Family Table Games

 

Below are bunch of games that have appeared in this blog. Mostly they can be played around the table with your family. Generally they require very little equipment and organisation but are a huge amount of fun. A perfect time to play them is after the family meal. So don't rush off after dinner....linger awhile and play one of these games together. You will be creating deeper relationships and lasting memories.

 

Alliteration

Pick a letter at random. Go around your family taking turns to say a different word beginning with that letter. Go around as many times as you can. Stop only when a word is repeated or you can’t think of any more. (New Games for Community. C Gapes)

 

Emotions

Everyone shuts their eyes and someone calls out an emotion (joy, sorrow, happiness). Everyone tries to portray this emotion through facial expression. When the caller says open, everyone must open their eyes to see each other’s expression.

 

My Grandmothers Trunk

Someone starts by completing this sentence with an object  that begins with the letter A, My grandmother keeps _____ in her trunk.” The next person completes the sentence repeating the A word and adding a word that starts with B. This continues around the circle, each person repeating what the others said and adding another with the next letter of the alphabet. (Youth Ministry Encyclopaedia. Lyman Coleman. JBCE)

 

What is it?

Select 20 objects from around the house. Wrap them in cloth – any old scrap will do – and attach numbers to each. Try to figure out what each object is. (Youth Ministry Encyclopaedia. Lyman Coleman. JBCE)

 

Celebrity Heads

This is an easy game to play. Write the name of a  different person or place onto a piece of paper taped to the head of your family. They then have to take turns asking questions that can only be answered yes or no to find out who they are.

 

The Theme Song Game

One person hums the tune to a favourite TV show or song and everyone else has to guess what it is. Whoever guesses gets to go next.

 

Alphabet Soup Game

Grab a packet of alphabet soup. With your family find the letters to spell out the Lord’s Prayer together, or the names of the four gospels. Alternatively have a race to spell your names or some other words. This game works best when the alphabet soup has been soaked in water. Messy but fun.

Trust Walk

Blind fold members of your family and lead them around the house or the garden. Ask questions such as: What does this feel like? What kind of music comes to mind now? What does this remind you of? Do you feel safe?

Alternatives:

Smell – collect some interesting smelling things from around the kitchen, see if your family can guess what they are.

Taste – same again using different flavours.

Touch – gather a variety of common objects from around the home and see if your family members can guess what they are by feeling them.

Sound – do the same with a variety of sounds. If you have a tape recorder, record sounds from around the home.

 

Face Pass

Sit in a position so all can see each other. Make a strange or funny face and turn to the person on your right. The person you turned to carefully copies your face, then slowly changes his or her expression to make a new face which s/he passes on to the person on his or her right. And so on around the circle

 

Blobtionary

Just like pictionary only using play doh. This can be played with two or more. Write twenty words down on a piece of paper and put them in a hat. The difficulty of the word will depend on the ages playing. One person picks out the word and has to make the ‘it’ using the play doh. The other person has to guess what word is being made. No speaking or gesturing to give hints is allowed. Words could include: Dog, Girl, Elephant, happy. Use your imagination. If four or more are playing then two teams can race to make the one word.

 

Animal, Vegetable or Mineral

Think of something that fits into the animal, vegetable or mineral category. The categories are Animal (people, animals, insects) Vegetable (anything that is a plant) and Mineral (any object that isn't alive) Your family then must ask you questions to work out what it is. This could be limited to twenty questions but doesn't have to be. All the questions must be answered with a yes or no, except the first which asks whether the object is animal, vegetable or mineral. This is a great game to teach your children, but they may need a little coaching, it is ok to give them some clues. This is a game for all ages.

Long Word Search

Find a long word (eg. Hippopotamus,catastrophe) and give everyone a pencil and paper. Try to make as many words as possible from the letters of the long word. Rules: All words must be at least three letters long. A letter may only be used more than once in a word if it is contained in the main word more than once. Set a time limit.(TV Free Activities for Kids. Di Hodges)

 

Paper tear outs

Write down a whole list of shapes on bits of paper and put them in a jar, eg. house, tree, boat, car etc. Someone picks a shape from the hat and calls it out, each player has a sheet of paper and tries to tear out that shape.(New Games for Community. Christine Gapes)

 

