Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Works For Me Wednesday: 12 Minutes of After Dinner Fun

I am the only girl in a house full of boys. I realized early that I was going to have to be creative if I wanted to have meaningful dinner conversation beyond "pass the potatoes, please!". Of course, insisting that everyone stay at the table after supper to discuss their day kind of went over like a lead balloon too.


One day while doing some shopping I came up with an idea because of course all brilliant ideas are born while shopping, aren't they? I found a section of games that were on sale. I bought two card games that said they could be played in 12 minutes. I also bought a basket. I went home and collected other games that we already had and put those in the basket as well.


That night after supper I asked who might want to play a quick game. It worked! While laughing and playing games, they unwittingly shared about their day, what they did, who they talked to and even other stuff they probably didn't mean to say.


We now have a full basket of games that sits beside our table ready for meals or just a quick game at any time. Here are just a few:














This basket is also great to grab when we are going on trips or to pick up if we are headed out to a restaurant. Since most of the games are 12 minute games, they are great to play while waiting for our food orders to arrive.

21 comments:

Crystal said...

Hi Deanna. I found your blog when I was looking through the list of bloggers in Mississippi. I've enjoyed reading your posts, I'll be back to read some more. Sounds like you've got a great family, your kids are adorable. The game basket was a great idea.

black betty said...

fun...hey, you ever played mexican dominoes? wait, that takes about five hours...nevermind!!! ;)

Dr. Wifey said...

great idea! i remember playing games with my family as a kid -- great memories!

Unknown said...

Alright Missy.... first you let your kids paint and NOW you play games after dinner.

Ain't NO WAY I'm letting my kids read YOUR blog :)

:)

Confessions of A Mississippi Mom said...

Deanna I love playing games and it good when going out to eat. Cracker Barrel had games on the table and it gave me the same idea why not do this at home.

OOOO thanks for the kid friendly meal ideas we used it last night when I had my nephews over, I will have to post some pic of it...

Deanna said...

MM - I can't wait to see those pics!!

Lizzy - 12 minutes for games + 2 hours for painting = that leaves a lot of day left!! Ha!

BB - We are going to have to try Mexican dominoes. My boys love Phase 10 and Rook.

Crystal - Come back soon!!

Dr. Wifey - Happy Birthday!!!

Mom's Marbles said...

Love this idea! Anything that gets a family to hang out and enjoy spending time together gets an A+ in my book. Great tip.
And thanks for stopping by and commenting at Mom, I'm Bored!

Mamacita said...

I love this idea - I'm all about family time. I, too, have a house of men and trying to get them to talk at dinner is hard. :)
Thanks for the idea!

Miss Mud Puddle said...

Board games are my favorites.

Anonymous said...

Very cool idea. I never even heard of some of those games, I'll have to check them out. We love Scrabble and the Scene-It games though the kids beat the poopoo out of me on that one!

Aunt Julie said...

What a great idea! My SIL (Aunt Julie) has four boys, so is in your same kind of situation. She often has to "bribe" them to talk! I'll pass along this tip to her!

Amanda said...

Great idea -- I've got games we could use for this! But, um, what about the dinner dishes and crud on the table? Do your boys help clear the stuff before you play?

Deanna said...

Miss Mud - For me it depends which ones... I hate Monopoly and Life!!

Willow - I live with three boys... do you have an idea what type words they spell when we play Scrabble??

Crunchy - Easy! You push them to the side until the fun is over and then either hubby and one child or I and one child do the dishes. The other child goes to start his bedtime routine. It is a great system and allows some one on one time.

Veggie - My Popr's are here! Yea!

{amy k.} said...

Hi, not quite sure how I found you today, but I'm glad I did! That's a great idea. I don't have kids yet, but I know when my husband and I sit down to play uno or racko we end up playing longer than planned because we just enjoy being together, relaxing and having fun.

Deanna Germany said...

Amy - Glad you dropped in! Come back anytime. There is always iced tea in the refrigerator!

Tonya Staab said...

That's a fabulous idea. I love it. We play a lot of UNO around here but I haven't tried the other's out. I'm going to have to purchase a few to coax my 12 year old out of his room and get him chatting to me.

Melissa Lee said...

GENIUS!

That really is a good idea. I can't imagine what it must be like to be at a table with all those boys. But that's good mama thinking, right there.

Love to you,
Melissa at Stretch Marks

~ said...

Great idea about the after-dinner games...thanks for sharing! My little one has just started wanting to play games, so this would be a good way to incorporate games into family time.

Tonya Staab said...

It's your turn to receive an award from me :)

Robyn said...

I love this idea. Kids are always up for some fun and games. I never thought to do it after dinner while we're all in the same place! It's a great idea to use that time to get them to open up. Thanks!

mindi said...

Great idea, I'll have to try this!! Might work a bit better when the kids are older, but it's worth a try now :D