A Stick, A Rock, & A String

...that's all kids need to have the time of their life, a stick, a rock, and/or a string.  We had a party at our house and I had set-up several lawn games for the kids to play, Bocce Ball, Bowling for Critters, etc.  None of these games were played per se, but all of the equipment ended up scattered all over the yard, and best of all, it kept all the kids out of our hair for several hours in a row.  The fact that I set out stuffed animals, orange cones, bowling balls, etc. is immaterial; if I had made piles of sticks, rocks, and strings, they would have been just as occupied, since they obviously invented their own games anyhow.