The kids are fighting, complaining they have nothing to do, but little do they know you have an activity in store- DIY games! Combining arts and crafts and family fun, DIY games are two activities in one. Kids young and old, and adults too, will love crafting and playing together. Ignite your creativity and go for it!

DIY Games Your Family Will Love

• Cornhole board
• Giant Jenga
• Matching Memory Game
• Stone Tic Tac Toe
• Giant Checkers
• Would You Rather
• Bowling
• Go Fish
• Pool Table
• Balloon Tennis
• Streamer Obstacle Course

Cornhole board

A classic that can be played both indoors and outdoors

You’ve likely seen a cornhole board at a summer party, a backyard barbecue, or events of the like. It’s an angled board with a hole in it, and opposing teams try to get as many bean bags through the board hole as possible. While it may look difficult to make, it can be surprisingly easy.

If you want to go all out, you can channel your inner carpenter and drill a hole into some wood. But a cornhole board can also be made with simple cardboard! Have your kids decorate it with markers and stickers, glitter glue and googly eyes, whatever they like.

You can use almost anything as the classic bean bags- little balls, cotton balls, whatever you wish. But this is an opportunity to teach your kids how to sew; use scraps of fabric, stuff them, and sew them together by hand or with a machine. Now your cornhole game is educational, unique, and fun!

Giant Jenga

A party game taken up a notch- now it’s bigger!

While regular Jenga may be too hard for younger kids who are still learning how to use their hands, Giant Jenga is for everyone. Assemble Jenga blocks out of cardboard or wood, dependent on how long you want your game pieces to last. Your children can decorate the pieces however they want- the blocks are their canvas.

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Try to make all the blocks the same size, so when you stack them up the stack doesn’t fall over. Then take turns trying to pull blocks out without the whole structure collapsing! This game is a hoot for both kids and adults. It tests coordination and sleight of hand, and is also just plain fun. Prepare to laugh until your stomach hurts.

Matching Memory Game

Test your brain- and your artistic talents- with this DIY treat

Memory games are a hit with most everyone, and this memory game is incredibly easy to make. Using either paper or cardboard, whichever you prefer, cut out a bunch of squares of the same size. Have your children draw pairs of items on the squares- for example, two matching butterflies, or two matching ice cream cones.

Then, scramble the pile of pieces face-down. Arrange all the squares into lines, into one big square. Now here comes the hard part- the matching!

Taking turns, everyone playing flips over two of the cards. If the cards don’t match, you turn them back over so the drawings aren’t visible. If they do match, you win the pair and get to keep the pieces in front of you. If they don’t match, you flip them back over again. The goal is to collect as many matching cards as possible. Who will win?

Stone Tic Tac Toe

A cute update on an old classic

You could just play tic tac toe on a random sheet of paper, but come on, you’re better than that. Turn the game into a longer activity that’ll keep your children happy. Have them go outside and collect a bunch of stones. Once they come back, give them paints or markers and have them draw X’s on half the stones and O’s on the other.

Now, for the game board. You can make a tic tac toe board out of anything- arrange markers in lines on the floor, or pieces of string, or even a bunch of M&Ms! Then use the stones to play a giant tic tac toe game! When you’re done you can keep the stones in a bucket or box for easy access the next time you want to have a family game tournament.

Giant Checkers

Checkers made for a giant!

If you don’t have a regular checker board on hand, it’s reallyreal easy to make one for yourself. Grab a big blanket and fabric markers or fabric paint. Lay the blanket out and outline the square pattern of a checkerboard. Once that’s done you can let your kids at it- you can try to get them to alternate a design or color for every other square, but you know how kids are! Whatever they make, they’ll have fun with it. But that’s only part one of this game.

Once the board is done, you need to make the pieces. Because checkerboard pieces are circular, you can use almost anything. Bottle caps, the cap on a jar of peanut butter, even cookies! Have your children think of and make creative pieces for the board, but make sure half the pieces are one type of thing and the other half are different. Then you can play, right on the floor or on the grass in the backyard!

