The members in my family are natural born competitors. Whether it’s a board game or playing Wii against each other, no one wants to lose. But since we all can’t be winners, there is always some sort of debacle at our house on Family Game Night.
This summer we have been trying to have Family Game Night once a week. Normally we take turns picking the game and format. For my son, he loves battling on Wii or XBox. My daughter is into board games and my husband loves to take the game outside where we will play a game of baseball or basketball in the backyard. My game of choice is usually “Who can clean their room the fastest”! For some reason, no one ever wants to play my games. I wonder why?
Since many families have been trying to curb their spending on entertainment, Family Game Night has been instrumental in bringing families closer together without busting the family budget in the process. But sometimes the kids can get a little restless with the same board games every week. Below is a list of various games & activities your family can participate in that is creative and economical.
1. Backyard Olympics
Summer Olympics 2012 has been keeping our family entertained and allowing our competitive juices to flow. You can recreate your own Backyard Olympics by designing various sporting events tailored to your families likes. You can also download certificates and hand them out to “participants” with funny category for each winner. Example: A Gold Medal in Victory Dance.
2. Charades
Charades is a great way to keep your family entertained and be creative at the same time. The main thing is to find charade topics that your family can relate to. Have a child into Star Wars or Justin Beiber? You can create your own topics or search for some in the internet for free.
3. Perform Skits
Performing a skit is a great way for children to be creative. Children can take turns creating a skit topic, write a short script, and perform their skit in front of various family members. This is fantastic to do when Grandparents are over. My children love to act ridiculous!!
4. Telephone
One person starts the game by whispering a sentence into the ear of the person sitting next to them. They whisper what they think they heard to the person on the other side of them. That person whispers into the following person’s ear what they “think” they heard. Repeat this process until the last person has had something whispered into their ear.The last person says out loud what they think they heard. Normally it is nothing similar to the original sentence and is very funny. My family has done this while waiting at a restaurant for our food. The kids love playing this game and it keeps the entertained for a little while.
5. Scavenger Hunts
Scavenger Hunts are a great way to get the children outside regardless of their age. Create a list of items that each person must find in order to complete the game. The person with the most items in the fastest time wins. Depending on their age, you create an advanced list of what needs d to be located.
Regardless of the games your family participates in during Family Game Night. The most important thing is that your family has fun. You can make fun snack food items to have while holding family game night and even invite their friends and other family members to also participate.
We play alot of board games in the winter months and are just starting to dabble in to Charades. The girls and I do impromptu skits all the time, but I’d never thought of them for game night! Cool idea, thanks Maria!
We tend to play a lot of games like Pictionary and Taboo!