There were quite a few relatives that lived next door to each other (we were in the middle) - so a total of 5 back-yards were "shared" into one giant green-space for us kids - as well as a central "hang-out" for the adults around our back-yard BBQ (in the summer, most of our weekend meals were shared by extended family).
My Uncle Dom (next door) was a genius at keeping the kids occupied. He told us that if you sprinkle salt on a birds tail, it couldn't fly - and you could catch it. He then handed each of us a salt shaker.