Gorilla Swing Sets and More

What's so great about Gorilla swing sets is that most of them are much more than just swing sets. Gorilla does make classic swing sets, but most of their sets are actually full-fledged, elaborate play sets which include swings and...well, more than swings!

On the other hand, Gorilla also makes some very simple play sets, which can stand alone or simply be to accessorize one of their stand alone swing sets. For instance, Gorilla makes a Children's Picnic Table & Umbrella Set which you can add to your yard. This table and umbrella set has been sizes just right for children. With this simple play set, your children can eat outside, do arts and crafts out doors, and so forth. The table is made of factory-sealed cedar wood so that it naturally resists decay, water rot, and insects. If you have a Gorilla swing set set up, the picnic table and umbrella set can be a back yard addition to that.

Another miniature "play set" by Gorilla is the Play-Zee-Bo. This gives your children a fun, shady place to play. A colorful structure, this gazebo also includes a large sandbox area which protects your children from sunburn and rain by way of a colorful shade. it also comes with a tarp for covering the sandbox to keep out debris. As with the picnic table, the Play Zee-Bo can stand alone or become part of an entire set of accessories.

More elaborate than the gazebo is Gorilla's Breckenridge Playhouse, a full-fledged playhouse which is perfect for your back yard. Included are working windows and doors (with semi-tinted polycarbonate panes), gable vents with screens, a front porch, and a flower box. Breckenridge Playhouse is made of cedar wood to remain insect and weather resistant, and it is quick and easy to assemble and doesn't need to be painted. This, too, can be added to your entire array of back yard play facilities.

Then there's the Gorilla See-Saw. The models are California Redwood or Amber (southern yellow pine factory-sealed with an amber finish). These beautiful wooden sea-saws are rugged, weather-resistant, and feature a very big 4" X 6" main beam as well as a durable 4" X 4" supporting frame. Yet another back yard play set that can be used on its own or become part of a whole array of playtime accessories to make a large play set in your yard for your children and their visiting friends.

But...what if you just want to get a full-fledged swing set that also comes with loads of trimmings? Gorilla has your answer with its Congo Outing III Playset. Not only does this come with a swing set featuring a pair of swings, it also gives your children a rock wall with a climbing rope, a wave slide, a sandbox, a steering wheel, a flag kit, and a telescope. Once again you'll get a play set made of stained and factory-sealed cedar, and there's even a canopy made of marine-grade vinyl.

You can also check out Gorilla's Sundance Playset, also made of stained and factory-sealed cedar for resistance to insects, rot, and general decay without the need to expose children to lots of synthetic chemicals. With this set you'll get a quite large play deck shaded by a marine-grade vinyl canopy. Once again, you'll get your swing set in addition to the rope ladder, the rock wall, the wave slide, and even a tic tac toe panel.

Gorilla swing sets adhere to the great American tradition of providing safe, imagination-stimulating physical fun to young children. The swing set that's best for you might be simple, it might be complex, it might come all together, or it might be a “component” system. Gorilla offers you so many high quality choices in swing sets, complete play sets, and accessories that you can't fail to find what you need if you pay them an online visit.

Planning a Unique "Garden" Party for Your Kids

Fall and winter is a busy time for you and your kids. With school and after school activities, as well as the cold weather, getting outside isn't always an easy task.

The advent of the spring means that the weather gets a little more pleasant. It's not long until summer vacation. Getting outdoors is easier for everyone, with spring being the ideal time to take advantage of the mild weather and sunshine. The months of April and May are nearly perfect for outdoor activities, since the summer sun has not yet begun to heat things up to the level that being outside is uncomfortable.

Springtime is perfect for planning a garden party for your kids.

In the early spring, a themed garden party will give your kids something to do on a lazy weekend. You can plan more than just a snack or a picnic, but invite over a few of their friends and make an event of an outdoor afternoon that will leave everyone smiling.

In the old days, a garden party would have meant a very upscale event that had everyone dressed in their Sunday best. Today's garden party doesn't have to mean that at all. A garden party today can mean just that. Introduce your kids to the fun that they can have digging in the dirt and crafting their own potted garden. Give them something fun to plant that garden in by offering a simple children's craft at the same time.

Nearly every garden or specialty store will have small terra cotta pots that you can purchase for a nominal fee. Buy two for each child who will be in attendance at your garden party, along with some sponges, a few non-toxic acrylic paints, and some non-toxic spray varnish. All that you will need aside from this is a bag of potting soil and a few different packs of flower seeds.

Along the way, purchase about 8 sheets of poster paper or construction paper and have your kids help you make invitations for the garden party. Sponges which have been cut into the shapes of flowers will make excellent stamps for creating invitations for your party, which your kids can deliver to their friends at school, or take around the neighborhood with your supervision.

Stress in your invitation that the children are to wear older clothing that is well suited to a day in the garden. For the big day make simple snacks, cupcakes or finger foods that are also themed in a garden theme. Design your cupcakes with flowers and green leaves, or bake a cake that is decorated as a garden. Disposable silverware and paper plates, as well as one big trash can in the back yard will make clean-up a snap after your picnic, and you can get down to the creation of the mini garden.

The terra cotta pots have the advantage of drying remarkably rapidly when they are painted. Sponges make wonderful ways to paint them easily, dipping them into paint that you've placed on paper plates. Let the children each sponge paint two of the pots, omitting painting the bottom so that you don't seal that area and the water can drain from them.

Seal the paint with a light spray of non-toxic varnish and allow the pots to dry for about ten to fifteen minutes. If you've got a backyard discovery playset, or a swing set in your yard, it will be easy to amuse them for the few moments that your pots will take to dry.

Once your pots have dried completely, bring the children back to the table and offer each one enough potting soil to fill their pots nearly to the top. Sprinkle seeds of their choice over the top of each pot of soil and then lightly sprinkle soil over them to just barely cover the top.

Everyone goes home with their own miniature garden in lovely pots that they've designed themselves.

A Little Tip: Place a sheet of cling wrap over the top of the pots and seal it so that your guests can take their pots home without a mishap.