Tips for a successful family game night include:

• 1) Make it a priority!  Mark the date on the calendar and make sure everyone understands that it’s a family date and not to make other plans.
• 2) Add some variety to your game night.  As long as everyone gets to participate and spend that time with each other, it really doesn’t matter what game it is.
• 3) Turn off ALL cell phones and TVs.
• 4) Have snacks and beverages already made and easily accessible.
• 5) Know the rules. Make sure everyone understands the rules beforehand to prevent arguments later.  It always happens..lol

Our favorite games are Scattergories, Monopoly, Hungry Hungry Hippos, Trivial Pursuit, and Dominoes.   Not only does Walmart have low prices on their games right now, they have also provided some fun ideas on how you can turn your family game night into a theme!

• Rock n’Roll Night—Turn your living room into a 50’s diner for Rock n’ Roll Night. The family could play include Twister, watch one of the two High School Musical movies, pull out those old tunes and serve diner themed foods like milk shakes and classic hot dogs.
• Double Trouble Night—Turn family night into trouble fun by playing the infamous Trouble game and bending the rules such as eating with your fingers. Then relax around the TV to watch your favorite Pirates of the Caribbean movie and see how everyone’s favorite pirates get in and out of trouble
• Special Mission Night—This night is about solving puzzle and using your smarts to uncover a mystery. Create or solve puzzles, play Pictureka and consider adding in a movie like National Treasure. Secret receipts of creative snacks might also be revealed!
• Day of the Week Family Night Kit—For a Sweet Tooth Sunday. Walmart would provide the board game Candyland as well as the sugary sweet movie Pollyanna along soda and makings for a homemade ice cream sundaes.

What are YOUR favorite games to play?  What fun themes can you come up with?

What did we play this weekend? MONOPOLY of course! I think that Hasbro makes some of the best games out there.

I’ve been feeling a little down lately due to all the traveling I’ve done in July and being away from my family so when I got an email from Mr. Kendrick, I felt uplifted.  I asked him if I could share this with you because it’s something I think we all need to do……… Live a Little

Banana Splits for Breakfast

by Carleton Kendrick Ed.M., LCSW
Family Therapist and Author, Take Out Your Nosering, Honey, We’re Going to Grandma’s

Twenty-three years ago, at 1:30 A.M., I woke my 10 and 8 year-old kids to see a lunar eclipse.

“That’s great,” Alisa, the elder, whined. “Tell me about it in the morning.”

“OK, Dad, I’m coming,” Jason groaned, pulling the sheets over his head.
Despite their lack of enthusiasm, I knew they’d want to see it.
Led trancelike to our backyard, they managed to recover their senses just in time to witness the moon’s gradual disappearance.

They were mesmerized.

On another occasion, a sudden, torrential downpour was driving swimmers and sunbathers from the beach. I wanted my children to feel the rain on their faces as they floated on the water.

So we ran against the fleeing crowd, into the sea.

We floated, drank the rain, and laughed.

My children still fondly recall these and all their other spontaneous family adventures.

Waltzing the Kitchen

I first learned the joy of acting spontaneously from my Uncle Peter.

When I was eight, he made one of his many unannounced visits to our home. On this particular Saturday afternoon, my mother and I were making spaghetti sauce and homemade pasta-she was Italian – in the kitchen.

He greeted her and me warmly, as always, remarked that popular, Italian crooner Perry Como was singing on our radio, and held out his arms, “Let’s dance Thelma.” She feigned embarrassment, giggling “Peter, I still have my apron on.”

He replied softly, entreatingly, “But Thelma, it’s Perry Como.” She smiled broadly and walked into his arms and the grace of their dance spoke tenderly of love and enchantment.

I felt happy and their magic filled our kitchen. At eight, I couldn’t articulate what I was witnessing, but my heart told me this was something important, something special, something to remember.

A sense of wonder

Kids come hard-wired with a natural sense of wonder.

They ask us continuously to join them in their endeavors. “Come have tea with me and my imaginary friends.” “Let’s make banana splits for breakfast!” “We need to catch some fireflies to light up our tent.”

They fascinate us with their sudden whims.

As a therapist, I’ve seen so many children become increasingly less and less free-spirited, as parents hurry them through their childhood. Even toddlers and preschoolers are expected to participate in highly structured, success portfolio oriented activities and lives.

Academic achievement-oriented daycare.
Educational play groups.

Adult-supervised sports.

There’s hardly time for a free moment…or a childhood.

We have become less tolerant of our growing children’s spontaneous, “childlike” expressions of curiosity, humor, and celebration, and label these as frivolous, inappropriate, and immature.

In our efforts to raise brilliant, multitalented “top college” students, we lose touch with our kids’ penchant for fun.
They lose touch with their flair for the spontaneous, the impromptu.

Your toll has been paid

It’s easy to be spontaneous.

Take your daughter for a surprise picnic lunch and bring along her favorite junk foods.

Pick your son up at school and take him to an early afternoon matinee of a movie he’s been dying to see.

The next time you’re at a toll booth, tell your kid to pay for the two cars behind you.

How about banana splits for breakfast?

Loosen up.

Surprise your kids.

Make some memories.

My Uncle Peter taught me to dance in the kitchen, to swim in the rain, to live in the moment.

He listened to his heart and invited others to celebrate what he heard.

You are never too old to dance in the moonlight.

Your children need to know that.

P.S.  Taking five, for me, means days so if I seem to be in and out, please understand that I’m focusing on my family right now.