Garden Games and Garden Stains

Picture this scene: it’s a long weekend, the sun is out in force, you’ve spruced up the lawn and cleaned the house, and your friends and family are coming to visit. There’s simply no better occasion to make the most of the weather and enjoying your lovely garden for a BBQ and some garden games!

Next time you’re entertaining guests, you could play some of these enjoyable outdoor games that everybody can take part in – and thanks to Vanish, you won’t have to worry about the stains that accompany them!

Lawn games are always popular! They are easy to play for all ages and abilities, and they help you pass a pleasant afternoon with family and friends.

If you’re inspired by the sun and feel compelled to romp all over the garden, why not start with a spirited game of tennis or badminton? Both are racquet sports, and tennis and badminton have the players stand in opposite halves of a rectangular court. The goal is to land the ball or shuttlecock in your opponents’ side of the court to win points.

But you don’t need a standard tennis court sized garden to enjoy the game. Just mark out both sides of the court on the lawn with chalk, and get started. Both the games are easy to set up, and you just need a few racquets, makeshift net, balls and shuttlecocks.

There is always the possibility of getting a lot of grass stains on your socks, shoes and trousers, so keep a look out for them without letting them affect your game! 

If lawn games like tennis and badminton are too serious for your guests, then it’s time to change your approach. How about some old school sports’ day-style games to really liven things up! They’re fun, you can shout and laugh as much as you want, and everybody has a great time playing them. But again, be a little careful about getting stains on your clothes from all the running and diving you’re about to do.

• Frisbee
  It’s easy enough to play the Frisbee – just throw the plastic disc from your chest level towards your opponent without the disc falling to the ground, and your opponent leaps to catch it. But this is too simple for some people, so how about making your dog a part of the game? Or setting up hula hoops on either end of the garden and taking it in turns to throw your Frisbee through them. The person with the most Frisbees thrown through the hoops wins!
• Egg and spoon race
  This is a classic that always draws participation. Divide your guests into several teams and supply each with a fresh egg and a tablespoon. The aim of the game is to balance the egg on the spoon and race with it to the finishing line without dropping the egg on the ground or even worse, staining your clothes with the egg!
• Three-legged race
  Ask your guests to organise themselves into pairs and line them up along the finish line. Strap the left leg of one team member to the right leg of their partner and now blow the whistle – they must now ‘race’ across the garden with their legs strapped together to win the competition.
  Much like the egg and spoon race, the aim is to reach the finish line, although it’s likely that each pair will fall over at least once and spend most of their time trying to get back up on their feet – making this game a prime contender for grass stains!
• Tag
  Nothing beats a game of tag where one or more players chase the others in an attempt to ‘tag’ them. Once you tag someone, it is their turn to chase the other players. This game involves a lot of running and crawling, and every player is bound to get a lot of mud and sweat stains on their clothes at the end of the game.

Whichever games you play, you are sure to end up with grass, mud, sweat and food stains on your clothes. This is especially true if you’ve spent the afternoon perfecting your forward roll!

As far as possible, treat the mud and grass stains as soon as you can, so that the chances of getting the stains out completely are increased. Try Vanish Oxi Action Gel to get rid of most kinds of stubborn garden stains. Fill the Vanish dosing pod with 20ml of the fast-acting Vanish Oxi Action Gel and rub it onto the stain. Leave it to work on the stain for about 10 minutes and then wash as usual with your usual detergent and 60ml of Vanish.

Safe in the knowledge that Vanish can remove even the toughest garden stains, whatever games you decide to play in the garden, you can really throw yourself into the action.