We made these DIY Outdoor Baby Swings nearly five years ago, and they ended up being one of our very favorite things in our yard! I decided it was time to re-share, and it’s a perfect spring project for the yard. I wish I could retake pictures with a lot of different angles, but we no longer live in this house…or state. We can’t wait to do it again in at our new house, once it’s built!
With six kids that all love to swing, there just isn’t enough room on our play set to accommodate everyone–especially needing two baby swings. So I came up with a plan! How about taking advantages of the trees in our yard to add more? A few 4×4 posts and a little hardware was all we needed to make these adorable and very popular DIY Outdoor Tree Swings for Baby! If you don’t need baby swings, you can also use kid swings, or even a tire swing–whatever you need!
I’m so excited! It was just finished last night, and already the babies didn’t want to come inside. It’s going to be so nice to have a swing for everyone! We do already have the playset, but you could also use these instead of one–it’s a much cheaper alternative if you want swings.
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DIY OUTDOOR TREE SWINGS FOR BABY
- 4×4 post, whatever length you need (ours was 8 ft.—it will depend on your space
- 2 pieces of 4×4 post, 6 inches in length
- 4-3/8 x 8 inch lag bolts
- 4-1 inch washers
- Swing hangers
- Baby swings (or kid swings)
- Liquid Nail
- Impact drill
DIRECTIONS:
1. Cut a 45 degree angle on the 6 inch pieces of 4×4 post. On the remaining flat piece of wood just above the cut, drill a 3×8 hole into the wood and through the tree. Ratchet the lag bolt through the hole, and into the tree. Repeat on the other side. (Ours are 8 feet from the ground)
*You can drill pilot holes into the tree first, to help the process go a little easier and faster. Use a drill bit that’s about 2/3 the diameter of the bolt. Then you can use an impact drill to completely screw them in.
2. Make an angle cut on each end of your long 4×4 post (for aesthetics). Sand it well–removing any writing and rough edges. This will be like a shelf, and sit on top of the pieces you just attached to the trees. Once it’s centered on either side, use Liquid Nail to glue it on top of the attached pieces. Then you’ll add another lag bolt directly above the first one, going through your long 4×4 post and attaching it to the tree.
3. Following the directions on the swing hangers package, attach them to the bottom side of the 4×4 post. Hang your swings! We used bucket swings–they are heavy duty, and large enough for not only babies, but toddlers, and even kids up to four, depending on how big/tall they are. Most of our kids could use them, which is what we were after. You could easily use kid swings in this space instead–whatever you need!
You’re ready to swing!
kristen says
Mar 22, 2016 at 9:35 pmHi! I love this idea! Thank you for sharing. Do the bolts go all the way through the tree with a nut on the opposite side of the tree?
Simply Kierste says
Mar 23, 2016 at 4:16 pmNo, they didn’t. The trees were pretty thick, and we put them in really far. If you can get them all the way through, it certainly wouldn’t hurt!!!
Breanne says
Apr 4, 2016 at 10:04 amHow much did this project cost? We are looking to do this for our children this coming weekend
Simply Kierste says
Apr 5, 2016 at 9:17 amThe biggest cost was the actual swings–so that just depends on how much you want to spend. (I bought them on Amazon, and got really heavy-duty swings.) Everything else–the wood and hardware–was probably around $30 or so. It’s been several years, so I don’t remember exactly, but it doesn’t use much wood and the hardware isn’t crazy expensive. Good luck! We LOVED it, and can’t wait to do it again at our new house when it’s built!
Ashley says
May 26, 2019 at 3:15 pmI hpuchased all materials for this but our electric drill does not do the work to get screws completely in. Did you use an impact driver to screw the 4×4 boards into the tree? My husband gave up on the project but I did not. I want to get it done for our little guy. Please help!
Old Salt Farm says
Jun 1, 2019 at 8:26 pmWe did a pilot hole with a drill bit about 2/3 the size of the bolt in diameter, then used an impact drill to completely screw them in. Hope this helps!! I’m glad you didn’t give up!! xoxo