ARE YOU LOOKING FOR SOMETHING TO DO WITH YOUR TWEENS, TEENS, OR ANY AGE FAMILY? MAKING MEMORIES WITH A FAMILY GAME NIGHT IS AN AMAZING WAY TO CREATE SOME FAMILY FUN!
Family game night, and making memories, are some of my favorite things to talk about. And my favorite part of life, really. As the sun comes up each and every day, we have a new opportunity to make new and happy memories. And having family game nights is a huge part of memory-making. It can be a time for your family to be together, share some snacks, play some games, and have some laughs! A time to gather and even sometimes get a bit competitive, all in good fun. More importantly, it is a time to have your children spend time with parents, relatives, and friends and take a few hours just to focus on that.
MAKING MEMORIES WITH FAMILY GAME NIGHT – HOW TO HOST
This is the fun part! There are many options for a night of family fun. When planning a family game night, I like to start with the games, of course. There are many to choose from. Firstly, start with who is your crowd. Is it younger children, teens, or adults? The really young ones enjoy Candyland and Mousetrap. The tweens enjoy games like Pandemic and Marvel games. Choose games with the ages of your guests in mind. Some games cover lots of ages, such as Uno, Trouble, and more, so if all else fails go with one of those. Secondly, choose if you are having a themed game night. Game choices and décor factors in there as well. You do not have to be fancy, but it can be fun to choose a fun game-themed tablecloth, etc. Lastly, choose your fun snacks/drinks.
Now I know what the favorite games in my family are, but all families are different! Here are a few great games with high reviews! Take a look and see what your family might like…
GO OLD SCHOOL
Having a family fun game night and bring your family together with old school games! I like to do this not only with board games, but with old video games. In our house, one of our game nights included a giant note pad and old school video games. We played Pacman, Qbert, Frogger, Donkey Kong, and the list goes on. Points were awarded to the winner of each game and accumulated. The grand prize winner got a fun little prize, and more importantly bragging rights. The best part of this is that it was a day spent together as a family and so much fun. We had many laughs. It was fun to pass along the old games that I enjoyed as a child to the younger ones. If you are not in the mood for video games, you can go old school with checkers or traditional card games.
VIRTUAL GAME NIGHT
This past year has been tough with everyone stuck in the house. However, that doesn’t have to be a party killer! With this past year being virtual everything, why not connect with family and friends with a virtual game night? We have become accustomed to zoom, MS teams, and Google meets, Skype, Facetime, the list goes on. Depending on group size, etc. you can choose what works best for you. Trivia games would be something to work great in this situation, you could also do Charades or Pictionary. And you could do so many different categories of trivia, depending on the crowd. There are also online ready-made games such as virtual scavenger hunts that you can do as a group, so those can be an option as well.
Marthastewart.com has a great list of games for virtual game night! This will give you plenty of ideas!
https://www.marthastewart.com/7735817/how-host-virtual-game-night
GAME LIKE ACTIVITIES
One thing that I think is work mentioning, is doing a puzzle as a family. This is something that we have done on vacation, where we have a bit more time. Put it out on a table and everyone can work on a side. Also, you can do a family craft like painting rocks or making something. Or have a cooking or decorating competition! One of my favorites is the whipped cream eating challenge. The only thing required is whipped cream, paper plates, and using your phone as a timer (and a camera for the pictures of course)! We also did a Halloween-themed Bingo night that was great, along with gummy worm spooky drinks. Like the video or board games, these activities will bring you together, and give everyone some family fun and laughs.
BOARD GAME NIGHT
Boardgame night is a staple for my family. It is something that we regularly schedule to take a few hours and do just board games. There are thousands of options for games. My favorites are games that do not go on for too long (hello Monopoly), but just enough time. One of my newest favorites to play with the kids is a newer game called “Drone Home”. It is fun and hilarious, and a drone literally flies off of your table. Other favorites are the Game of Life, Would you Rather, and Watch Ya Mouth, and Uno (most kids like this one!). We have also had fun with Jenga and Yeti in My Spaghetti. As the kids get older, they are loving Pandemic (how appropriate in this year we have had). At any rate, there is an unlimited number of options of available games to play with a group.
MAKING MEMORIES
Whatever family game night that you have, doing it with your family and friends is so much fun. But if that is not an option, you can also have a game night of puzzles or individual games for yourself. Any way that you do it is correct! In addition to the unlimited games available, you can have unlimited themes and amazing snacks and drinks! Go over to Pinterest and take a look. The main idea is that all of this is a way to make memories and just take a little time to have fun. Whether it be Blokus, Catan, Throw Throw Burrito, Ticket to Ride, Scrabble, Pictionary, Minute to Win it… there is really no wrong way to do it if you have the right attitude and are up for a night of competition. Invite a few friends or family (or both) and get started.
GET OUT THERE AND HAVE A FAMILY GAME NIGHT! MAKE THOSE MEMORIES!
FOR OTHER FAMILY ACTIVITIES, CHECK OUT THESE ARTICLES:
How to make a SAFE GAMING SETUP for kids!
Family Dinners – why you should have more!
Family Traditions – Bridging the Past with the Future
Movie Night with Family – Why you should plan one!
Mrs. Accountable
Dee | Grammy's Grid says
This is always fun to do with the whole family. Thanks so much for linking up with me at the Unlimited Link Party 28. Pinned!
CraftAtticResources says
I still remember playing cards with my grandmother during her summer visits and she’s been gone a LONG time. Those are just the kinds of things that stick with you because they were fun.
cbrooks0312@comcast.net says
Those are the best kind of memories! I used to play Chinese checkers growing up and so now I still play it today with my son. Passing those old games down through the generations is amazing.
Bethany @ Happily Loco says
Right now, our favorites are Clue and Oregon Trail (the card game). Mexican Train dominos is another staple. The board game, Pandemic, was a common activity during lockdown!
BTW, I found my way here from the link-up party at Grammy’s Grid. 🙂
cbrooks0312@comcast.net says
Thanks for the new ideas, we are always looking for new games. I just added the Oregon Trail game to my amazon basket based on your recommendation! I love Grammy’s Grid, so many great posts to discover in there!