Best games for family night, and why it matters!

From toddlerhood, we’ve played games with our children. Chutes and Ladders and  Hi Ho Cherry -O,  Memory and Go Fish. 

Now the games they choose make me feel like a moron… Settlers of Catan, for example.

Yikes, strategy… much harder than figuring how to get up and down the ladders while their little gullible faces were turned away.

C’mon, you know you did that too.

We don’t always feel like playing a game, especially when they were young and the same one was picked over and over.

But we played. And we still play.

Why? Because we find that being “together” in a house isn’t anywhere near the same as “together time”.

We get out games and we laugh. A lot. Sometimes we get frustrated but we learn about life in these moments.  More importantly, we enjoy our kids.

We learn about what is going on in their worlds. They remember that parents are enjoyable people to hang out with.

My teen daughter told me that a large portion of the kids she knows, their parents don’t just hang out with them very often.

“Maybe that is why kids think it isn’t cool to hang out with your parents; they don’t know how fun they can be.”  

Wise girl.

Play with your kids. Reserve “family time”, and put in on the calendar with other important dates.

It might be the most valuable time you’ll spend this week. Have fun…

P.S. UPDATE- My adult daughter just informed me that game nights were a cornerstone in what made family life, well, “hers”. The intentional time, she says, mattered so much. I thought you’d like to know that YOURS will too ♥

Best family games:

These were a few of my kid’s favorite games from young to young adults 🙂

• Monopoly
• Cranium
• Dutch Blitz
• Scattergories
• Ticket to Ride (different verions to “visit” different countries too)
• Rummikub (we like this verison as we age, the numbers are a bit easier to see!)
• Domninion
• Sequence
• I’ll be honest, we STILL love the Wii too, even the old games from 2008!  Our girls visit and pull out Mario  from time to time.

family night ideas that aren’t games

Want to give a gift to a family with movies and snacks? THis is awesome! Not everyone enjoys games, and that is totally ok! All families are different, whoo hoo! Celebrate it ♥

Oldie but goodie-An Introduction To Family Nights

After Dinner Amusements: Family Time: 50 Conversation Starters 

How about backyard camping? Kids love their own tee pee tents with lights. Add stargazing for some laerning fun. Add s’mores for a perfect ending. Whatever you choose, just have fun!

Hope these ideas help!

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