I’m thinking of an animal

I'm Thinking of an Animal is similar to the game Twenty Questions, except all the questions and clues pertain to a living creature. One-player thinks of an animal, and the other tries to guess which animal it is by asking no more than ten "yes" or "no" questions. If you guess correctly in ten questions or fewer, you get to think of the next animal. If not, the first player divulges the answer and then thinks of another animal. No one really wins, and the game is over when you don't want to play anymore. If you're playing with your child, you may not want to put a limit on the number of questions he can ask. Instead, think of it as a way to teach her about an interesting subject. Also, when choosing an animal, consider the age of the child. An older player may know all there is to know about easy-to-guess animals, such as cats and dogs, and may need the challenge of harder choices, for instance egrets and yaks. But most 3- and 4-year-olds will recognize only the most basic creatures, such as lions, tigers, and bears.

Believe it or not

Which of these stories is true?

Have each family member thinks of three stories. They could be personal stories, from the news or even from something like Ripley’s Believe It or Not. Two of the stories must be false and one must be true. Family members have to guess which one is the true story.

I never

Going around the table, family members must say something they have never done, that they think other members may have done. For example – I have never been on a plane. Anyone around the table who has done that thing must put a finger up. The next person might say: i have never eaten anchovies. Again whoever has eaten anchovies must put a finger up. The one who is last to have a finger still down is the winner. One important rule is that it must have been possible for the person not to have done that thing. For example a ten year old can’t say: I have never driven a car.

 

Action Alphabet

Using the alphabet letters, choose words that start with that letter, like the list given below, and act it out. Allow them to make up more as you go to add to the choices.

A = alligator (alligator crawl), around, airplane scale

B = bounce, bend, bear walk

C = cat arch, catch, crawl, crab walk

D = lame dog, dance, duck walk, dribble

E = elephant walk, egg roll

F = freeze, fall, frown, frog jump

G = giggle, gallop, giant steps

H = hop, hiccup, headstand

I = inchworm

J = jump, juggle

K = kick

L = log roll, leap

M = march, mop, mule kick

N = nod, neck rolls

O = Octopus (2 players stand back-to-back and walk sideways, waving their arms and legs), on, off, over

P = point, paint, pose

Q = quiver, quiet

R = run, rake, roll

S = skip, sit, sweep, smile, seal crawl, stretch

T = tiptoe, throw, tripod, tuck, type

U = upside down, under

V = vault (leap frog), vacuum

W = walk, wiggle, wink

X = flex, wax, mix

Y = yawn, yell

Z = zigzag, zip, zzzzzzzzzz

(GameCentralStation.com)

 

The Glad Game

Played with a touch of a Monty Python, comparisons are made to current situations and those that could be far worse. It can be a lot of fun, and whilst it can at first appear flippant and playful, it can deliberately move people and a family into more genuine  attitudes of gratefulness. It can be played not just in one family session, but at any time at 

all, especially say the moment some one is caught complaining! 

`I'd like a new pair of runners, but I am glad I have feet.' [What's that phrase: I complained that I didn't have new shoes, until I met someone who didn't have any feet.']

`I wish we had a swimming pool, but I'm glad our neighbours let us use theirs.'

`I don't like broccoli, but I'm glad I Mum cooks dinner and not me.'

`I wish I could have a remote control car, but I am glad I have a bike that I can ride all by myself.'

`I don't want to go to bed now, but I am glad I have a bed to go to and a home to live in.'. . . .

 

Face Pass

Sit so you can all see each other. Make a strange or funny face and turn to a member of your family. The person you turned to carefully copies your face, then slowly changes his or her expression to make a new face which s/he passes on to someone else.

Unlimited Object

Take an ordinary every day object, like a spoon or a hat or a pot. Take turns at imagining what else that object could be and acting it out with your family. For example a spoon might become a hat on your head, or a bicycle that you ride around the living room or a pen that you write with. You are only limited by the unlimitedness of your imagination.

 

Mirror

 One person must be the leader and the other the mirror. The mirror must copy exactly all the hand and face movements of the leader.

Metal Detector

One person leaves the room. While they are away someone else chooses an object to hide and hides it somewhere in the room. When the person returns they must find the hidden thing without knowing what it is. The person who hid the object makes a "beep-beep" sound like a metal detector, slower when the person moves away from the object and faster as she moves closer. (Ideas Number 13-12. Group Specialities)

Alphabet Scavenger Hunt

A race to see who can find an object inside or outside the house beginning with every letter of the alphabet.

