The Oklahoman

Here are three awesome backyard party ideas

- BY STATEPOINT

Throwing a party and need an idea? With just a little planning, you can turn your ordinary backyard into anything you want it to be.

Water park

Who says you need a pool to cool off on hot days? Create a backyard water park with stations like Slip ‘n’ Slide, sprinklers, inflatable water play pools and water balloons.

Serve guests Popsicles, funnel cake, hot dogs and other water park treats. Be sure to have plenty of beach towels on hand and a designated area for those guests who’d prefer to stay dry.

Movie theater

Have a film night under the stars by moving your home theater outside. Create “stadium seating” by putting blankets toward the front of the viewing area, reclining chairs behind those, and then regular lawn chairs in the back.

Decorate your backyard in theme with the movie you are screening and serve popcorn.

Use a high-quality projector, such as those from Casio, which combine a laser and LED light source to produce optimal visuals. Its Intelligen­t Light Control feature senses ambient light and automatica­lly adjusts the projection brightness accordingl­y to ensure that no matter the time of day or lighting conditions, you’ll have good visuals.

With these same ideas and just a few snack and decoration swaps, you can have friends over for any big televised event.

Summer camp

Relive the camp experience with some friendly competitio­n. Assign all your guests to teams and then start keeping score. A prominent score board with the current stats and some motivating music will keep guests on top of their game.

Include classic feats of strength and coordinati­on like tug-of-war and a three-legged race, but don’t be afraid to branch out to include games that use the mind, such as trivia. Complete the day with an awards ceremony.

Take your backyard party to the next level. Pick a theme and go all out to create a fiesta your guests won’t soon forget.

 ?? [STATEPOINT PHOTO] ?? Have friends over for a big televised event.
[STATEPOINT PHOTO] Have friends over for a big televised event.

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