8 Fun Backyard Entertainment Ideas Everyone Will Love

Once your delicious dinner is prepared, have a place for everyone to pick up a plate. Create a long table to hold all the food and for people to be able to serve themselves, even if everyone doesn't sit down at once in a formal fashion. Provide some chairs as an invitation to sit at the table, but allow them to sit or stand wherever they want. Your tables don't have to match either. Simply add a few tablecloths to disguise any mismatched legs and create a cleaner aesthetic where the food can take center stage. If it's dark out, be sure to hang string lights nearby and scatter a few candles so guests can see what they're spooning onto their plates.

For entertaining in the backyard, make sure to have some seating spread out. There's only so long guests can stand around or lean against the deck railing. Allow your guests to be more comfortable and spread out the seating areas with anything from matching outdoor patio seating to camp chairs. You could even grab a few chairs from indoors, like dining chairs or poufs. An eclectic, mix-and-match vibe creates a certain charm in backyard soirees.

Make a playlist for the day and stream it through some outdoor speakers around the yard or mount to your deck area. Think of crowd-pleasing music that everyone can enjoy, like classic rock or hip hop. Not only can music drown out your neighbor's barking dog or traffic noise, but it can break the tension and any awkward silences, allowing friends and family to feel more at ease. Of course, be respectful of your neighbors and don't crank the volume up too high.

As guests arrive, make sure they can easily find the drinks. Use a table and get creative, adding a few dispensers, buckets of ice and cups and glassware for guests to be able to serve themselves. You could even set up an open cooler or even use a wheelbarrow. Be sure to offer a variety of libations as well, such as beer, wine, seltzer, sodas, and water to stay hydrated, especially since everyone's hanging around outdoors.

Give your guests a few lawn games to keep everyone entertained. A little friendly competition makes a great conversation starter between new and old friends alike. Bocce balls are a fun lawn game, and cornhole is always a hit. Many homeowners even love to have their own customized cornhole boards. If you have more backyard space, arrange for something larger like a volleyball net, so long as it's far from the food table or bouncing off someone's head. For those who are less active, keep some card games or board games on hand, too!

Once the sun sets on your backyard soiree, it can become a bit colder. But if you place some outdoor heaters around, you can ensure your guests won't head home simply because of the cold. Place them around the deck and tables, where guests can congregate to stay warm. For occasional outdoor gatherings, a portable propane heater will do the job. But if you often entertain outdoors, consider something like a Bromic outdoor heater, which is designed for a permanent installation and year-round use.

Once it's dark, have everyone grab a chair or unroll a blanket down in front to watch a movie on an outdoor theater setup. You can easily create your own backyard movie theater with a projector and a screen. It makes for a super impressive and memorable evening your friends will talk about forever! Even if you don't have room for a large theater setup, you can install an outdoor television on your deck or patio to keep the big game on in the background. Don't forget to add some popcorn!

Whether you strike a match over a homemade fire pit or light and turn up the dial on a fire pit table, like music, a crackling fire can truly captivate the mood. Not only that, but it makes it great for roasting s'mores, which is fun for kids and adults alike. Even if you don't have room for a bonfire, you can at least stick in a few tiki torches or light some large hurricane candles for some backyard ambiance.