Sometimes it takes a little more effort and creativity to plan fun activities as a family during the winter months. On the weekends, I find it exceptionally easy to turn on a movie or a video game or for everyone to split up and find their own activities. I encourage and set aside time for us to do family activities to spend quality time together.
I put together a list of some of our favorite games. Family game night is one of our favorite indoor activities. This, of course, can be any time of day, but it’s exciting at night when everyone can settle down in their pajamas, make popcorn, and open the game closet.
We like to choose game stations and different areas of the room to set up various games, and we either split up or move around the stations as a family. We like to keep score if we split into teams so that we can keep track and switch teams on various days. Some of our favorite games include:
1. Battleship: This game is fun to set up and strategize with your partner. It is fun for kids to make teams with mom or dad and then switch partners.
2. Sorry!: This is a relatively simple game to learn and can be played with 2-4 players. The game can be reasonably quick or last a while. The only problem is the frustration when your player gets sent home, but I like to use this as a learning tool about patience and good sportsmanship. Sometimes that can be quite a challenge! But it is another good way to sit together and play a fun game.
3. Pictionary Junior: My daughters love to draw. I am not so good. But that is part of what makes it enjoyable. We all end up laughing at some point during this game, and that’s really what it’s all about.
4. Balderdash: This game is set up for older children and adults (there is a Junior version, but the recommended age is still 8-11 years). It is fun to hear all the possible word definitions that everyone comes up with. The game also ends up with a lot of laughs.
5. Boggle Junior: Word searches are fun, challenging, and a great brain exercise for the family.
6. Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?: This game is challenging and takes patience. It’s a crime-solving and mystery game, so that it can be a great game for older children.
7. Othello: This is a fun game of strategy and is a 2-player game that is great for kids around age seven and up. The game’s goal is to try to flip the discs to your color (black or white). It is fun, fast-paced, and a good brain teaser.
8. Uno, Skip-Bo, classic card games: Uno is a family-friendly game for children of a wide range of ages and can be done with a large group if you’re having a larger gathering. Skip-Bo is a new card game we learned over the holidays, and all the cousins joined in for fun. As a family, we like to play a wide range of card games, including Crazy Eights and Go Fish.
9. Mouse Trap: A fun obstacle course board game where you try to capture cheese squares and avoid the mouse trap. It is a lot of fun to construct the board and is a lot of fun to play with a small group.
10. Splash!: This is a fast-paced card game for kids ages six and up, making it great for parties.
11. Twister: If you’re up for a more physical game with lots of laughs, this game is excellent.
12. Apples to Apples: Another great card game that is simple to learn and can be played with 4 to 10 players, so great for a party with family and friends.
13. Monopoly Junior: If you have a lot of time and patience, this game is fun and a great learning tool for negotiating, math, and strategy. It is a simpler version of the classic Monopoly game.
14. Mind the Gap: A Trivia Game for the Generations: A fun trivia game that can incorporate multiple generations (Grandparents to 10-year-olds), and you can also play with a large group (up to four teams of multiple players).
15. Make 7: This is a bit more complicated than Connect 4 and requires more math skills. A great beginner math game.
16. Mastermind: Mastermind is another fun strategy game for two players. Players take turns creating a color code while the opponent tries to solve the pattern using logic and deduction skills.
17. Scrabble: Scrabble is one of the most challenging games on this list, but a great mental exercise using a strategy to make words and place letters for maximum points. Younger kids can play on teams with older kids or adults. There is also a Scrabble Junior game.
18. Clue: A fun mystery game to solve a crime by eliminating suspects.
19. Life: Great for teaching kids about real-life choices and careers in a simple game format. The action cards are fun and create surprises along the journey.
20. Jenga: test your stacking skills and don’t let the tower fall; a great hands-on and suspenseful game for the family to enjoy together.
Of course, many others exist, but the list above is some of our favorites. If I allow the kids to choose at least some games and keep score, they are more involved and engaged with the activities. Inviting other families over is also fun; the more, the merrier! And you can extend the stations to accommodate everyone.
If you have younger children, there are fun games to include them (briefly!) before the night or afternoon of fun begins. Monkey Around and Acorn Soup are some age-appropriate games for toddlers to join in the family fun. Race to the Treasure is also an excellent game for younger children (starting at ages 4-5) as you work together to capture the treasure before the ogres beat you to it.
