Blog Name: Bukisa
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Post: Inexpensive Board Games for Children This Christmas Season /Dec 08, 2009
Inexpensive Board Games for Children This Christmas Season
If you like millions of people out of work this holiday season, having a good Christmas can often seem impossible. Don't despair. You can still provide your children with inexpensive games that won't break your bank.
As parents we all want to make sure our children have the best Christmas possible. We would love to be able to spoil them at this time of year and provide them with all the gifts they so richly deserve. After all, if you can’t spoil your kids at Christmas, then when can you? However, you may be one of the millions of people struggling to get by and don’t see any possible way to fulfill your kids extensive Christmas list. It’s not an easy position to be in.
This might be completely new to you. Your sense of pride and accomplishment for being a provider has been damaged and you’re likely feeling guilty for being unable to get everything they want. Don’t despair! Christmas can still be a great holiday regardless of your financial position. What children need most is interaction and family time. You may not be able to get the most expensive toy, but giving them something they can truly appreciate is all that’s needed.
For Children, sometimes the simplest things do the trick. You, like many other parents, have likely purchased a large toy only to see your kids play decide to play with the box it came in. Keep that in mind as you search for simple and inexpensive games that won’t break your bank.
1. Snakes and Ladders:
This is a classic game for the whole family that won’t break your bank. It involves 2 or more players rolling dice and moving along a grid of squares numbered 1 to 100.
Along the way, you can land on squares with snakes on them that force you down to a lower level square, or ladders, that force you to move up to higher squares along the grid. It is a fantastic game for children and helps teach them how to count and learn to win and lose. It’s a cheap and classic children’s game. You’ll likely find this game priced well below other comparative board games.
If you want, you can even make the game yourself by making a 10 x 10 grid of squares numbered 1 to 100 on a piece of large paper or cardboard. You can then draw random ladders leading up to higher squares, and snakes leading to lower squares along the grid. Now, if you have dice, you’re ready to play.
2. Candyland:
First published in 1949 by the Milton Bradley Company, this is another classic game for children that has stood the test of time. Much like snakes and ladders, the game can take some time, as you can move back and forth along a grid depending upon where you land. Instead of rolling dice, you’ll pick a card with a random color on it and move your piece to the corresponding color on the grid.
Each grid, or square, has a different color, and some cards have two colors on them indicating the sequence of colors you should move to next. Like Snakes and Ladders, you can duplicate this game yourself. You need only mark 134 squares with various colors, and then make some cards with corresponding colors.
There are no dice, and the player simply draws cards to determine their next move in the game. The goal is to move to the end of the 134 squares. This again is an inexpensive game for the whole family.
3. Connect Four:
Another game from Milton Bradley, this is another simple and fun game for children. Meant only for 2 players, it involves each player choosing a color and trying to connect four colors in a line by dropping discs into a suspending grid.
Each player takes a turn until four of the same colors in any direction line up. Another inexpensive game that won’t cost you an arm and a leg. Unfortunately, you probably won’t be able to make this one, but should be able to afford it as it is one of the least expensive games on the market for children.
4. Scrabble Junior:
The same game enjoyed by seniors and adults, is also available for children. It’s a great way to teach them the basics of spelling and reading. The game is played between 2 to 4 players who score points by making words from individual letters on a board with a 15-15 grid of squares. Additional points can be awarded by making more words on top of other words.
5. Make Your Own Board Game as a Family:
Can’t afford any of these games above, and need to come up with something fun. Sometimes the simplest thing is all you need to do. Make your own board game. It’s that simple. Sit down as a family, and have your children take part in making the game with you. It can be whatever you wish it to be, and as George Bernard Shaw said “Imagination is the beginning of creation”.
This time of year can especially be difficult for those no longer working. In the worst economy since the Great Depression, families everywhere are struggling to keep it together.
You don’t have to feel guilty for your current situation. It is what it is, and until things get better, you’ll likely have to make the best of a bad situation. You don’t have to spend a lot to enjoy a lot. Keep that in mind this Christmas season.
