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Being Confident Of This

Grace for the work-in-progress woman

How to Host Game Night with Young Children in Tow

September 2, 2013 by stultsmamaof4 12 Comments

I’ve read a lot lately about hospitality and how important it is for Christians to be reaching out to those in their community.  One of the easiest ways for our family to entertain guests is to host a game night.  We love playing games of all sorts, and game night gives us an opportunity to develop relationships with others in a relaxing environment.

Perhaps my favorite reason for hosting a game night is that there is no need to prepare a fancy meal for lots of people – just have each family bring a snack to share.  You provide the dishes, and beverages.  ( Honestly, ours are usually disposable – paper plates and plastic cups.)  You don’t even need any special decorations, just table space!  It’s the perfect way for someone like me, who is not gifted in the area of hospitality, to have people over. 🙂

However, sometimes hosting Game Night involves entertaining young children as well as adults.  Even if you are having a family game night with just your family and attempting to play a game older children might enjoy, you still need something for younger children to do. Parents can’t play if kids aren’t occupied. 🙂

10 tips for Game Night

 10 Tips for Hosting Game Night with Young Children in Tow:

  1. Play their games.  Depending on the age of the youngest children, choose a few games they can play and enjoy, too.  See my post about Our Big List of Favorite Games for ideas on what games appeal to a wide range of ages.
  2. Give them a role.  If they cannot understand enough to play but want to be involved, give them a role to play in the game (handing out pieces, handing out money, etc.) or put them on someone’s “team.”
  3. Give them their own pieces.  If the children are too young for a role, give them their own pieces to play with next to the game (as long as they aren’t small enough to choke on).  If the kids are young enough, they won’t even care if the pieces even go to the game you are playing. Cards especially seem to do the trick, and you can find children’s decks at the dollar store!
  4. Give them child-friendly snacks.  The peace will only last as long as the snacks do, but fun snacks will buy at least a little time before you have to move on to something else.  Some of our favorite kid-friendly snacks are goldfish crackers, bite-sized cookies, grapes, cucumbers, pretzel sticks, cheese, etc.  Finger foods are fun for children, but I would avoid any messy snacks.
  5. Give them their own game space.  This approach works best if you have more than one child who cannot play because they can help entertain each other (one of the many benefits of having twins!).  Be sure to give them an activity they can do on their own with little to no help from mom or dad.  If they are old enough, you might give them a game of their own to play, especially if an older child can help.  Other activities such as playdoh, coloring, puzzles, building, etc. will provide distraction, too.
  6. Put an older child in charge of entertaining the younger children.  Some older children may not find this appealing, but on occasion, our oldest really enjoys entertaining the littles.  He is really great at using his imagination to make up pretend games for them and other children, too.  Of course, now he’s getting to the age where he would rather play along with the adults, but our middle son is just now starting to entertain from time to time, as well, although not for a long period of time.  If older children are not an option, then….
  7. Hire babysitters.  If you have no older children to entertain the young ones, consider hiring family members or youth from church for the job.  This is especially helpful if you have a separate area, such as a playroom or a finished basement where the kids can hang out.  Even a child’s bedroom will work!  Parents are nearby and still on hand if any major issues arise.
  8. Pull out the “company” toys.  In our home, we have a few toys that seem to be popular when there is a whole group of children in the house.  Some of them, we save specifically for special occasion use.  One is our set of Playhut tents (they are pop-up type tents and tunnels that connect).  Another is the basket of dress-up clothes (I add to this each year after Halloween when the costumes go on 75% off clearance or when I find them at garage sales!).  Duplo blocks or Legos (depending on age) are toys that groups of children can play with together (Duplo blocks or the off-brand Megablocks are easy to find at garage sales, too).  We also have a play kitchen with pretend food that has seen a lot of use.  These “company” toys should be toys that multiple children can play with at the same time in order to avoid disagreements.  Also, be sure to put away any toys that you foresee causing problems, such as our boys’ star wars lightsabers.  Any time we have company, those end up in the closet because they seem to cause accidental injuries. 🙂  In addition, you’ll want to put away any favorite toys that are special to your children.
  9. When all else fails, we put on a movie!  Usually, this is a last resort when other techniques aren’t working or when it’s  too close to bedtime but the parents aren’t done playing yet. 🙂  If you don’t have children of your own, be aware that very young children often won’t sit for an entire movie.  In fact, they might not be interested in it at all!  Usually by the time we decide to put in a movie, it’s bedtime for the younger ones, so we offer it as entertainment for any older children.  It helps to have a movie that the children haven’t seen very often or recently.
  10. Put them to bed. When our twins were babies, we either had to take turns playing games or wait until their naptime or bedtime. In fact, at first we would only host game nights close to those times so that we could enjoy our company. If your friends have young children, too, you could always offer another bedroom or space for their children to sleep if needed.   It’s a great idea to hang on to at least one pack-n-play, even after your children have outgrown it, for times like this.