Balloon Bounce

This is a simple game that everyone can play. Simply blow up a balloon and see how long you can keep it up in the air. To make it more challenging make everyone stay on their knees or on their backsides, or make it that you have to hit the balloon into every room in the house.

Tapping hands

Each person crosses their arms over those of the person next to them and places their hands on the table. One person starts by tapping once and others follow in order of hands in one direction. When someone else taps twice, the direction reverses. If you tap out of turn, the game starts over. How many times can you go around the table?

 

...a few of my favourite things

Everyone  at the dinner table says five of their favourite things. This could be a  favourite colour, number, tv show, movies, animal, friend, toy, food, book. The following night you can test your memory and see if you can remember the 5 favourite things that all the family members told you the previous evening.

 

Letter On

Choose a category of things; it could be food, movies, places. The first person says the name of something in that category. The next person must say another thing in that category that starts with the last letter of the thing you previously said. There is a 10 second limit and nothing can be repeated. (from The Source for Youth Ministry)

 

Blind Draw

Everyone is given a sheet of paper and a pen. You have three minutes to draw a picture of something that everyone agrees to...but you must either close your eyes or be blindfolded or have the light turned out.

 

Stopwatch Games

With a stopwatch and a bit of imagination, your family can clock hours of crazy contests.

How long does it take to blow a perfect bubble after you put a new piece of gum in your mouth?

How long can you chew your food for before it disappears?

How many times can you click in a minute?

How long does it take to run around the house?

 How many baskets can you shoot in 2 minutes?

If I went to mars...

This game can be played with a range of starting statements such as:

If I went to Mars I would take...

I went to the shop and I bought...

I went on holidays and I took...

The first player makes up something that they took or bought and says for example:

If I went to Mars I would take a green apple.

The next person make something up and adds it to the previous persons, for example.

If I went to Mars I would take a green apple and a hat.

Each successive person adds another thing to the list while reciting all the objects previously named. When using this with your family see how many time you can go around the table before someone makes a mistake. How many objects can your family remember?

1 to 100

List, on the left hand side of a piece of paper, everyone’s name at the table. Two dice are passed from person to person and rolled. When someone rolls a double they grab the pen and paper and begin writing the numbers 1 to 100, in order, next to their name. When someone else rolls doubles they ask for the paper and pen and begin writing the numbers next to their name. The paper and pen pass around the circle until someone wins by reaching 100. To make the game longer you can make the person put on a jacket and hat before they begin to write.

Another variation of this game, that might be used with older children, involves a knife, fork and a block of chocolate. When a person rolls a double they get the knife and fork and must cut a single piece of chocolate off the block. The piece must be picked up with a fork eaten. No hands are to touch the chocolate. Leave the wrapping on the chocolate at the start of the game. To make the game harder you can make the person put on a jacket and gloves before they begin to cut.

 

Alphabet Concentration

Family members have a conversation where each sentence begins with the next letter of the alphabet. This may seem difficult at first, but improves with practice. If you get stuck, you can also use sounds to start a sentence, for example 'Mmmm' or 'tut-tut'. Here is an example (of a paired conversation):

A: Anyone seen my cat?

B: Black one, with funny eyes?

A: Can't say I remember.

B: Don't tell me you've forgotten what it looks like?

A: Every cat looks the same to me.

B: Fortunately, I found one yesterday

A: Gee, that's great!.

http://youthgroupgames.com.au/games/440/alphabet-concentration/

Mark One Minute

 Everyone closes their eyes and must guess how long a minute is, by opening their eyes when they think a minute is up. Try playing this game using a piece of music. Did players guess a longer or shorter time for a minute? (Inspired by Christine Gapes. New Games for Community)

Wooden Spoon Guess Who

After being blindfolded, one player has to guess the identity of another by touching that person with the spoons only. Meanwhile, the "touchee" tries not to crack up while being poked and prodded.

Christmas Card Toss

Simple gather together a collection of old Christmas cards and carefully cut off the backs. Avoid glittery cards.

Now set up a "course" by placing a large box or bin on the floor and marking a place to stand some feet away from it, depending on the age of the children. If you are playing with mixed ages, older children should stand further away than younger children. Each child takes turns tossing a stack of cards (like a frisbee) into the box. Count up and the child with the most cards in the box wins.

