For those of you who have been asking...here are some of my favorite summer boredom-busting games. As you can probably tell, we had a blast at at the KSL Days of ‘47 parade! You can find the rules below the video.

Flip-Tac-Toe: My boys can’t resist bottle flipping…it’s like their fingers itch every time a bottle sits on a flat surface. I created this simple game as a fun, easy way to use their mad skills.

SETUP: Divide your group into two teams. Give each player a half-full bottle (we used @gatorade so it was easy to see which team was which). Draw a tic-tac-toe grid with chalk.

HOW TO PLAY: On go, all players flip their bottles simultaneously. If they land their bottle flip, they run to the grid. They can choose to place their colored bottle or remove a bottle from the other team (if they remove a bottle, they keep theirs and go back to the flipping line).

HOW TO WIN: The first team with three bottles in a row wins.

Whirwind: Some games are easy to control - and some games are all about embracing the chaos. This high-speed game is a twist on one of the most popular ‘Rock & Roll Field Day’ games (swipe to see that craziness in action). It was my boys’ favorite at field day so I created a street version for @studio5ksl 

SETUP: Divide your group into two, three or four teams. Place a basket or container for each team around the perimeter of the playing area. Mark a spot in the center where the ‘storm maker’ will stand. Place a few dozen bean bags at the feet of the storm maker (we used wheat-filled balloons for the parade but I like it with lots of random-sized object from around the house). Attach a soft stuffed animal or swim noodle piece to a long ribbon/string.

HOW TO PLAY: On go, the storm maker starts spinning and all players run for the “treasure”. If they can grab an item (any color) without being hit by the storm maker’s line, they can bring it back to their team’s bucket. If they’re hit, they must drop the item in the center and touch their bucket before returning to the game. When all the treasure is gone, the buckets are tallied.

HOW TO WIN: The team with the most items in their bucket wins. The person who captures the last piece of treasure becomes the next storm maker.

Knockout: Corn hole is a classic backyard option but who wants to spend $60 to buy such a bulky, hard-to-store game? 🤷🏼‍♀️ For the parade, I created a high-stakes, disposable version that amps up the fun for less than $3.

SETUP: Divide your group into two teams. Draw a 4’x4’ square on the ground with chalk. Use a plate to trace a circle in the center. Fill 15 red and 15 blue solo cups with water and place them inside the square.

HOW TO PLAY: Give both teams 6 beanbags (to make your own, fill party balloons with wheat or rice). Have each team take turns tossing their bean bags at the circle...avoiding their own team’s colored cups and targeting the opposing team’s.

HOW TO WIN: When all the bean bags have been tossed, tally the scores. Each cup that is your color (and still standing) is one point. Each bean bag of your color that is still in the square is 2 points. Any bean bag of your color touching the center circle earns your team 3 points. The team with the highest total wins. 🥇 So easy, right?