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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Make Your Very Own Digital Slide Show

It may sometimes be tough to get pre-teens and teens excited about family night, but here is a great new opportunity to get your kids excited about your next family night activity.

There is a new website that allows you to create your very own personalized, digital slide show . It allows you to choose pictures that you have downloaded to your PC to create your own slide show. They provide the video player along with the wizard to make it simple to use.

You can even add music to your slide show ! They provide quite an array of music which already has the rights available to use legally on your slide show. You can add music from many different genres and eras. You can choose holiday music, children’s music, Americana, Rock/Pop, and much more. They have songs from the ‘40’s to the ‘80’s.

Once you have your video ready, you can email it to friends and you can embed the finished video into your blog or MySpace!

You and your family must check out fliptrack for you next family night activity. This one the big kids will love!!

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!

Family Meetings

Have you got things you'd like to discuss with your family? Family night is a great time to call a family meeting. You can discuss anything from family rules and changes to next week's dinner menu. Family meetings are an especially good time to talk about things that need changing in the family. If you are having difficulties with rules or another person, this is a great opportunity to air those grievances. This is a time when emotions are not running so high and others can help mediate the problem at hand, offering solutions at the same time.

Family meetings are also a great time for the kids to bring up requests for rule changes. It is best if the child has given their idea some thought and approach the situation with calmness and maturity (same goes for parents!) :) This is a good time for parents to give real attention to what the child is requesting, as well as having emotions under control.

Family meetings can be a good time to dole out chores, plan menus and take care of scheduling issues for the upcoming days. These are things that help a family run smoothly but can often get taken care of "on the run". By planning ahead, the family can get a littel relief in the midst of the storm of everyday life.

Family meetings can be a great help to families. Using family night to hold family meetings from time to time can be a true benefit to everyone in the family.

letterboxing

There is a modern day treasure hunt that families can participate in. In this treasure hunt, you are searching for hidden goods, but the treasure is a stamp that has been previously hidden. You can log onto letterboxing.org for the clues as to where many letterboxes have been hidden. It is surprising how many secret treasures have been hidden throughout the U.S. Many are in local or state parks. Perhaps even one near you! So log onto the site, grab the clues, get a stamper, ink and note pad for your family and begin your modern day treasure hunt!