Would You Rather

Inspire conversation and reflection in this easy-to-make game

You’ve definitely played Would You Rather at a party or with friends- you simply name two actions, and ask which one a person would rather do. To make a Would You Rather game that you can keep around the house for when you’re bored, you only need a mason jar, paper, scissors, and some fun markers or pens.

Cut out thin slips of paper and gather in the kitchen or living room, wherever is most comfortable. Have everyone in the family write out a handful of scenarios- one per slip. Mix all the slips together and put them in the jar.

To play the game, pull out two random slips. These are the options for the Would You Rather! Go around in a circle and ask everyone- Would You Rather break an arm or break a leg? Would you rather eat a whole bottle of ketchup or run through a snowstorm in a tee shirt? This game is great bonding fun for the whole family, sure to inspire laughs and memories.

Bowling

No need to get in the car and go to a bowling alley- no need for the alley shoes, either!

Don’t break a sweat, or the bank. You can bowl at home just like you can bowl at a bowling alley, but at home you can be in your pajamas! (You can at the bowling alley too, if you’re really confident.)

A home bowling setup is relatively simple to make. For the pins, you can use empty glass soda bottles. For the bowling balls, you can use a soccer ball, or a dodgeball- whatever you have in your garage. Due to the glass, you likely don’t want to play this on nice wood floors. Play on carpet or even better, play outside in the grass! You can even host a little tournament and keep track of everyone’s scores- winner gets to pick what’s for dinner?

Go Fish!

No live fish needed

Maybe you’ve heard of the card game Go Fish- who are we kidding, of course you have. This isn’t like that game at all. In this version of Go Fish, your children can mimic actual fishing, but without all the gross worms and hooks.

For Go Fish you’ll need a long stick for the fishing pole, string, paperclips, and extra paper or fabric. First, the fishing pole. Tie a length of string around one end of the stick, and tie the other end to a paperclip. The paperclip here will function as a “hook” to catch the “fish.” For the fish themselves, you can either cut paper into fish shapes or cut and sew fabric fish, whichever you desire. Your children can design the fish however they like. Through the fish’s mouth, put a tiny piece of string. Tie the string into a circle. The paperclip will have to hook through the fish circle in order to pull it up.

Once all the pieces are assembled, scatter the fish on the floor. Have your children stand on a solid chair, and with the fishing pole in hand, go fishing! They can keep their fish in a little bucket or bowl until they get them all!

Balloon Tennis

You don’t have to be Serena Williams to succeed at balloon tennis!

Balloon tennis is exactly what it sounds like- instead of a tennis ball to play the sport, you use a balloon. For the rackets you can use real tennis rackets, if you feel like it, but you can also have fun making your own. Make paddles out of thick cardboard and have your children design them with markers, paint, string- whatever they like! Then try out the paddles by passing the balloon back and forth between them- no touching the balloon with bare hands allowed.

If you want to go really crazy, have everyone stand in a circle and try to keep multiple balloons afloat. The instant a balloon hits the ground, it’s over! Keep those colorful party favors in the air as long as you can.

Streamer Obstacle Course

A new usage for those old streamers wasting away in your closet

We all have that section of our closet that’s full of party decorating supplies- streamers, balloons, candles, the like. The collection can get so big sometimes it overflows- wait, is that just us? Oops.

Either way, you likely have streamers on hand. And if not, string works just as well. Have you ever wanted to feel like a protagonist in a James Bond movie? Or a spy trying to steal a priceless artifact in a museum? You and your kids’ dreams can come true with some simple streamers, tape, and scissors.

Go around the house and hang strips of the streamers through the hallway at odd angles, imitating the lasers you see in spy movies. You can hide a prize at the end of the hallway, or a treasure your kids have to find. Once the streamers or string are all set up, time everyone going through the hallway and avoiding the “lasers.” You touch a laser, you’re done! Contort as best you can.

If you’re bored or just looking for an activity to fill a lazy Sunday, look no further than these DIY games that you and your children can make together. These games use both your creative side and your competitive side, making them more than just a way to fill a day- with these DIY games you can create lasting memories for your family, and have loads of fun while doing it. Play on!