Create an Outdoor Man Cave
What if you could have an outdoor man cave?! How many people do you think consider this? Imagine how awesome it would be if you could have both and indoor and an outdoor area to entertain guests and family any time of the year.
There’s no doubt that the definition of a “man cave” is subjective, especially when it comes to how people choose to design theirs. Have you ever considered looking more into creating an entertaining outdoor set up?
It seems like there are a million articles about man cave gadgets and products that are unrealistic to get. I did all this research and compiling to put together a tangible list of things you could actually use instead of finding things like “Batmobile hoverbike that costs $30,000.”
A lot of these would also be extremely fun to have and use during parties and other social events.
This article is meant to give you some ideas on the products you can use for what’s out there. Take interest in whatever ones you want or that would best fit your set up.
If I missed anything or if you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment and I’ll do my best to respond.
Bigfoot statue
This goes for around $130 last time I checked. This Bigfoot Statue is a way to confirm the hype about its existence for all those who pursue it. It’s a perfect garden decoration for either gender and it’s bound to be a topic of conversation at any house party.
It only weighs 12 pounds and made from durable plastic! You can even get the Abominable Snowman edition to it as well. Pretty sure this would freak out any pet but they’ll learn to become friends eventually. More people have been pleased with its durability than not. If I had this, I would hide it just within sight near our rose bushes and garden establishment.
LED Light Cube
Comes with 8 programmable colors and measures 16 x 16 x 16, weighing about 5 pounds. It’s also waterproof so you can leave them outside in the rain or submerged in the pool. It’s completely battery powered and emits a bright light when turned on. Battery life varies so I would charge them during the day so their ready to use at night or for an occasion.
This is awesome to have out for any party occasion. Even one of these would give off a party night vibe for any area of the yard. It also serves to help illuminate darker parts of the patio.
There’s a lot of interesting and cool ways to illuminate your yard. Check out some more related items below.
Solar Sun Jar
For $30 on Amazon, you can look like you captured Tinkerbell.
This was the first time I came across something like this and it looks awesome! Unlike the glowing block cubes, you don’t have to charge these ever. It glows for up to 5 hours and comes as a frosted mason jar.
There’s some reviews that haven’t had the best experience with it, but given that it’s on Amazon prime, I would check it out and return it if it didn’t live up to it’s fullest quality. The people that received a working product from these guys were all satisfied, except Tinkerbell.
Garden Light Balls
Another glowing orb but for the pool parties! They’re about the size of a baseball, battery operated, and can be changed to white or any of the other RGB colors. Their settings are only meant for water so just keep that in mind and best for decor and not throwing at your friends.
Battery life is longer than 12 hours and you can get them for a very reasonable price which means you can get as many as you would like without having to think about it. I don’t think they are extremely durable, so again, I wouldn’t let your friends start chucking them at each other unless their younger than 12.
Giant Connect 4
Do you think there would ever be an awkward moment of people doing nothing if you had one of these at a party? I honestly don’t think so, but feel free to prove me wrong.
It’s connect 4 but bigger! Connect 4 but set to large mode! Great for all ages and any spectrum of soberness. Put some glowing orbs around these at night and you’re set.
It’s easy to transport but one thing I found interesting is that it costs $300. It’s made from durable material but I think they could offer a more competitive price. I guess you have it forever once you make the initial purchase (maybe even make it yourself?).
Giant Chess
$400 for a life size chess set! Also expensive but worth it if you have the coin. The mat comes separately or you could also construct your own (or have the luxury of already having paver tiles). This would be awesome for any outdoor occasion especially since they are durable.
The pieces are hollow and vary in weight (but only weigh up to 3 pounds). This set will be exactly what you’re expecting and if you’re a chess lover, I would super recommend this. It even looks cool on display even if you didn’t touch it.
Corn Hole Night Light Set
Upgrade to the nighttime edition of Corn Hole if you have a tendency to throw parties when it’s dark. This one goes for about $40 and uses 9V batteries. People are saying the batteries last forever which is expected. It comes as a set of 2 but doesn’t come with the bags.
What’s good is that this means the price of the 2 boards is affordable and you can buy your own preference of beanbags separately (weather resistant, themed, etc). Assembly is easy and you could easily take these with you to any social yard party. With these in your aresenal, you’ll no longer be restricted to when you can play corn hole!
Soft foam mortar game
I could think of several, self invented sports using two of these things. Foam mortars! I had never heard about these until I came across it on another site.
It shoots about 6 meters and is spring activated. Costing about $70, you could afford to get a set of two and have two people battle it out with whatever parameters you set. Great for adults and kids alike, I think these would be the most entertaining during a party or social occasion.
They are spring activated once you drop the foam mortar round inside the chamber. Military veterans would greater appreciate having one of these.
