How to Plan a Family Game Night

In my last post I explained why you should be having a Family Game Night at your house. But, now what? What is the next step?

Don’t stress, Family Game Night can be as elaborate or as simple as you would like. The basic principle is the same…. spend quality time with your family. Get everyone in the family involved in the planning of the family activities and you’re off to a great start. And, the beginning of a wonderful family tradition.

How to Plan a Family Game Night

Family Meeting

1. Hold a Family Meeting – The entire family should be involved in the planning of this event. The following will need to be discussed during the family meeting regarding Family Game Night:
   • What night of the week will Family Game Night be? Come up with a day that there will be no distractions and no cancellations. This should be a day that everybody can and will stick to.
   • How often will Family Game Night be? Weekly is best, but should be at least monthly.
   • Will there be teams or will everybody play individually? Teams are a good option if you have kids that range in age from very young to much older. This large range in age difference will mean that the children’s skills are at different levels. If you have teams then the older children can help the younger children in things they aren’t skilled to do yet.
   • Keeping Score – Will you be keeping score of the games?
   • Dinner – Is Dinner part of the festivities? If so, this needs to be discussed as well.
   • Rules – Rules to the Family Game Night should be discussed now as well. Some examples of rules….
     • No being a Sore Loser. Discuss the repercussions if this happens
     • No name calling
     • Other Rules
   • Begin / End Time – Discuss when Family Game Night should commence and when will it end.
   • Responsibilities – This is an important task to discuss. Since Family Game Night is a “Family” event everybody in the
     family should be involved. Even a child as young as two can have some type of responsibility… and should. Responsibilities can be rotated week to week so that everybody has a different job each week. Responsibilities can include the following:
     • Picking out the Family Games
     • Plan / Cook / Order Dinner
     • Plan Snacks
     • Reminders – can be written, drawn or something more original. Something that gets people excited and more importantly reminds them not to miss the Family event.
     • Teams – If having teams this person can come up with that week’s teams.
     • Games

Family Game Ideas

1. Family Game Ideas- Here are some ideas to what games would be great to play at a Family Game Night.
   • Family Card Games
     • Old Maid
     • Crazy Eights
     • Go Fish
     • Uno
     • Concentration
     • Blackjack
   • Family Charades
   • Trivia Games
     • Family Trivia – Using Index Cards write trivia questions that only Family Members would know. Great dinner time activity or random activity during game night. You can keep score or not, but either way it will be totally hilarious.
     • Trivia Board Games
   • Family Scavenger Hunt – Whoever is in charge of the game responsibility for that week will make a list of items to find. The
     entire family will get the same list and must find these items and return them to the required destination.
   • Family Fun Crafts - The person in charge of picking out the games for the week can find some crafts perfect for all age groups
     in the family. If the child is too young to handle this decision on their own a parent could help. Research online or go through a craft magazine to find family friendly crafts. It doesn’t have to be a game that the whole participates in on Family Game Night. As long as the entire family is involved it is bound to be fun for all.
   • Family Board Games – The classics are the best. They are good for each age group and there are a reason why they are “Classic”. They have stuck around this long because they are awesome. So, you are bound to have fun with them.
     • Checkers
     • Chess
     • Scrabble
     • Candy Land
     • Battleship
     • Monopoly
     • Operation
     • Chutes & Ladders
     • Twister

Family Game Night Itinerary

1. Plan the nights itinerary so everyone involved will know how the evening will probably flow. This way there is no surprises and children love structure (whether they realize it or not). Sometime during the week check in with the members of the family (remember they all have their responsibilities) and see what their plans are. What games do they have planned? What is for dinner? Will there be a game during the meal? Are there any snacks needed? Any supplies you need to pick up before the big event? Here is a Sample Game Night Itinerary: Family Game Night Itinerary
   • Dinner – Dinner Planned & Prepared by Mom and Timmy
     • BLT Sandwiches and Apple Slices on the side.
   • Dessert – Dessert Planned & Prepared by Susie;
     Family Card Game chosen by Susie
     • Orange Jello
     • Crazy Eights played while eating Desert
   • After Meal Games – After meal Move to the Living Room for the remainder of the evening.
     • Family Charades – Organized by John
     • Twister – Organized by Dad
     • Chutes and Ladders – Organized by Lola
     • Snacks – Game snacks planned & prepared by Susie
   • Next Week Responsibilities – Discuss next weeks Family Game Night responsibilities. Either have a plan to rotate or pick out of a hat.
     • Appoint everyone their responsibilities for next week.
     • Everyone chips in cleaning up.

And, there ya have it. It can be as simple or elaborate as you would like. The basics are always the same…. get your family together, have a good time and make some lasting memories. So, what are you waiting for? Plan your Family Game Night now.

Image above courtesy of deltaMike

3 Comments »

This entry was posted on Monday, February 23rd, 2009 at 6:45 am and is filed under Kids Activities. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.