Planning a Fun Family Game Night
Author: Denise M Sanger

Having a regular family game night is a great way for the
entire family to have fun together. It's also a great way
to spend quality time together and actually helps kids with
their socializing skills. To make Game Night a success at
your house, here are some tips on how to get started:

- Agree on a night and time when everyone is available.
Don't make the mistake of scheduling during your son's
football practice or your daughter's piano lesson.

- Don't let anyone out of game night unless it is a really
important occasion. If they start missing for every little
thing that comes up, eventually there will be no one left
to play!

- Decide as a family what games will be played. Vote on
them and choose from several that you can switch between.
If you take turns choosing which of the chosen games you
will play, then keep a record of who chose last and whose
turn it is every week.

- Choose games that are age appropriate for the whole
family. You don't want to play Chutes and Ladders every
week and the little ones can't keep up with more
complicated games. Look for those marked "All Ages".

- Don't answer the phone. Have the machine pick up any
calls to make sure you don't miss anything important.
Otherwise, you will end up stopping to wait for
conversations that interfere with your family's special
time.

- Let your friends know and have your children do the same
with their friends. Once they figure out what you are doing
every Wednesday at 7pm, you will have fewer interruptions.

- Choose snacks for the family ahead of time so you can
have them ready when game time starts.

- Choose how long game time will last (maybe an hour) so
that you have time to complete games. You will probably
find it much easier to keep your older children still than
you will the younger ones for longer periods of time.

- Choose games that you can complete during one game night
rather than having to pick back up in the same place the
next week. By then, it will have lost its excitement.

- Get a comfy card table and chairs. This is especially
important for little ones who have trouble playing on the
dining room table and trying to reach the middle of a game
board.

Family game night can be a wonderful experience for every
family member. With a little planning and a commitment to
stick with it, it will grow to be your kids' favorite
tradition!


About the Author:

Denise Sanger is the owner of http://NewCoolToysOnline.com
which carries an extensive catalog of outdoor toys, pool
toys, toddler toys and more. She also owns USAPoolToy.com
which is a wholesaler distributor of toys and gifts. She
may be reached at 877/950-7665.