Rip a Christmas Tree

ve each player a piece of green paper and ask them to rip it into the shape of a Christmas tree behind their back. Compare trees and declare a winner and a booby!

Teeth

Everyone sits around the dinner table and chooses a fruit or vegetable. Person 1 starts by chanting their  fruit/veggie (eg. Strawberry, Strawberry).  Person 2 must then chant person 1’s fruit/veggie followed by theirs (eg. Strawberry, Strawberry, Broccoli, Broccoli). The next person would then chant Person 2’s fruit/veggie followed by theirs (eg. Broccoli, Broccoli, Banana, Banana) and so on. As you go around the table each person must choose a different fruit/veggie each time and one that hasn’t been named already.

What makes this game weird and fun is that you can't show your teeth  at any point (which you do by pulling your lips over your teeth). If anyone does happen to show their teeth raise the alarm by screaming "teeth teeth" and flapping your arms at the player like wings (making sure you don't show your teeth in the process!).

(Idea taken from http://youthgroupgames.com.au)

No Yes or No

This is a simple but fun game that can be played around the dinner table. One person is up and must answer questions from the rest of the family without saying the words “yes” or “no”. It is the task of everyone else to get them to say these words. Questions can be asked by anyone in random order or a particular family member may be given the chance to try and trick the one who is up.

Actionometer

One person is chosen to be "it" and asked to leave the room so they can't hear or see what is going on in the room. Family members make up an action for "it" to do when he/she returns.  To begin with it shouldn’t be too complicated (flapping like a bird, running on the spot) but as people get good at the game more difficult actions might be introduced.

Tell "it" to return to the room, he/she has to guess what he/she is supposed to do by performing random actions. The group will clap louder and faster the closer "it" gets to doing the right actions.

Pick ‘n’ Choose

This game goes around the table clockwise. Whoever is to start says two similar items for example “pizza and ice cream” (both foods). The next person has to say the thing they like better out of the two within three seconds or less. Then they get to say two things to the next person and so on around the table. The thing named could be anything – including animals, toys, tv shows, songs etc.

I went to the shop....

This game involves creating and remembering gestures. The person says "I went to the shop and bought a …” here instead of saying something they make up a gesture with head, face or hand (eg. head shake, nose rub, hand shake, nod of the head, frown)" Then it is the next persons turn who says: I went to the shop and bought a ...(copy the first gesture) and a (creates own gesture). The game carries on with all players repeating all of the previous players gestures and then their own.

Investigator

One family member leaves the room. Everyone else decides on a certain rule to follow when answering the investigators questions. Rules could include: tell the truth when legs uncrossed, tell a lie when legs are crossed; answer all questions with yes, no or I can’t answer that; begin all sentences with a vowel; answer using only five words.

When a rule is decided upon, the investigator returns to the room and starts asking questions to family members. The question can be about anything at all including things they know the answer to.  They continue asking questions until they recognize the pattern. They have three guesses to try and figure out the rule.

When the investigator guesses correctly or guesses three times incorrectly, the round is over, and someone else gets to be the investigator.

What’s the object?

One family member writes the name of an object on a piece of paper and gives it to another family member. The person with the card then has to describe the object without actually saying its name. Other members of the family then have to guess what the object is. Other words that might be helpful in describing the object could also be written on the card to make it harder to describe. Pictionary cards could also be used for this game if your family is made up of two people.

 Food, Friends and Fireworks

This game as three motions which are:

Food - rub your belly and say "mmmmm"

Friends - hold out both arms wide and say "heeeeyyyy"

Fireworks- clap both hands over your head and then say "shhhhhhhh" as you slowly lower your arms to your sides.

Family members close their eyes. On the count of three they must open their eyes and try to match one of the three motions with everyone else at the table. There is to be no talking or planning and everyone at the table must do the same thing.

Count to three and say "Go!"

If everyone matches yell out "Yes!" and pump your fist in the air.

If you do not match say "D'Oh" and lightly bump yourself on the head.

See how many turns it takes to get it right.

It Could be Worse

The first family members says something like: "I almost overslept."

The next family members then says something like, "It could've been worse. You could've been late." Then member says something worse, such as, "It could've been even worse than that. You could've been in your underwear."

And then the next person tries to find something worse than that.

And the game continue.