I hope these tips inspire you to try out family game night or to host friends or neighbors for a game night party of your own!  It really is possible to host and still have fun even when young children are involved, as long as you know what to expect and how to help the kids have fun as well.  If you’ve never hosted a game night before, I suggest starting small with another couple or family  that you know well.  Then, you can work up to multiples couples or families at once!  Game night really is a great way to build fellowship with neighbors, with friends, with family, with small groups, with Sunday school classes, and more.  Why wait?

Jen 🙂

I may be linking up at any of the blogs listed on my Favorite Link-ups tab.

Filed Under: Christianity, Parenting, Uncategorized, Women of Faith Tagged With: children, Christian living, Company, Entertainment, family, family game night, Fellowship, Game Night, Hospitality, Hosting

Our Big List of Favorite Games For Families

August 20, 2013 by stultsmamaof4 29 Comments

As a follow-up to the Mama Mondays post on Why Families Should Play Games on family game night, I wanted to provide some practical information on what games for families to use for family game night, neighborhood game night, church ministries, or special events.

For those who don’t already know, we have four children, ages four through thirteen, and we’ve spent a lot of years working with children and youth in various churches.  So, we’ve witnessed epic games and also epic failures. 🙂

I’ve divided the list into a few different categories such as age or group size in order to give it a little more organization.

*This post makes use of affiliate links. For a full disclosure, please visit the About page.

So you've heard the hype about family game night, but you're not sure where to get started?  Or maybe your go-to games are growing stale and boring? This huge list of family-friendly games will help!  Use if for family game night, special events, youth group, AWANA, neighborhood parties, etc.

Toddler/Preschool Games

Memory
Memory is one of our favorite games for families for this age group and utilizes memory skills, matching, and critical thinking.  We started at the age of 2 (possibly even younger) with our firstborn, but not with the entire game.  For very young children, I would start by choosing out just a few matches to start with and let them get the hang of it before building up to more.

Hi Ho Cherry-O
Hi Ho Cherry-O is another favorite and can be played from an early age with modifications.  This game teaches colors, counting, and following directions. In fact, before you even try to play the actual game, you could have your child do some color sorting by putting all of the cherries on the correct trees!

Go Fish Card Game
I love this game because you can make your own and use it to teach just about anything: for example,Go Fish Colors, Go Fish Shapes,Go Fish Animals, Go Fish Alphabet, and so on.  To make your own, just buy a pack of index cards, print off some graphics (or use colored cardstock) and tape or glue them to the index cards – laminate them for longer use.  Our middle child has always been our most active child and has been that way from birth, literally!  Go Fish is the one game he would actually sit still for at a fairly young age – young enough that he couldn’t even say, “Go Fish!” correctly. For little hands, you might try these card holders, too.

Trouble
We played this game with our two oldest boys before our youngest (at the time) son could even count.  We just counted the spaces out for him.  Why did our active boy enjoy this game so much?  He looooved pressing the domed popper in the middle. He also really enjoyed landing on other players and sending them back home. 🙂 After moving, we lost some of our pieces, so I’ve been eyeing this Despicable Me Edition.

Candy Land
The best thing about this classic, aside from being candy-themed, is that you move by colors rather than numbers.  Thus, you can easily play with very young children.

Elementary-age Games

(many of the games for families listed in the toddler/preschool category are still interesting enough for this age group as well)

Pictureka
 We absolutely love this i-spy type game that was introduced to us by friends!  It is easy enough to play that very young children can participate, but also quick-paced and competitive enough that even my husband enjoys playing.  It’s just perfect for our broad age range!  The board is a series of large square tiles that are moved often throughout this picture-finding game. With very young children, you can make every card an all-play card and take a less competitive, more team-work approach.

