February 10, 2021
Play is good for the brain and good for the family
One of the quickest ways to get out of a relational rut is to have fun together.
Did you know that the more we play, the bigger our brains grow? It’s been shown that play promotes growth in the prefrontal cortex. Interestingly, we have greater emotional maturity through the development of this part of the brain – and it can happen through play.
When we play we connect. From young toddlers to grown adults, we all feel more attached when we have fun with one another.
Holidays are a great built in excuse to break out of our normal routines and do something that creates memories.
The Multiple Choice Valentine’s Game
For our Valentine’s dinner this year I decided to create a multiple choice for people to choose what they wanted to do.
SUPPLIES:
- Bubble Gum
- Skinny Pop Popcorn
- Valentine Hearts
- Charade options (can just write on pieces of paper)
- A few books
- Pictionary options (again, pieces of paper are fine)
HERE ARE THE GAMES:
Charades
Cut up pieces of paper with the following words or phrases. Break up into teams and guess the words. The person acting out the word or phrase cannot talk.
Ideas:
- Star Wars
- Easter Bunny
- Footloose
- Hamilton
- Bookworm
- March Madness
- Hunger Games
- Hogwarts
- Percy Jackson
- Laugh Out Loud
- Skin in the Game
- Rock and Roll
- Taylor Swift
- Twist and Shout
- Romeo and Juliet
- Queen of Hearts
- The Sword in the Stone
- Grease
Arm Wrestling
An oldie but a goodie! It really is fun every time we do it. And I have three boys so this one is always a huge hit.
Heart Stacking
Just like it sounds, stack candy hearts and see who can build the biggest tower in a certain time period. People will like eating them when you are done!
Popcorn in the Mouth
Break up into teams of two. Have the teams stand 3-4 feet apart. Have one person throw the popcorn, and the other catch the pieces in their mouth using no hands. See how many pieces of popcorn each team can successfully get in each other’s mouths in four minutes.
Bubble Blowing Contest
This is my personal favorite because I’ve been winning this contest since I was in 5th grade! Give everyone three sticks of Extra Bubble Gum (or something similar). Have everyone chew their gum for two minutes. Set a timer for another two minutes and see who can blow the biggest bubble in that time frame.
Book on the Head
Set the timer for one minute. See who can balance a book on their head the longest…. standing on one foot.
Pictionary
Break up into teams of two. Using no words, draw the chosen object in the least amount of time. Whoever guesses the word first wins.
Ideas:
- ski hill
- skating rink
- gingerbread man
- lawnmower
- hot dog
- fighter plane
- dog bone
- kitchen mixer
- seven dwarfs
- Chick-fil-A
- Mary Poppins
- salt and pepper
- light saber
- super bowl
- reindeer
- harry potter
- starbucks
DOWNLOAD THE FREE PRINTABLE FOR YOUR FRIENDS & FAMILY
HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!
I hope you have a great night celebrating Valentine’s Day with the people you love. These games work really well when there are a few extra people added in, so the more the merrier!
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We had such fun with your print out and ideas tonight! Thank you!
Hi Lori! Oh I’m so glad – we did it twice with two different groups and had so much fun both times. It gets everyone involved and I love that!
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