Hi 4D,

Well, it seems that even these holidays, when we are encouraged to stay at home, have flown by and we are nearly at Easter.

It’s time for some family holiday fun to tide you over the Easter break when you are staying at home. Here are some simple suggestions of dinner table games you can play with your family. I hope you have fun and see you next week…

Salad Bowl Game

Before dinner each family member writes down the names of five people they admire, on five separate pieces of paper. These people can be fictional characters, historical figures, people you know personally, or people you have never met. Mix up all the pieces of paper in a bowl and place this bowl on the table during dinner. Each family member takes a turn drawing a name from the bowl and describes this person to the rest of the family. The only rule is that the “describer” can not say the person’s name or any part of the name. Once the person is identified, try to guess who put this name in the bowl, and then talk about why the person plucked from the salad bowl is admirable.

Book Babble

Book babble will get you and yours babbling about books over some delicious dessert (say that ten times fast).

So, you eat dinner. Then everyone cleans up together. And then, instead of turning on the TV or the video games, you read. Depending on the age of your kids you can read together, or everyone can read a book of their choice separately, for about 15 minutes. Lastly, you gather back at the table for Blondie cupcakes or berry crumble or some other inspired dessert, and talk about what you’ve read. Some questions might include:

• Do you like what you’re reading?
• What do you and the main character have in common?
• What do you wish you could ask the author about the book you are reading?
• Consider the world of the book—is it a place you would want to live or visit? Why?
• Would you want to be a character from this or another book? Which one?
• If you were to write a book, what would it be about?

Fictionary

This game is great if you have a dictionary handy (or a smart phone). The “Picker” chooses an obscure or strange word from the dictionary and announces (and spells) it to the table. Make sure no one at the table knows the word! Then every player writes down a made up definition for the word, initials it, and hands it to the Picker. The Picker writes down the real definition to the word and puts it in the pile as well. The Picker reads all the definitions aloud and everyone votes for the phrase they believe is the correct definition. The person who wrote the definition that gets the most votes gets a point. If no one guesses the correct definition, the Picker also gets a point.

Where in the World?

Imagine everyone at the table has the gift of teleportation, but it only lasts for 24 hours. Where in the world would you go? Would you bring anyone with you? How long would you stay? What would you do there?

Story Starters

Write several words on slips of paper and put them in a box. Have each person at the table choose a word from the box. These words are now your “Story Starters”- Everyone at the table has to help make up a story using all the words that were chosen!

Which One?

Whoever is asking the questions thinks of two people (e.g. Nana and Nonna; Mum and Dad) and asks the rest of the table questions to which only one of the two people is the right answer. (Which one got married when she was 19? Which one met her husband on a cruise? Which one has 5 brothers and sisters?)

Playing this game is a great opportunity to learn a little about your family history and people’s friends, something research has found to positively influence children’s mental health.

One Minute Questions:

The goal of this game is to answer as many simple “or” questions in two minutes as possible. It can be a fun way to learn little things about each other that you might not have known!

One person starts as the “interviewer,” and chooses someone else to answer questions. (It can be helpful to have a list of questions at the ready, but some families find it more fun when the interviewer is challenged to come up with the questions on the spot.) They set a timer, and begin asking questions and getting answers as quickly as possible. A third person at the table, if possible, keeps track of how many answers are given before the timer goes off!

A list of possible questions to get you started:

• Dogs or cats?
• Sneakers or sandals?
• Coffee or tea?
• Juice or milk?
• Chocolate or vanilla?
• Earth or space?
• Summer or winter?
• Movies or TV?
• Listen or speak?
• Read or hear?
• Watch or do?
• Football or baseball?
• Plays or musicals?
• Inside or outside?
• Art museum or science museum?
• Draw or write?
• Run or walk?
• Paris or London?
• New York or L.A.?
• Vacation or staycation?
• Socks or no socks?
• Zoo or aquarium?
• Car or truck?
• Plane or train?
• Beach or mountains?

20 Things I Love About

Come up with a topic together – or put some ideas in a jar and pull out one randomly. Examples include a season or a person or place, or anything really! Then go around the table and have everyone name something silly or serious they love about that season or person or place until you have twenty items. Make sure to write everything down so you can have fun looking at it a month, a year, or 20 years from now!