Family Games = Family Fun
Every family has it's own little games that they play. It might be the "I can't hear you unless you're singing" game as favoured in the Whittle household, or the Brian's of Britain game that Daddy and I like to play (and I frequently cheat at) but it's these little games that our children will remember and carry on when they are grown and have families of their own. As a child I remember that every time we went in the car my Dad would play the game where you pretend to run people over for points (Yeah, I know but in our defence I think everyone played a variation of this game when they were young) but the best game that our Children always want to play is;
Daddy keeps every single receipt he is given. It might be for a packet of crisps that he wasn't supposed to buy, a toilet seat or for a bit to go in a computer. After a while when his wallet is about to explode he swaps them into a box in his bedside drawer and then after a few months when this box is about to collapse he gathers the children around to play The Receipt Game. It's very simple you just have to pick a random receipt and read out what was brought according to the receipt.
You can decide who wins based on who picked the highest price item, who picked the receipt with the funniest combination (we once had a receipt for Nappies and Laxatives), by oldest receipt picked, newest receipt picked, item on receipt most used by everyone. It doesn't matter who wins though it's the laughs that you have together that matter.
Just in case you don't keep every receipt like Daddy here are some other suggestions of games we play as a family that might keep you and your family amused.
It's really simple you just name famous Brian's from Britain and take it in turns. For example it might go like this;
Daddy: Blessed
Me: May
Daddy: Hanrahan
Me: Faggots... You know Mr Brian's Faggots?
I am sure that's a typo though and I'm not a cheater!
The winner is whoever is last to name a legitimate Brian of Britain.
This is one of our favourite games, it could be that you are stuck on the sofa and have to use cushions to jump around the living room, or that you are stuck on a cushion on the middle of the floor and have to jump to safety. It can be played in the garden, the park, the living room, the bedroom... I've even played it on the School playground.
There are hundreds of variations too, it could be that there is flooding and you can't swim, or there are crocodiles or sharks or piranhas circling waiting for their next meal. As long as you can make believe there is no end to the game variations.
The winner is whoever is last standing.
Sometimes we are a rather impatient lot, and so we constantly ask Daddy (as he is driving) Are we nearly there yet? or How long until we are home? Daddy invented the guess how many cars until home game to keep us occupied on these impatient journeys.
The driver gets to choose a colour car (we always make it red) and then everyone has to guess how many cars of that colour we will see on the way to our destination. Everyone has to keep an eye out to see the cars and it's useful if an adult can help keep count. We have found that journeys of around ten minutes are best for this, otherwise it's too long and everyone loses interest.
The winner is whoever guesses closest to the number of the chosen colour cars were actually seen.
There are a lot more, that we play but I think that this is enough of the crazy from my family for now. What games have you made up that you play as a family? Do you play games that your parents or grandparents used to play with you? What games could you make up?
The Receipt Game
Daddy keeps every single receipt he is given. It might be for a packet of crisps that he wasn't supposed to buy, a toilet seat or for a bit to go in a computer. After a while when his wallet is about to explode he swaps them into a box in his bedside drawer and then after a few months when this box is about to collapse he gathers the children around to play The Receipt Game. It's very simple you just have to pick a random receipt and read out what was brought according to the receipt.
You can decide who wins based on who picked the highest price item, who picked the receipt with the funniest combination (we once had a receipt for Nappies and Laxatives), by oldest receipt picked, newest receipt picked, item on receipt most used by everyone. It doesn't matter who wins though it's the laughs that you have together that matter.
Just in case you don't keep every receipt like Daddy here are some other suggestions of games we play as a family that might keep you and your family amused.
Brian's Of Britain
It's really simple you just name famous Brian's from Britain and take it in turns. For example it might go like this;
Daddy: Blessed
Me: May
Daddy: Hanrahan
Me: Faggots... You know Mr Brian's Faggots?
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| Photo by Aaron Bassett |
The winner is whoever is last to name a legitimate Brian of Britain.
The Floor Is Made Of Lava
There are hundreds of variations too, it could be that there is flooding and you can't swim, or there are crocodiles or sharks or piranhas circling waiting for their next meal. As long as you can make believe there is no end to the game variations.
The winner is whoever is last standing.
Swimming Pool Hide And Seek
Top Ender invented this when we were teaching her to swim. Now as you can guess most swimming pools don't exactly scream hiding places, but one on one this is quite fun.
One person has to close their eyes positioned in a fairly shallow part of the water (the youngest swimmer has to be able to touch the floor) and whilst they have their eyes closed they count to ten. The second person then has to hide. Generally it is best to hide behind the person swimming, and swim round and round as they pretend to look for you or to hold your breath and go under water, but there are some other sneaky hiding places in most swimming pools.
The winner is the person who stays hidden for longest.
Zombie Races
When Big Boy and Tops need to calm down we will have a Zombie Race. Everybody knows that Zombies walk slowly, with their arms out and are often heard muttering "BRAINS!". It's a great before bed calm down game, as it gets everyone walking around slowly.
The winner is whoever doesn't get eaten by the Zombies.
How Many Red Cars Until...
The driver gets to choose a colour car (we always make it red) and then everyone has to guess how many cars of that colour we will see on the way to our destination. Everyone has to keep an eye out to see the cars and it's useful if an adult can help keep count. We have found that journeys of around ten minutes are best for this, otherwise it's too long and everyone loses interest.
The winner is whoever guesses closest to the number of the chosen colour cars were actually seen.
There are a lot more, that we play but I think that this is enough of the crazy from my family for now. What games have you made up that you play as a family? Do you play games that your parents or grandparents used to play with you? What games could you make up?