Watermelon ball
This is the hardcore version of water polo that was too fun to play as a real sport. Vat19 is a site that has unique gifts and items and this is one of them that you can get for $25. Hopefully you or at least one of your friends has a pool to play this in.
The ball is a neutrally buoyant ball that can actually be passed underwater with a reasonable amount of speed! Consider getting one of these if you have a lot of friends who like to roughhouse. Now they can just take it straight to the pool.
Inflatable Movie Pool Screen
I’m usually against inflatable movie screens but this seems to be the best one for pool time movies.
You can get this 173 inch, $150 screen that can be placed anywhere around the yard. You could even use this for an end of the year slide show and have it play somewhere in a corner. Check out this article if you’re interested in the outdoor movie theater screen that I use.
People have been satisfied with the quality of it, which is why it’s on this list. The benefit of having this be an inflatable screen is that you can put it closer to the pool since it’ll fare better with water being splashed near it than other models.
Fire Pit Eye Tower
The same price as a high end fire pit, but it looks way cooler! Going for $850 on Etsy, it’s made from metal and steel. If you really want your yard to stand out, set fire to one of these and watch it burn. People love the quality and highly rate it for the exceptional craftsmanship of it.
This would also be a great (and expensive) house gift for someone who has a big yard and is a Lord of the Rings enthusiast. In this section on Etsy, there’s actually a lot of other unique fire pit designs very similar to this one.
Viking Fire Pit
Sold by the same company ImagineArt, they do a bunch of different metallic pits. I put this one in there because its way cheaper ($500) and there are even some smaller models you can get. Definitely worth checking out their section on Etsy. People really do enjoy their products and their quality.
I can see myself being able to hang a marshmallow skewer right across the opposing shields. This one is probably better though for display, as I’m not sure how much heat it will effectively put out.
Smore Roasting Rack / Grill Rack
If you don’t want to roast smores over a fire or can’t because you bought a Viking fire pit, look into one of these. What I like most about this one is that you can easily rotate the sewers to evenly roast the marshmallows. It makes this process completely hassle free! You can even use them in the oven
The rack will get very hot but do its job perfectly and goes for about $25 on Amazon. This would be a great idea if you also needed to serve multiple people at once. You wouldn’t even have to stand next to the grill the whole time and watch them cook.
Chicken Leg Cooker Rack
Make your dinner prep even easier for an occasion! Grilling up chicken drumsticks doesn’t need to be any harder. It’s awesome because you evenly cook the drumsticks all at once without having to turn or rotate them. All you need to do to cool them is remove it from the heat. People could even just pick it off the rack to get served.
This rack can grill 12 drumsticks at once and costs about $30.
A lot of people like how it easily comes clean. Spray it with oil first and you’re good to go and shouldn’t ever have to worry about burned ends.
Bacon Grilling Rack
Easy to make bacon and grease collection rack make this a convenient tool to use for preparing multiple strips of bacon at once.
Get a set or single rack for $15. I think using one of these would take a couple trial runs. It’s easy to burn them if they don’t sit right on the center of the grill. I think the best part about this is that collects the grease and won’t make a mess by dripping into the grill.
Swing Bed Canopy
The most awesome way to relax and hang out when the weather is nice. The price range on this varies throughout the year but the average price goes for about $600 but it’s also possible to get it for under that amount.
LeisureSeason makes a wide variety of these canopies and they also do wooden shack designs as well. They make all their products from a hardwood frame that can be exposed to continuous sunlight. That means you can leave it out wherever you want.
LED Light Sofa
If you know you need to buy a sofa and have a $2000 budget, why not add some lighting to it?
YLiving sells these couches on their site. Choose from any RGB color (red, blue, green, white, and more). It looks a bit bright in the image, but if it’s in an area that has other light it’ll look suiting. This would prob look the coolest if it was by a pool area.
Party Games
Hot Seat
An adult game that’s definitely a conversation starter (or ender). It’s like Cards Against Humanity but it’s more person and situation based. You have to pick the best response and guess who it is. This is a great party game for people that aren’t high strung on everything.
As always, it comes with expansion packs that you can use if you end up burning through all the cards. What’s cool about this game is that you can play this with different people and it’ll always turn out differently.
The Voting Game
Very similar to hot seat, except your friends decide your response for you! Definitely some adult questions in here and can turn weird really fast. With this game, it’s better if you know the people you’re playing with rather than using it as an icebreaker.
Best part about this game is that it’ll always play out differently depending on who you play it with. Playing this with multiple friend groups on different occasions might teach you a lot about yourself. String this one together with the other card games, and it’ll be an interesting night.
Bad people
“The party game you probably shouldn’t play.” Similar to Hot Seat. The dictator picks a question, everyone silently votes on who they think would best fit it, if you voted the same as the dictator you get points.
