Things to Make - Homemade Charades

Lately, we've attempted to incorporate more family game nights into our evenings, with mixed results. All three kids play at such different levels and I can only participate in so much Candyland or Chutes and Ladders before I feel like banging my head against a wall. During Cranium the other night, Dan and I noticed that the kids really enjoy acting things out, charades style. Unfortunately, there are few games that contain common references the whole family knows. So we decided to create our own version.

I cut cards out of an old Trader Joe's bag (paper would (obviously) also work, but I was trying to use up some of our recyclables). Then I wrote categories on the cards and asked the kids to fill them in. Nobody seemed very interested at first, so I filled in several. Then we started playing (without teams, just sort of randomly). And the results were awesome. After noting the category was "a person", P walked around the house with her nose in a book until everyone started yelling "MOM! You're acting like mom!" Then after explaining he was a "thing", T plopped himself on the floor until we all figured out he was a boat; actually I gave a lot of hints for that one (I usually know the answer as I have to read T the cards and sometimes P, so I can't exactly "play"). Anyways, we couldn't stop laughing. And F silently singing Firework while mimicking explosions is simply priceless.

Now I try to always have a few blank cards on the table, so when the kids think of something funny, they can add to the bag.

Not the world's most original game, but an easy (and cheap) way to have some end of summer fun (especially since the rain and mild temps make pool-going difficult).


Anyone have any good boardgame suggestions for players ranging in ages from 4 -7.5? I've heard Quirkle is fun.

Also, for more homemade game ideas, check out these past posts:

* The Penny Game
* Alphabet Bingo
* Memory Cards (through Pinhole Press)



Well, at least T attempted to write "cowboy" himself.



I can't remember what the girls were miming, but they sure had a great time with it.



It took T a few seconds to get the hang of things, but then he really let his inner star shine through.