Adding Fun to Family Holidays
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If you're one of those people that thinks family holiday get-togethers are painfully awkward and terribly boring, you sure haven't been to any of our family holidays! Sometimes conversations and laughs need a little jump-start with good ol' games. Here's some things we use to have fun together during the holidays:
ONE: Heads-Up! | If you've seen Ellen, you've probably seen this game played. Download the app on your phone to get started. A player holds the phone on their head, displaying the name of a person, place or thing. Their team (or the whole family) gives verbal clues to guess the displayed word. Flip the phone up to pass or down to gain a point. This is fun whether you're keeping score, or not.
TWO: Croquet | This gives everyone a chance to get some fresh air in the backyard, instead of being cooped up indoors. As long as one person knows how to play, the others will catch on fast! Place the metal goals in the recommended play course, or get a little crazy with it (like we do) and put the goals ALL over the yard! Buy a croquet set on Amazon*
THREE: Table Topics | We used these for the first time this past Thanksgiving and they definitely kick-start some conversations. One person selects and reads out an open-ended question from a card. Then, we all took turns around the table with our answers. This gets people (who may not even know each other very well) to agree with one another and have a little something in common. Some questions can be super silly or really deep. Very thought-provoking, for sure! Buy some Table Topic cards on Amazon*
FOUR: Guesstures | This game jazzes up charades! Act out 4 cards and make sure your team guess them before the timer runs out. My dad bought ours from a garage sale a long, long time ago and we've used it ever since I can remember. It's even more fun now that me and my sister are married. We always do battle of the sexes or battle of the married couples at my parent's house. Buy Guesstures on Amazon*
FIVE: Catchphrase | Very similar to Heads-Up!, this guessing game is passed around like a hot potato. I love using my words to help someone guess (I'm way better with words than silent motions), so this has always been a favorite of mine. Back in high school, my basketball team and I would play on our way to tournaments to bond, loosen up and get some of us out of our shell! Buy Catchphrase on Amazon*
If you're one of those people that thinks family holiday get-togethers are painfully awkward and terribly boring, you sure haven't been to any of our family holidays! Sometimes conversations and laughs need a little jump-start with good ol' games. Here's some things we use to have fun together during the holidays:
ONE: Heads-Up! | If you've seen Ellen, you've probably seen this game played. Download the app on your phone to get started. A player holds the phone on their head, displaying the name of a person, place or thing. Their team (or the whole family) gives verbal clues to guess the displayed word. Flip the phone up to pass or down to gain a point. This is fun whether you're keeping score, or not.
TWO: Croquet | This gives everyone a chance to get some fresh air in the backyard, instead of being cooped up indoors. As long as one person knows how to play, the others will catch on fast! Place the metal goals in the recommended play course, or get a little crazy with it (like we do) and put the goals ALL over the yard! Buy a croquet set on Amazon*
THREE: Table Topics | We used these for the first time this past Thanksgiving and they definitely kick-start some conversations. One person selects and reads out an open-ended question from a card. Then, we all took turns around the table with our answers. This gets people (who may not even know each other very well) to agree with one another and have a little something in common. Some questions can be super silly or really deep. Very thought-provoking, for sure! Buy some Table Topic cards on Amazon*
FOUR: Guesstures | This game jazzes up charades! Act out 4 cards and make sure your team guess them before the timer runs out. My dad bought ours from a garage sale a long, long time ago and we've used it ever since I can remember. It's even more fun now that me and my sister are married. We always do battle of the sexes or battle of the married couples at my parent's house. Buy Guesstures on Amazon*
FIVE: Catchphrase | Very similar to Heads-Up!, this guessing game is passed around like a hot potato. I love using my words to help someone guess (I'm way better with words than silent motions), so this has always been a favorite of mine. Back in high school, my basketball team and I would play on our way to tournaments to bond, loosen up and get some of us out of our shell! Buy Catchphrase on Amazon*