Summer is here and with it comes the post-Christmas maxed out credit card, hot weather and the never-ending desperation that comes with keeping the kids cool and entertained while sticking to your New Year’s resolution to be a bit more frugal.

The answer? Get your DIY on with a backyard waterslide. And trust me, if a serial Pinterest -failer like myself can do it, anyone can.

Every self-respecting Aussie kid (and ahem, adult) knows that there is no greater feeling than using gravity and Morning Fresh to propel yourself down a slippery slope of goodness. Giant slip-n-slide events have cropped up in cities and towns across Australia where business-folk, hipsters and rev-heads alike come together in budgie-smugglers and bikinis to fly down 300m of vinyl on a blow-up donut while squirting each other with water pistols.

While significantly shorter and far less high tech, my boys favourite summer activity is flinging themselves down a homemade waterslide. Be it head first, feet first or clinging onto each other’s flailing limbs, they launch themselves down a bit of plastic with wild abandon before racing back to the top shrieking with laughter.  Pools? Waterparks? Pfft, who needs ‘em.

What you will need:

“Pools? Waterparks? Pfft, who needs ‘em.” Image via iStock.

Method:

Enjoy an awesome slippery sliding, bubble-blowing, imagination building summer in the glorious Australian sun. And once the bin-lids pass out from exhaustion, get back to Netflix and a glass of sauv, you’ve earned it.

How do you keep the kids cool and entertained?