Blog Name: Learning to Fly
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This blog has been active since: September 2008
Post: How a game of Scrabble (nearly) caused a family feud / December 30, 2008
How a game of Scrabble (nearly) caused a family feud
I’m not quite sure when it started, but our family has a tradition of following holiday meals with a game of some sort. In the past it’s been Cranium, SceneIt, Clue, Trivial Pursuit - you name it, we’ve played it. Occasionally, the games will even get a wee bit, ahem, heated - I come by my competitive streak honestly.
I think it’s safe to say that this Christmas we hit a whole new level.
After a few rousing rounds of Catch Phrase, we moved into the dining room for a game of Scrabble. My cousin, my uncle, and then teams of Mama & me, and Daddy & Jud. Everyone was doing well - we all grew up playing Scrabble and doing crossword puzzles with Mamie (my grandmother). And then Mama and I got a “Q” and started plotting how to use it most effectively. Oh, was that a Triple Word Score that just opened up? Why yes, yes it was. And down goes our word, two letters, thirty-three points: qi.
What? You don’t think it counts? That’s okay, neither did anyone in my family. (Except Mama - she totally had my back.)
In fact, I was getting yelled at, not just by my brother, whose competitive streak rivals mine, but also by my father, the usually calm voice of reason! He kept arguing that “qi” isn’t in his Scrabble dictionary (which, I recently found out, was published circa 1980 - and that’s generous) and that it wasn’t valid. Since I’m clearly too stubborn to take the word back so as to avoid a family feud, they challenged, and this is what we found from the official online Scrabble dictionary:
* QI
(QIS)
the vital force that in Chinese thought is inherent in all things
Oh, how I love to be right.
Fortunately, the game was over soon after that, a blessing, because unfortunately, even with the official ruling, my dad and brother were still acting like 10-year-olds who’d been cheated out of a win. I tried to let it drop, we drove home without mentioning it, and my brother (surprisingly enough) apologized later that night. I appreciated the apology, though I didn’t really need it, and I frankly forgot about it until yesterday.
Now remember, this happened on Christmas. As in, last Thursday.
Cut to Monday, around 5pm, just as I’m getting ready to leave the office. My phone rings, and I answer it professionally, even though I think I recognize one of my dad’s office numbers. Whew, it’s him. After a little chitchat about how AMAZING the Eagles game was, he says, “Well, I know you’re heading out, but I just wanted to apologize.” Huh?
Liebchen: “Apologize for what? Should I be mad at you?”
Daddy: “For the Scrabble game. I shouldn’t have acted like that. I’m just used to the old school rules and dictionary.”
Liebchen: “Really? It’s okay. I’d completely forgotten about that by this point.”
[beat]
Liebchen: “Wait a minute. You thought I was still mad at you and you waited ’til NOW to apologize?”
Daddy: “Yeah, I had to think about it.”
Hm. Well, apparently I come by my stubborn streak honestly, too.
Stubborn and competitive - this can only end in tears.
Blog Name: Leak Arts
Blog URL: http://homeartwork.blogspot.com/
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Blog Summary: I am inspired by comic books, other artists and crafty people, music, dreams, my daughter, and daily life. I love to watch the world around me. I love intense conversation with good friends. I can be cynical, and I tend to be attracted to the darker side of things, but I am not bitter or pessimistic. I try to look at life as a learning experience, important and worthwhile, but not to be taken too seriously. I strive to make laughter and art-making a part of my daily life. I would like to meet other like-minded people, creative people, artists, art enthusiasts. Friends, peers, mentors, muses, and more. Art patrons, gallery owners, curators.
This blog has been active since: April, 2006
Post: Project of the Week! Scrabble tile ornaments!
Project of the Week! Scrabble tile ornaments!
Okay, so I got really Christmas-y with this one, but it was fun! A whole group of scrabble tile ornaments will look really fun on our tree this year.
Each letter is its very own ornament, and hung in a line they spell out "Happy Holidays." How cute is that?!? I'm keeping these for myself, but for a gift, it would be really cute to spell out someone's name, maybe attaching their photo to a blank tile...
I'm sure you could take this one all kinds of places :)
For a step-by-step tutorial, with lots of photos, check out my newest Squidoo lens:
http://www.squidoo.com/ScrabbleOrnaments
