the Star Wars movie - that was a big hit. Just a TV, DVD player, pizza, drinks, and sofa/chairs/floor pillows. They want to do it again, so we have arranged a Captain American Watch party. We host a lot indoors as well. Yesterday my 14yo had a friends over to make crafts. She also hosts a New Year's Eve slumber party and an end of school year party. Since we have a great location only a couple short blocks from the school, her friends often come over between school and evening events. They are in and out over the summer as well. The boys are more difficult to host since their bodies are always in motion. We mostly host boys in the summer, and we have extra bikes of all sizes since they love to bike around town. We also have sports gear...basketball hoop with 3 basketballs, enough baseball gear for an entire team, footballs, bases, etc. We are a couple blocks from the baseball fields, but the boys usually prefer to hang in our yard. They can still hit in our yard with our 16" softballs since they don't go too far. I would love to have a batting cage, but I'm leery about how much yard space that would take. My 5yo loves nerf guns with his friends. The older two boys don't get out the guns anymore. They are all about sports. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 we used to have a very large tree fort that went several levels up into the tree. nothing fancy, ds and his friend had hauled whatever building scraps they could find and built and tore apart to their whim. becasue of it's position on a hill - it had a nice view. dd did xcntry and the kids would all get together for spaghetti feeds a couple days before a race. when we hosted the weather was good enough to be outside - and the boys were up the tree. they were having a great time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovinmyboys Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 My kids aren't teens yet, so ymmv, but we have ladder ball, bocce, corn hole, a basketball goal, flag football flags, and tons of balls. We also have a screened in porch and fire pit. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 (edited) Fire pit would be #1 recommendation, and you are doing that already. What about an outdoor screen (blow up) and a projector so you can show movies outside? (I'm reaching here.) Just having an open space for old-fashioned games like Steal the Bacon and that sort of thing might be good--a place to throw a football, you know? Bocce ball can be fun. AFA seating, I'm not sure--We are having dd's 16th bday party in a couple of weeks, and I think we are just going to get some folding camp chairs for the yard. They are easy to store, and the ones with backs and cup holders are pretty comfortable. We are putting our fire pit in the yard instead of keeping it on the patio so more kids can gather around it, and will set up those sorts of chairs. ETA Oh, and some sort of low table they can gather around. Spoons and card games are very popular around here, and Apples to Apples. Our teens like to talk, too, which happens around a table and the fire pit. I guess lighting would be important--I love those strings of hanging lights, and even white Christmas lights look cool. (We are going to hang these around the yard for the party and may just leave them up.) If it's buggy where you are, a large screen house would be neat, where there's a table and maybe some comfy lounge pillows. And YES to cornhole!! We are playing that at the party, too! (Hahah--sorry, this party is really on my mind.) Edited March 26, 2016 by Chris in VA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmrich Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 Remember lighting. Get some sets of at light - the round globe-like kind to string up all around. The lights serve as an invitation to come outside. I also have some lanterns with battery operated candles that are lovely and soft. A fire pit will be fun. Keep a stack of wood, kindling, s'mores supplies and you have a party! Maybe have a basket ready with light weight blankets and an ipod speaker in it and bug spray. Do you have a corn hole game? That is a fun game for teens to play and involves no real skill. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan in SC Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 We host a lot indoors as well. Yesterday my 14yo had a friends over to make crafts. She also hosts a New Year's Eve slumber party and an end of school year party. Since we have a great location only a couple short blocks from the school, her friends often come over between school and evening events. They are in and out over the summer as well. The boys are more difficult to host since their bodies are always in motion. We mostly host boys in the summer, and we have extra bikes of all sizes since they love to bike around town. We also have sports gear...basketball hoop with 3 basketballs, enough baseball gear for an entire team, footballs, bases, etc. We are a couple blocks from the baseball fields, but the boys usually prefer to hang in our yard. They can still hit in our yard with our 16" softballs since they don't go too far. I would love to have a batting cage, but I'm leery about how much yard space that would take. My 5yo loves nerf guns with his friends. The older two boys don't get out the guns anymore. They are all about sports. We have a 70' batting cage. If you have a long strip against a back or side fence, it isn't too overwhelming. it doesn't really have to be that long, but I wouldn't go shorter than 50' for older boys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoobie Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 We have a 70' batting cage. If you have a long strip against a back or side fence, it isn't too overwhelming. it doesn't really have to be that long, but I wouldn't go shorter than 50' for older boys. My DH and DS want one soooo badly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baseball mom Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 Fire pit will be awesome. That and some camp chairs :thumbup1: A big box of outdoor games is great too. Corn hole, badminton, wiffle balls and bat, rubber horse shoe game, jarts, ladder game (where throw the balls on string)Frisbees, Frisbee golf game or that Frisbee game with pop up looks like trash cans, footballs, etc. Look in sporting goods isle of store or on amazon type in "outdoor games". We keep our stuff in a big box with small pieces (corn hole bean bags, birdies etc. in a smaller container for easy access. Would like to get an outdoor cabinet to keep it in. Table of some sort for putting food on or playing games. We have a picnic table and a card table. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan in SC Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 My DH and DS want one soooo badly! My dc are all teens, so we gave my brother and his family our huge playground for their little ones. My dad was kind enough to buy my ds a batting cage once the playground was out and the hard was big enough. We would not have one if it hadn't been for wonderful grandparents. It does get used daily. They even have big lights out there. