A few weeks ago, I wrote about how we were trying to get an Unplugged Family Fun Night going simply by turning off our PDA’s and tuning into our family and our little girls. We tried going unplugged this past Friday through Saturday and boy, it was hard. It felt strange NOT to check your phone every block and a half for that one email or text that could have possibly come through since the last time you checked your phone, which was approximately 2 ½ minutes ago.
Luckily enough, we were invited to Hershey’s Kisses Family Game Night, where the Hershey’s team brought out old-school games and sweets for a night out with the family. We played games like Sorry!, Twister and Connect Four (remember them???) as well as a new game called Ratuki (very similar to a card game “Spit” that I played back-in-the day.) Based on what we went through with our Unplugged family fun night and taking some tips from the Hershey’s Kisses Family Game Night event, I’ve come up with a few tips that could help you in putting together your own family fun night.
- Add Board Games. First of all, board games are super-fun! Especially the ones that are blast from the past. We loved playing Sorry! and Twister, but if you have younger kids, try Candy Land or Chutes and Ladders. You will also be surprised how fast your kids learn. Our 3 year old was able to keep up with us while we played Sorry! It even helped her practice her counting and number recognition skills!
Our impromptu Hershey’s Kisses Monopoly game night.
- Family Fun Night Can be at Any Time or Any Day. So, your family night doesn’t have to be on a weekend or on a Friday. O decided one school night that she wanted to play Monopoly (The Hershey’s version, of course.) It was an impromptu game in the middle of the week, and it was a great way to have fun right before bed-time. Even better, playing with the Monopoly money helped her with her math skills.
- Add Sweets! At the Hershey event, instead of playing with the Sorry! pieces, we played with the different kinds of Hershey’s Kisses which was extremely fun. If you got all of your your Kisses to home, you were then able to eat them.
No matter which way you play out a family fun night, the key is to have no distractions so that you can fully focus on you, your kids and your partner. Do you have a family night? What do you do?