So really, everyone wins with the best outdoor playsets. There’s also a side bonus: more play time equates to better nap times. Some great benefits of backyard playsets are having close supervision and you don’t have to pack up all of the kid supplies to take them over to a germ-filled public playset. Outdoor playsets are a great way for small kids to get the exercise they need while still having a lot of fun doing so. You want your kids to be able to have the same fun as they do at the park, but you also want to keep an eye on them – so getting one of the best backyard playsets is the natural thing to do! This surely beats any show on television any day!įor more information about our DIY Outdoor Playset, check out these posts.The best outdoor playset for your family replaces the convenience of a park or playground, putting the fun right in your own backyard. Those three words are always greeted with smiles and cheers and quick feet out the door, and I don’t have to load up the car or leave the house. Now on those days when we’ve stayed indoors watching too much TV or the kids get bored, I can easily say to them, “Let’s go play!” We added a few woodwork pieces to capture this name. My son has affectionally named it the Colossus Octopod Shark from his obsession with sharks (the documentary series, Air Jaws, in particular) and the cartoon, Octonauts. Future plans to up the fun factor include a standing skateboard swing, chalkboard panel and picnic table.Īll in all, we saved over $1,000 for a comparable pre-fab set, and we got to customize it to our liking. These accessories were the most expensive - and essential - parts of the playset. But the slide is still the fastest (and most fun) way off!Ĥ. We ordered heavy-duty swings, climbing rocks and a steering wheel from Amazon. We added a rock wall and a set of stairs along the back as two additional means of egress in the unlikely event of a fire. I think the diagonal decking and archways are nice touches that may not have come with a pre-fab set.Īnd now the kids have a place to entertain, too!ģ. (They really go flying down that thing!) We cut the planks at 45-degree angles and secured them with wood screws. I wanted a play area they wouldn’t outgrow too quickly, and so the upper deck is set to fit a 5-foot high slide. Using pressure treated deck boards, we constructed two platforms. My son made sure everything was level and plumb. (All of this was completed while I was in Montreal for my girls weekend.) Let me just say this sucker’s not popping out of the ground when you’re swinging high like those flimsy metal swing sets of my day! We started by digging holes for the posts and cementing them in for the frame. We also didn’t see one we couldn’t build ourselves, and so, in our usual fashion, we set out to DIY a better playset for a lot less.ġ. We priced out a few pre-fab playsets and didn’t see one for less than a grand after taxes.

A playground in our own backyard was a perfect solution. My littles are still quite young, so they also require a watchful eye. It was also to provide a safe, enclosed space for our kids to play. I think children thrive when they play outdoors - swinging to their hearts’ content, running in the green grass, feeling the sun on their skin.

We wanted a private place to entertain - which led to our DIY pergola - and a fenced yard to conveniently let Kona out to do her business and play. After living in Japan for six years with only an itty-bitty concrete front porch, a good-sized backyard was one of our requirements when we were searching for a new house.