Mattel Games Night

UNO was one of my favourite games as a kid. It was one of the first “grown-up” games I can remember playing, when I first moved beyond wee child-sized card sets of Go Fish and Old Maid. I was super excited to introduce my eldest daughter to the game, and I did a little happy dance when the Easter Bunny brought her a set in her basket this past Spring. It’s one of those games that kids can play that is also fun for grown-ups. There is a certain vicious joy to be had in getting to say the phrase “You forgot to say Uno!”

Board games are a huge part of my life. My husband and I do crazy things like play board games for twenty-four hours straight to raise funds for the Sick Kids Foundation. My husband organizes weekly public play events at local game stores, coffee shops and bars, and we have friends over to our place to play board games regularly. Suffice it to say we play games, a LOT of games, both on our own and with the kids.

So for us Games Night isn’t a big structured thing. Games Night happens when one of the kids goes up to one of us and asks us to play UNO, or when my husband gets a hankering to play Pictionary, or when I get the urge to attempt to unseat my daughter as the ruling Blockus champion. The dining room table gets hastily cleared and voila, it’s suddenly games night. For us, truly, anytime is game time. It might happen three times in one week, or a week may go by without it happening at all.

Since it’s summertime and I’m home most days with the girls while my husband is at work lately our Games Night sessions have been more like Games Afternoons, lazy summer afternoons spent playing a bazillon hours worth of UNO while munching through plenty of snacks.

What about you folks? Is family game time scheduled or spontaneous? How are you keeping connected with your kids over the summer?

Disclosure: I am a Play Advocate. As part of my affiliation with this group I receive special access to Mattel events and products. As always my words and opinions are my own.