Draw your family

Everyone will need a piece of paper and a pencil for this game, as well as a bit of scrap paper for people’s names. Write everyones name down on a piece of scrap and put them in a hat. Family members pull a name out of the hat, other than their own. Each person must draw a picture of the family member they pulled out of the hat. At the end place all the pictures face down in the middle of the table and turn them over one by one. Family members must guess who has been drawn.

Sound Effects Machine

This game can be played individually or with the whole family working together. The aim of the game is for certain sound effects to be produced using only your voice or your body (clapping, stomping, clicking). You can come up with your own sound effects but here are some examples:

a football game

the rain on a tin roof

a percussion band

angry wasps

a rainforest

Ibble Dibble

You need a felt pen for this game. Everyone gets a number but they don’t have to start at one or being order.  Someone starts by saying: "Ibble Dibble no. # (their number) with no ibble dibbles calling ibble dibble number (choose) with no ibble dibbles." Then that person must respond and choose another person by saying “ibble dibble no. (whatever no. they are) with no ibble dibbles calling ibble dibble no (choose) with no ibble dibbles. If a person makes a mistake then they receive an ibble dibble (a spot mark on their cheek) That person then carries on with “Ibble dibble no.? with one ibble dibble calling ibble dibble no ? with no ibble dibbles or however many they have)

Finger grab

A simple but fun game to play in pairs or more. Face your partner and both perform the following actions on the count. (It is better if someone else counts out loud for you)

Place your left hand out flat with the palm up.

Point the index finger of your right hand out, sticking in the air.

Place your index finger of your right hand, pointing down, into the palm of your partners left hand.

As you try to pull your finger up and away the other person has to try and grab it, while at the same time they are pulling their finger out of your palm and trying to grab your finger.

Cup and Ball

Scrunch up a piece of aluminium foil into a nice ball. Tie one end of a forty centimetre piece of string around the foil ball. Tie the other end to a cup with a handle. Any cup can be used but plastic ones are best. Hold the cup by the hand and swing the ball up so that it goes into the air. Try to catch the ball inside the cup.

Camouflage

Gather some ordinary objects such as a paper clip, a pencil, a coin, a comb or brush. Place them throughout the room, hidden but in plain sight. In other words, camouflaged.  An example might be placing a blue comb leaning against a blue vase or a spoon next to a silver tray.  Give family members a list of the items.  They must not announce when they  find an item but simply note where it is. The first player to see all the items and correctly reveal them wins. Another way to play is to choose one object and have a family member hide it and then the rest of the family must seek it out.

Piggy

A family member takes a turn rolling a die and may continue to do so for as long as they wish, adding up their score as they go along. The aim is to be the first to reach fifty. A player continues to throw the die and add their score until they choose to stop for that round or they throw a one on the die.  If a player stops before they roll a one they get to keep their score and add it to the next round.  A throw of one cancels their score for the round and ends their turn.

Coin Wiggle

Family members lay flat on the floor on their back. A coin is balanced on the tip of their nose. The player must twitch their nose and move their lips but nothing else. Wiggling of the head or body is not permitted. The goal is to make the coin fall.

Snort

The aim of this game is not to laugh when someone is snorting in your face. The person going first, gets  in front of whoever is on their left and snorts trying to make them laugh. When the person laughs they are out. But you only have 30 seconds to try and get the other person to laugh! To make the game different each time you can have family members do something other than snort, such as squeak, meow, moo, bark.

Thimble Up

Select someone  to be "it" . The "it" person picks a category, such as animals, fruit or movies  and tells it to everyone. Then the "it" person picks an item from that category without telling anyone and writes it on a piece of paper and puts it face down. "It" then takes  thimble full of water fills and goes to the first family member who must say an item from the category. If the item is not the hidden word written on the paper "it" goes to the next person. When someone finally says the hidden word "it" splashes that person with the thimble full of water and now that person is "it".

Finish the story

A family member begins a story with a single sentence. The next person adds another sentence to the story and it continues around the table until your story ends or gets so bizarre that everyone is on the ground laughing. You might like to give a theme or title to the story before you start to give the story some direction  and shape or you can just let it meander anywhere.

Pirate Pictionary

This game is just like Pictionary except you have to act out the words with your hands. No words or sounds are allowed. Family members must pick a piece of paper out of a hat with one of the following words written on it : plank, hourglass, pirate, hook, treasure, parrot (or any other pirate word).The word must be acted out using only the hands, until family members guess what it is.