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cougarmom4 Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 Dd16 had a fun group date (7-8 couples), where they had a huge nerf war in the backyard. We set up wooden pallets in several places that the kids could hide behind to shoot at each other. We had plenty of nerf guns, but just bought a gazillion bullets.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 What is corn hole? I have not heard of that before. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myfunnybunch Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 Good on the fire pit. That's our number one attraction, and doubles as part of the food bit, too. S'mores and hot dogs are summer staples here when the boys' friends are over. A picnic table and/or a food serving table are handy too, though our serving table is really an old door on sawhorses with an outdoor tablecloth thrown over. We have a tire swing that still gets used by the older set. I thought they'd have outgrown it, but they haven't. The hammock is a good place for the kids who just want to chill for a bit. Badminton. None of us can play, so our back yard badminton has more in common with Calvinball than actual badminton. It's fun to hear the kids "arguing" (and laughing) over whether they should get style points, or points for egregious cheating. :D Soccer ball, football, volleyball. Nerf wars are fun out in the yard, but the bullets get lost, so we try to have plenty on hand, and we remind guests to mark their ammo before they bring it. Water guns and the sprinkler are still hits on hot days. Water balloons! Filling and prepping takes up quite a bit of time, and they chat and act silly while they're getting ready. We will sometimes set card and board games out on the picnic table, or dh and I (and any other adults present) might start a multi-player card game like Uno or poker, and the teens will join in. If there are quite a few teens playing, then we move on to sit by the fire with wine. It takes some prep, but every once in a while, we'll invite teens over and play some old-fashioned picnic games: Three-legged race, egg and spoon race, egg toss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoobie Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 What is corn hole? I have not heard of that before. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk It's slanted boxes low to the ground that you toss bean bags in holes. I'm sure there are rules, but I have no idea what they are. I think of it as horseshoes with bean bags. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephanieZ Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 Fire pit. Outdoor couches, ideally where 2-3 people could lounge on one big couch. Maybe one of those outdoor sectionals if you have room. Hammock. Pool if you have $$$ for it. Hot tub is a good alternative. Games . . . bocce ball is fun. I'm personally thinking about putting in tether ball. I always loved that game. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldberry Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 I'm starting to feel really boring... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baseball mom Posted March 27, 2016 Share Posted March 27, 2016 Nerf wars and Water gun wars are big here too. Most bring their own but we have a few extras in case someone doesn't have one. Air soft wars is another big one here. But there are only boys and they mostly have their own stuff. We do have an extra face mask. Air soft is something everyone including parents have to be ok with. They also do archery contests. We have targets and the guys all bring their own bow and arrows. They also all know my rules. (and if they break them they leave, right then :angry: ) Again not something I would do with a lot of kids but when it is just the 4-5 boys out here I am ok with it. If you have plenty of room and kids are there after dark, flashlights are good. Flashlight tag. Cards and board games are good too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto10blessings Posted March 27, 2016 Share Posted March 27, 2016 My teens love those swing chairs you can hang from a tree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted March 27, 2016 Share Posted March 27, 2016 Ooooooh, make this: http://www.ozarksliving.com/a-word-by-any-other-name-might-be-one-too-many/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlsdMama Posted March 27, 2016 Share Posted March 27, 2016 What about an outdoor screen (blow up) and a projector so you can show movies outside? (I'm reaching here.) YES! I pinned a ton of ideas just last week! We moved in here almost two years ago and have been trying to establish fruit trees, the garden, and the chicken coop. Then we moved into the house and cut down walls and we're finishing the basement. But this summer we want to move out to the outside. Must have a fire pit. (We have a small one but we're trying to dig a bigger one.) Seating areas (Pouring a patio for this and then need picnic tables.) Grill (Have) Basketball hoop (Grandma and Grandpa got this for Christmas. I just need cement and a sleeve!) Cornhole (We have a tetherball but the middle school crowd tends to enjoy that more.) I think most of all? A welcoming attitude that says, "We enjoy that you're here. Come again. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Girls' Mom Posted March 27, 2016 Share Posted March 27, 2016 We have a table and chairs set up on our porch with a chess board (weather proof). Kids gather there a lot. The fire pit is popular. The odd ball thing that all the teens love is our giant rock garden. We have 9-10 HUGE rocks kind of randomly placed in a circular area in our front yard. We stuck an old wooden chicken out there on a rock. They turned it into this game where they have to jump rock to rock without touching the ground (not an easy feat) and then you get your pic taken with the chicken. Anyway, when we have a bunch of teens over, there are always several out there rock hopping. But yeah. Food. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted March 27, 2016 Share Posted March 27, 2016 Basketball hoop, volleyball net, slack line? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzie in Ma Posted March 28, 2016 Share Posted March 28, 2016 We have a huge cabana with comfy chairs and tables that we put up in the spring. Fire pit, is always a huge hit with seating for making s'mores and playing guitar. We just drag out more chairs as needed. We also put up a volleyball bet as that seems to be pretty popular and believe it or not, a couple of nice swings, you'd be surprised how many teens will sit and swing and talk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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