Looking for ways to boost welcome in your backyard? Look no further! Here are 5 inexpensive ways to make your backyard more inviting!

Backyard Hospitality

Outdoor hospitality is awesome! The cooking becomes part of the experience, the cleanup is so much easier, nature provides most of the décor, and conversation just seems to flow. I love to host outside! We used to do this in a park before we bought our house but I LOVE having the option of outside hosting in our backyard which is one of our favorite parts of being homeowners!

Backyard hospitality is great because there is less prep work and the clean up is usually much easier than indoor hosting.

The truth is, you don’t need to spend thousands of dollars turning your backyard into an oasis if you don’t want to. The welcome your backyard has is related to you and how much you genuinely want people there – believe me, we can tell!

I want my backyard (and all my spaces) to communicate welcome silently with my guests before I even have a chance to say it out loud and, because you are here, I have a feeling you do too. That’s what these ideas are for…

Related: Small House? No Problem! Practicing Hospitality in Small Spaces

5 Ways to Make Your Backyard More Inviting

#1 DIY Seating

I was totally blown away this year when I walked into the hardware store and saw the wicker furniture I had been envisioning for our covered porch. It was perfect. The cushions were even the right color! But the price tag really dropped me to my knees. It was then that I started looking for DIY options and these are my favorites so far! I definitely want to make some of them in the near future!

Photo Credit ana-white.com

The plans for these adorable chairs look so simple and the website literally walks you through every step! I am in LOVE!! And will probably be adding a few of these to my back porch this summer!

Photo Credit homemade-modern.com

These plans also look so simple and easy! What an awesome weekend project to add some serious welcome to your backyard! Now I’m trying to figure out how to fit all of these DIY furniture pieces on my back porch!

#2 Fire Pit

Photo Credit thegardenglove.com

We added a fire pit similar to this one and I LOVE it! Turns out that according to our city’s rules you actually have to be cooking on the fire in order to have a fire pit, which I didn’t realize until I had already purchased the materials.

BUT that actually doesn’t hinder us at all because our kids think cooking on our little pit is the best thing in the world!

And who doesn’t love s’mores? Hosting a s’mores night is a great (and inexpensive) way to show hospitality! Conversation just seems to flow better around a fire!

Even with our fire pit, I’m still loving these fire bowl ideas that The Garden Glove compiled! I think I may still make a few for our porch! What a fun, simple way to make s’mores! Perfect if your outdoor space is small or your city ordinances say you can’t have a fire pit!

#3 Yard Games

Who doesn’t love a good yard game?! While some people take them VERY seriously, most of us are not champions at cornhole or ring toss. They just provide an activity for our hands and a simple conversation starter.

At our house, Kan-Jam is a go-too. We have tried several but this really is our favorite!

Photo Credit lemonthistle.com

We have never built any DIY games before but I think we might have to start those projects soon! These are just too cool to pass up! Lemon Thistle put together a DIY list with instructions for 5 awesome yard games that would be perfect additions to any backyard!

Related: Beginner’s Guide to Neighborhood Hospitality

#4 Lighting

Photo Credit Amazon seller

I LOVE our new Edison string lights in our backyard! I need to get a good picture for you when our porch is complete but these seriously add so much ambiance – even during the day!

They literally took us 5 minutes to hang (because we already had hooks up from some old lights) and they changed the whole porch. My husband wasn’t sure about it but the moment I plugged them in, he said he loved them!

#5 Garden

We planted our first garden last year and we have a LOT of learning to do!

The vision I have in my head is that it will be an open opportunity with our neighbors. Growing up, we had a neighbor whose brother grew an enormous garden. Each week he would share tons of fruit and veggies with our neighbor and when she had more than she could use she would stop by with a bunch to share with us. I really want to be that neighbor!

This just seems like such a great way to have an open door! And who would seriously turn you away if you showed up with fresh, organic, homegrown veggies from their garden?

Plus, we have already seen where our little garden turns into a conversation piece. When we have guests they automatically ask us about it. We learn helpful tips from the gardeners who come and share what we are attempting with those who don’t garden.

If you have no idea where to start, check out this great list of easy to grow veggies for beginners from Missy at Graceful Little Honey Bee!

Do you have other ideas for making your outdoor space more inviting? Backyard hospitality is such a great opportunity! Let me know in the comments below!