Other lists of words can be generated by thinking about the different books children read. Eg.

Dr Suess: Grinch, Horton, Cat in the Hat, Who, the Lorax.

Idea found at: http://www.youthgroupgames.co.uk

What’s the object?

One family member writes the name of an object on a piece of paper and gives it to another family member. The person with the card then has to describe the object without actually saying its name. Other members of the family then have to guess what the object is. Other words that might be helpful in describing the object could also be written on the card to make it harder to describe. Pictionary cards could also be used for this game if your family is made up of two people

Egg Cracking Contest

Each family member holds an egg in their hand, small end up and challenge someone to crack their egg. The challenged player taps the egg of the challenger with their own egg. If the challenged cracks the egg of the challenger they win the challengers cracked egg. If their own is cracked they turn in over to the challenger. This continues until only one uncracked egg remains and the player is declared, “the great uncracked”. Needless to say, hard boiled eggs are used for this game.

(Taken from Games for all ages and how to use them – Wackerbarth and Graham)

One Word

In this game the family must have a conversation with each other by speaking only one word messages back and forth. Some possible topics for discussion could include:

• a favourite food. 
• a favourite sports team. 
• a fear. 
• a dream
• a recent accomplishment. 

Dark Dog

Everyone is given a blank piece of paper to draw on. Either blind fold everyone or get them to close their eyes. Then they must draw a dog on their paper. Once they have done this they must put a collar on the dog and a bone in front of him. Undo the blindfold and have a look at your drawings.

First and Last

Pick a category of things. It might be places, or vegetable or movies. Whatever you can come up with. Someone starts by saying something in that category, for example in the vegetable category you might say carrot. The next person has to say something starting with the last letter of the word already. In this case t – so they might say turnip. Keep going until someone can’t think of anything to say.

Impressions

A simple but fun game to play. Take turns doing impressions of people off TV, cartoons and movies. Family members have to guess who it is that you are impersonating.

Buckerk

Everyone puts their hands on their eyes making fake glasses with thumb and forefinger.

Someone starts by moving their right hand out and saying “buck” (like a chicken), the person to their right then does the same, this continues around the circle until somebody moves both hands away from their face at the same time and says “BUCKERK” (like a crazy chicken). The person to their left then moves their left hand away from their face while saying “buck” and the pattern continues.

One hand in the direction and “buck” to continue along, and two hands and “BUCKERK” to change the direction.

Taken from http://calumhenderson.com/

Linking Words

This is a word association game. The first person says any word they like, for example, tree.The next person repeats the first word and adds another word which connects with the first. Using the example of tree they might say: house. The next person repeats the previous word (house) and adds another word link i.e. home , and so on.  Keep it quick by only allowing a few second for each word link.

Body Spelling and Drawing

A really simple little game. Family members must spell out words with different parts of their body (head, elbow, tongue) while other family members guess what word they are writing.  As an alternate, try drawing simple pictures like a cat, house, sun etc.

Spoons

For this game you will need a deck of cards and one less spoon than the number of people at the table. The spoons should be placed in the centre of the table. Deal four cards to each of the players and put the remaining cards in a pile. Everyone can look at their cards. The goal is to get four of a kind. Once someone gets four of a kind they take a spoon. Once someone sees someone else taking a spoon they can take a spoon too. The last person who is left without a spoon loses the game.

The first person to play picks up one card from the pile and looks at it without letting others see. They have the option of keeping the card or passing it to the person on the left. If they decide to keep the card they must pass on another card that is already in their hand to the person on the left.

The person to the left takes the discarded card, looks at it and decides whether to keep the card or to pass it on. A card is passed around until it comes back to the person who first discarded it, at which point they put it on the bottom of the pile and take a new one.

This continues until someone has four of a kind and makes a grab for a spoon.

Talkomatic

A family member must talk on a topic for one minute (20-30 seconds for younger ones) without repeating a word (words like “and” “the” are okay), going off track or pausing. What they say doesn’t have to be true but it must stay related to the topic chosen. Try to pick topics that members will know at least something about, but it could be anything at all like dogs, balloons, Wednesday, being happy, you name it.