Battleship
Battleship is an oldie, but a goodie.  I love this game because it’s challenging enough that my husband and I can play each other for at-home date nights, yet our two oldest sons can also play each other.  Our middle son learned to play it at the age of 6, but probably could have learned earlier. This game of strategy only requires 2 players!

Cranium Cadoo for Kids
We found this awesome spin-off of Cranium (see under Large Group Games) at Goodwill and it has quickly become one of our favorite games for families!  Easy enough for the little ones to participate, but interesting enough for the teen in the house, too.

Don’t Break the Ice and Don’t Spill the Beans
These are 2-4 player games that even young children can play as they do not involve counting or reading. Don’t Break the Ice uses a small plastic hammer to knock out individual ice cubes until the whole platform falls. Don’t Spill the Beans is a game of balance in which plastic beans are added to a pot one by one until the pot tips one way or the other.  These games for families both utilize and teach scientific principles, too!

Not sure where to start with family game night?  Or maybe your go-to games are growing stale? Huge list of family-friendly games for all groups and ages!  Ideas for family game night, youth group, special events, neighborhood game night, preschool, AWANA, and more.

Teen/Adult

Risk Game
Risk is a game of strategy and conquest.  You can make and break treaties, create and destroy armies, and take over the whole world!  I think this game appeals more to boys rather than girls, but my sister and I both happen to really enjoy it even as adults. Risk is one of the more time-consuming games for families, but soooo worth it!

 The Settlers of Catan
– see description in Family category below.

Murder – this game has been a youth group favorite wherever we go, and we even played it at an adults’ game night once!  You’ll need lots of playing space for the game to work well and you also need darkness. We created our own dim area by covering some windows when we played.  Basically, one person is chosen by random to be “it” and is unknown to the other players.  Then, everyone spreads out and the “murderer” is free to work.  What makes this game fun is that when a “body” is found, the lights come on and all players gather together to make accusations and try to figure out who the murderer is.  If the person accused is not truly “it,” then the game continues! Be sure to look up extended rules online.

Games for the Whole Family

Jenga Classic
Jenga is easy enough for small hands, but interesting enough for older brains, as well.  We have played this game with our four-year-old twins and it works very well as long as we help them a bit.

Pictureka
– see description in Elementary category.

The Game of Life Game
This favorite among our games for families teaches about life choices, careers, finances, and random chance. The first time we played, my husband’s pink “wife” fell out of his minivan game piece and our middle child got the worst case of the giggles. Now every time we play, we talk about the time Dad’s “wife” tried to run away. 🙂

The Settlers of Catan
Settlers of Catan is our all-time favorite family game (we actually call it “The Game”) and can be played with as little as 2 players and with as many as 12 if you want to re-paint or decorate some of the pieces like we did.  The game is very unique and involves a lot of strategy and planning, as well as bartering. Basically, you are a “settler” who chooses where to build.  Your object is to grow your territory using resources that you earn according to rolls of the dice.  You will build roads, cities, and other settlements as you earn the resources to build with.  You can also trade with other players, but beware of the black robber!  Although this game is a little more expensive and takes time to learn, it is well worth the effort and expense!!

Aggravation
This game is another oldie, but goodie and can be hard to come by.  You may remember playing with marbles on a wooden board as a child? This game is easy to learn, and is much like the game Sorry in that players can be sent back to home if they are landed on. New boards can be expensive, but keep an eye out at garage sales for the board! You can always buy new marbles to go with it. 🙂

Farkle
This is one of the least expensive games for families ever, but is so much fun.  All you need is a set of dice (6, I believe), a printed out set of rules from the Internet, and paper and pencil to keep score with.  Although this game is numbers oriented, our middle son learned to play with help at age 6 and really enjoyed it.

Not sure where to start with family game night?  Or maybe your go-to games are growing stale? Huge list of family-friendly games for all groups and ages!  Ideas for family game night, youth group, special events, neighborhood game night, preschool, AWANA, and more.

Large Group Games

Cranium
I love this game, especially for large group play, because it combines aspects of many of my favorite games.  There are 4 categories: one uses word-based clues (missing letters, scrambled letters, spelling, etc.), one uses music/acting based clues similar to charades, one uses data-based clues (true/false, multiple choice, etc.), and one uses clues that require drawing (sometimes with your eyes closed!) or sculpting with clay.  It’s basically like playing pictionary, charades, trivial pursuit, Boggle, and other games for families all at the same time!  The best part, however, is that you play in teams, so this game can work for anywhere from 4 to 20 or more players.

