low key holidays

As everyone around us hustles and bustles around in preparation for the holidays, our family kept a low profile yesterday. Our family gathered yesterday to celebrate being together. It is our first Christmas without Granny and we did not want to give up getting together, but did not want to make a big ordeal out of it either. We ate sandwiches and chips, played games and only the youngest kids were given gifts. All in all it was a good day and the stress level was kept to a minimum, reminding us all what is really important.

Cranium

If your family enjoys board games, one of the best around our house is Cranium. This game will get you thinking about things you have learned in the past. This game will allow you to use different venues to answer the questions. If you are a great drawer, but not a great trivia buff, you can still have a chance in a game like Cranium. You will be asked to stretch yourself in some areas, and excel in others. This game is the ultimate combination of trivia, Pictionary, Charades and sculpting. It is great fun for the whole family.

The folks at Cranium have been sure not to leave out family members who may be too young for the Cranium game. They have developed Cranium Cadoo for the younger set. This is also a really great game for families of younger children. It incorporates the same things that Cranium does, but on a younger level so the kiddos have a chance too!

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Yahtzee

Yahtzee is a fun dice game that the whole family can enjoy. It is very simple to learn and is a game of chance, which is good when you are playing with varied age levels. It may be a little difficult for the youngest in your family to learn what special rolls are, such as a full house or a straight, but with a little practice and patient explanation, they will soon learn just what it takes to win these special rolls. Yahtzee can provide hours of family night fun for all!

Parcheesi

Parcheesi is apparantly a very old game, supposedly originating in India in 500 BC. But this has long been one of our family's favorite games. It was the first game after Candy Land that our kids learned to play. We could easily spend hours when the kids were little playing this game. It is not too complicated to learn. Though it can get time consuming, it is a good game for all ages to play together. The youngest players may need help with counting their moves, or with remembering when it is their turn! But Parcheesi is so simple to learn that I think kids younger than eight can learn it even though that is the recommended age by the manufacturer.

Apples to Apples

Games are always a great way to celebrate family night. We have played many games over the years, but just recently got a new one that I'd like to share. The game Apples to Apples is a very simple card/matching game. Each card has an item (an event, an object, a person, etc) written on it. Each player gets 5-7 of these cards (depending on how your family chooses to play.) Another set of cards has adjectives written on them. The "judge" for the round turns up an adjective card and each of the other players turns in a card which best matches. It can be an obvious match or a more sublte match. The judge reveals the answers and everyone then has a chance to persuade the judge why his/her answer is best. This can be fun! The judge then decides and awards the adjective card to the winner. Play passes around with each person taking a turn to be judge.

It doesn't take long to learn this game and can be a bushel of fun!