Feely Bag

Get two bags or two old socks. Place identical items in each of the two bags or socks. Some suggested items to use are: bottle caps, cotton balls, small sponge pieces, keys, large buttons, etc. Show your children the two bags and match each set of two items one to one. In this way, the child will see and understand that there are two identical items of each kind. Refill the two bags or socks and give one of the bags containing identical objects to the child. Take one of the objects out of the bag and show it to the child. Tell the child to feel in his bag for an object that is just like the one that you took out of your bag. Remind the child to "feel" not look.

Speed Charades

Everyone writes down four words on four separate pieces of paper. The words can be anything that your family members think they can act out in a charade. Don’t tell anyone what you have written down. Put all the pieces of paper into a hat or bowl and mix them up. Whoever goes first draws out four random words. They then have sixty seconds to act each of the words out so that the rest of the family can guess them.

Spoon Balancing

I am always amazed when I watch the gymnasts balancing on the beam or catapulting across the mat. In this Olympic event get your family members to balance tea spoons on their fingers or nose. See who can balance a spoon for the longest or while moving their hand around in complicated patterns. See if your family can come up with any gymnastic like hand and spoon tricks.

Bean Racing

Give each family member a straw, a cup and ten dried chick peas. The aim of the game is be the fastest to transport you chick peas around the table and into your cup. This is done by picking up the chick pea on the end of the straw using suction, carrying it around the table still attached to the straw and not using hands to hold the chick pea and dropping it into the cup in front of your place. Each person does this with their ten chickpeas while another family member times them. Whoever is the fastest gets the gold. If a chickpea is dropped mid journey it must be sucked onto the straw before continuing.

Table Volleyball

All you need for this game is a blown up balloon. How you play it depends on how many people you have in your family. If it is only a few then work as team to see how many times you can hit the balloon to keep it in the air without hoping off your seat. No person is allowed to hit it twice in a row. Alternatively play volleyball across the table. Each side of the table is its own team.

Egg and Spoon Relay Race

Boil an egg (or not if you enjoy a mess) and pass it around the table from teaspoon to teaspoon. The main rule is no extra hands are allowed to touch the egg or spoon and you must stay seated.  Time your family and see how fast you can go. Try to beat your record. To add some difficulty and time have family members go around the table and back to their place before passing on the egg to the next person who does a lap of the table.

King of the Table

Everyone at the table gets an empty plastic  cup and places it to the side of them – this is their throne. Screw up some pieces of soft paper into small balls that will fit inside the cups (cotton balls could also be used as an even gentler option). Make sure you have plenty - maybe ten each.  On the count of three everyone begins throwing their paper trying to get it in each other’s cup. The cup can’t  be defended. As soon as someones cup has paper in it they must turn it over. Whoever is  the last to have their cup filled is the King or Queen of the Table.

Pay Off

This simplified version of pay off can be played with any number of family members. Everyone needs a red token or piece of paper and a black token or piece of paper. Family members will get points depending on what token they and others show. At the start you decide on how many rounds you will play. It should probably be at least five. Family members decide which token they will show but not let other family members know. On the count of three everyone will place their token on the table at the same time. Points are awarded in the following way:

If everyone puts down red – everyone loses two points.

If some family members put down red and some put down black – those who put down black get 2 points, those who put down red lose 2 points.

If everyone puts down black – everyone gets 2 points.

Only have discussions after every three rounds about what you put down or to make promises about what you will put down next go. This could be a good source of family discussion about promises and keeping them.

Alphabet Car Game

Since the theme this week is journey here is a game you can play next time you are in the car. It is a simple game that requires players to find all the letters of the alphabet in order on car number plates. A letter on a number plate can only be claimed by one player, the first to call it out. Multiple letters on the one number plate can be claimed and by different players. Whoever gets to z first is the winner. Find some more travel games for the car at the bottom of the blog.

Pass the Parcel

This old game still get played at parties but could be a fun game to play at home around the table. It would also be a great way to unveil a gift for your family. Put something nice in the middle for the whole family – like a family move pass or a note saying you are all going to your favourite restaurant. Wrap it up. Now put multiple layers of wrapping on with small prizes in between such as chocolate bars or sweets.   Blind fold a family member. Their job is to say when to stop passing the parcel. Pass the parcel and when it is stopped someone gets to take off a layer. You might even like to play music or sing a song while the parcel is passed around.