Apples to Apples
Here’s another party favorite among our games for families.  It is easy to learn and usually involves a good deal of humor.  Apples to Apples also gives you insight into the people you’re playing with. You can also buy a kid-friendly version called Apples to Apples Junior .

Catchphrase
This game is a favorite for me and probably anyone who is good with words and/or talking.  It can be used in a group as small as 4, but is more fun with larger groups.  The beeping timer makes the fast-paced game-play even more intense and competitive!

Settlers of Catan – see the description in family games.

Euchre – an inexpensive card game that requires only a single deck of cards.  You can play with Four or more.  I had never heard of this game until I met my husband, but it quickly became apparent that I would have to learn.  It took me a while to learn this game, but it has quickly become one of my favorite card games!

Hand and Foot – another inexpensive card game in which you have two “hands” of cards – one to start with and a second one, called the “foot,” that you play when you finish your first hand.  I like this game best when played with partners, in which case you would need at least four players.  If you have enough card decks and table space, you could play with a group of 8-10 easily.  This game simply requires several decks of normal playing cards. Look up the rules online for more information!

Mafia – this game isn’t your typical board or card game, but can be fun if you have an adventurous group of people.  Basically, it’s a whodunnit? game, narrated by a player who sits out of the gameplay and simply tells the story.  The game involves a “criminal” who points at a victim, a doctor, who points at someone to save, and a police officer or detective who chooses someone to accuse.  The most important part of this game is choosing a good narrator because a lot of fun is in the details that they make up. Look up the details online!

Wink Murder – okay, so this game may be a bit juvenile for adults, but I guess I’m a kid at heart. 🙂  This is another game that you can play on the fly with no preparation and no supplies.  Look up the rules online for more information.

Active Games

Twister
Children and teens alike enjoy this game of contorting one’s body in order to touch the correct colored circles.  With our two youngest, we don’t bother with differentiating between right and left since they haven’t learned this yet.  Instead, we just say, “Put your hand on blue.” Surprisingly, one of the favorite parts of this game is the spinner!

Hide-n-Seek – yes, this is usually an outdoors game, but a few winters ago when I was doing some in-home childcare for a friend, I decided we could play indoors!  In fact, it becomes even more fun when you turn off all but a few lights and play Scary Hide-n-Seek!  Just be sure to tell the players if there are any off-limit areas before you start.

Sardines – similar to hide-n-seek, only the player who is “it” hides and everyone else tries to find him or her.  The twist is that when you find “it” you have to hide along with them until everyone ends up in the same hiding spot.

Simon Says – I know this is an old school game, but my children love it.  The most popular position is Simon, of course, but it’s really good for our younger children to learn to follow directions and to listen!

Mother May I? – another old school game, but gets my children up and active without being too crazy.

Indoor obstacle course – This is mostly for younger children, but older children and parents can participate by creating the course.  Pull out your kitchen chairs, small end tables, and as many pillows as you can gather (you can even use boxes to create tunnels).  Find the longest straight stretch in your home and design your own course!  My children will do the course over and over and over……well, you get the idea. 🙂

Additionally, Energy-burning Indoor Fun for Kids is chock full of ways to help the kids burn off extra energy when you’re stuck inside.


Well, that’s it for our BIG list of favorite games for families. I hope you find some ideas for new games to try out at your next family game night.  To help you get started, here are tips on how to host a game night with young children in the home.

I also have a pinterest board specifically for learning games and activities where I gather ideas for homeschool or just home learning fun, and an AWANA/VBS board where I gather ideas for youth group and children’s ministry.  For family-specific activities, be sure to visit the Family Fun Day/Night board, too.

We’re always looking for new family oriented games to add to our collection, so please let us know if you have a great suggestion!

What is your family’s favorite game?  What games would you add to the list?

Jen 🙂

*This post makes use of affiliate links. For a full disclosure, please visit the About page.

Sharing with: Family Fun Friday,

Filed Under: Parenting Tagged With: AWANA games, family, family game night, family-friendly games, games, Hospitality, parenting, Top Games for Families, Youth games

Hi, I'm Jen: a work in progress. I'm imperfect - a mom of four, pastor's wife, discipler, and sinner saved only by grace. I like to sing, read, write, teach, and smile. I have a heart for encouraging women everywhere to understand God's limitless love for them and what His grace means for everyday living. Welcome! :) Read More…

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