There’s one expansion pack that comes with it if you’re really into playing this brutal game. I think the second best description for this one would be “just when you think you know your friends” which was the best review of it that I read.
What do you meme
I don’t think this game would be funny unless it was an adult game (which it is). You basically get a picture and pair it with a description. The funniest one wins so you have to know your friends humor. If it’s the first time meeting with the people playing, this could definitely say a lot about them.
The only reason I didn’t get this for my brother for Christmas was because he was better off receiving a G-Shock instead. Otherwise, this and Hot Seat would have made a good gift.
Anything for kids?
Swurfer!
I wish my parents read this blog when I was younger. If I had a time machine I would go back in time and put this on my 10 year old Christmas list. Adults can enjoy this too, but it’s probably way more aerodynamic if you’re under 100lbs and still 4 ft.
Easy installation, awesomely fun, and completely unique. It has a weight limit of 250 pounds and costs about $130- not a bad price at all. People compliment this thing for its quality and they see it lasting a long time.
You just need a good branch to set it up on so you or someone else doesn’t go flying into the stump. This is best for ages 6 and up.
Giant Inflatable Throwing Pins
Any size yard will be able to accommodate this. I’m sure utilizing the pool for this will also work. The best thing about this is that you could play it like soccer, bowling, or maybe even a form of rugby. This one goes for $30. All you have to do is inflate it the pins and balls and set them up any way you want.
The pins are weighed down at the base, and you have to throw it pretty hard to really knock them over. I think that actually makes it more fun and it’s still an even playing field.
Backyard Mini Golf Set
Someone tell me this doesn’t look cool. This is a fully customizable, glow in the dark mini golf set for your yard! Make the course as long or as small as you want, either way, just make the course! You can even make these and set them up indoors and it only costs $70.
You can make 3 customizable holes out of one set or two bigger ones, or even one bigger one. I think this product would work best if you also added some DIY components of the course. Having one of these out during a grill party or something would give cheap thrills to adults and kids would love it too.
Other Sites for More Ideas
There were definitely some good websites that I came across that offer wide varieties of some of the products on here. I listed some of them already mentioned in case someone skipped over the descriptions.
ThePoolStool– they basically sell pool stools that also be used outside the water. I like their products because they light up and don’t look like a rock slab. Some are more expensive than the other but this site is good because Amazon doesn’t list a lot of their products.
ImagineMetalArt– These guys did the cool fire pits. I wish I could put in all the ones they had because they were so interesting. Better to just check out their section on Etsy because I can’t do it justice just by talking about it.
LeisureSeason– Perfect if you’re looking for outdoor storage and high quality living space for your yard. They have a wide variety of hammock and canopy designs, made from hardwood and durable material. They have good reviews when it comes to customer service and specialty orders.
GlowGear– a website that makes stuff that glows- specifically for mini golf. They make glow in the dark golf balls, inflatable golf targets, and even the glow in the dark mini golf course from above. Their blog would be best for someone who’s into golf as a hobby.
Conclusion
There was definitely a lot of content in this article but I hope some of you found it useful. Remember, you don’t need ALL these things to have fun with friends and family. Technically, you don’t need any of it to have a good time. Whether you used this post for inspiration, ideas, or actually looking for products to buy, let me know if this was useful!
The way I look at these products is that they will last for years to come and it’s unlikely any of them will get old. I didn’t include anything for the winter time but I might write something on that in the future. Thank you for reading and if you’re interested in any more content, take a look at the articles below.
If you’re interested in setting up an outdoor movie theater, here’s five things I learned after hosting my first outdoor movie night. Some of them might be obvious, but it’s a quick and easy read.
Related Questions
What if I don’t have any outdoor furniture yet? The LED sofas look really cool but it’s expensive. A lot of our outdoor furniture was done on a budget, and I actually wrote an article about this. These furniture ideas should be able to easily accommodate any setup and they’re good for starters.
Where can I find more man cave related ideas? Check out this article. This one is more for indoors but you’ll find a bunch of things on here that could be used for any part of the house.
How can I make my yard more comfortable at night? Below is a snippet from an article I wrote on a topic similar to this. Heaters have worked the best for us because you don’t have to carry a blanket around. We have the freestanding one (you can stand right under it to feel the heat) but you’ll also feel it if you’re sitting down. For parties and occasions, the tabletop and the freestanding ones are the best.
| Freestanding | Wall Mounted | Tabletop | Hanging |
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| Provides amazing warmth in small and medium areas | Good for small areas and want them out of reach from children and pets | Also good for small areas or if you want the heat closer to where you’re sitting | Best if you have an enclosed space like a gazebo, where heat can contain itself |