The Wolfe Pack {Reviews~Resources~Suggestions~Support for the Discerning Homeschool Mom}

providing the discerning homeschool mama with support on her journey

Classic Board Games with a Christmas Twist

by 8 Comments

{This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our Disclosure Policy for details.} 

If you’re anything like our family, you have quite a collection of BOARD GAMES taking up space in your basement cupboards.

We love BOARD GAMES so much that I tend to buy too many. So many, in fact, that there are several that have not seen the light of day in years. And, just like with many things in life, it’s the old, classic versions that get neglected while the hip, cool versions get played.

So, in an effort to make space for new BOARD GAMES during the upcoming gift-giving season, I’ve been going through our game cupboard. 

But, much to my neat-freak husband’s disappointment,  instead of finding some to get rid of, I’ve found new ways to reinvigorate some of the old classics for this holiday season!

And we had so much fun with these CHRISTMAS-TWISTED BOARD GAMES that I wanted to share with y’all! 

ONE: UNO

UNO is such a great game for several reasons, not the least of which is it’s easy for all ages to play! And, it turns out that UNO  has nearly endless possibilities of ways to give it a fun CHRISTMAS-TWIST. 

Here are just a few suggestions:

  • Play a red card =  get a red M&M
  • Play a green card = get a green M&M
  • Play a 2 on top of a 5 {25} = get a Hershey Kiss
  • Play a red card on top of a green card = get a mini candy cane
  • Play a green card on top of a red card = take a sip of hot cocoa 

Or if sweets are not your style:

  • Play a red card =  sing Rudolph
  • Play a green card = wear the Santa Hat until somebody else plays a wild card
  • Play a 2 on top of a 5 = speak in an elf-voice for the rest of the game
  • Play a red card on top of a green card = move an ornament on the tree
  • Play a green card on top of a red card = act like a snowman melting in the sun 

TWO: SCRABBLE 

SCRABBLE is a staple in most homes but it is probably often over-looked as too educational {aka: boring} for some. But, with this CHRISTMAS-TWIST, everybody will be asking to break out SCRABBLE this holiday season! 

Play SCRABBLE like you normally do but every time a word is played, the player needs to use that word in a CHRISTMAS-TWISTED sentence. Your family can decide if the sentences need to make sense or not {personally, we like nonsensical things around here but we do expect the parts of speech to be used appropriately.} You can come up with your own sentences or use these suggestions:

  • For Christmas, I really hope Santa brings me a ____.
  • It’s so cold outside that I am ____.
  • The Christmas carolers are ____ on our porch!
  • ____ will be our new Christmas tradition. 
  • Oh my gosh! Look! Santa stuffed your stocking with a ____.
  • All I want for Christmas is a/an/the ____.
  • Rudolph, with your nose so bright, will you ____ my sleigh tonight?
  • This Christmas, we’re only going to hang ____ on the tree. 
  • For Christmas morning, we are going to eat ____.
  • I’m going to leave Santa some milk and ____. 
  • Instead of a tree, let’s hang ornaments on a ____. 
  • Frosty, the ____ man was a jolly, happy soul. 
  • Jingle ____, jingle ____, jingle all the way! 
  • Santa put your present ____ the tree. 
  • Oh, we wish you a ____ Christmas!
  • I wrapped all of the presents with ____. 

THREE: PICTIONARY

Whether you have the classic version or the new one that includes small whiteboards, using CHRISTMAS-TWISTED PICTIONARY cards is an easy and fun way to rejuvenate this classic game for the holiday season.

You can snag a CHRISTMAS-TWISTED PICTIONARY PACK here for FREE. The cards are color-coded to work with all versions of PICTIONARY but can also be used with your own family’s homemade version of the classic picture-drawing game. 

FOUR: TWISTER

TWISTER is never boring, that’s for sure, but with these CHRISTMAS-TWISTED ideas, your family will surely enjoy the game like never before!

  • Play the entire game with knit gloves on!
  • Everybody has to wear a Santa hat and keep it on their head or they’re out!
  • Or everybody has to wear a Santa hat but it doesn’t matter WHERE you wear it!
  • If you are touching a red spot, you must sing Frosty the Snowman until you move from that spot.
  • If you are touching a green spot, you must sing  Jingle Bells until you move from that spot. 
  • If you are on a green and red spot at the same time, you must say “ho ho ho ho ho” until you move from one of the colors

FIVE: HEADBANZ

If your family doesn’t own HEDBANZ, you should seriously consider getting it! My son has outgrown the original intent of the game but we still use it for spelling and vocabulary review all the time {with our own words}.

And with the CHRISTMAS-TWISTED HEDBANZ PACK, it’s super easy and FREE to turn this silly game into a great option for the holidays. You can grab the CHRISTMAS-TWISTED HEDBANZ PACK here.

So, whether you decide to try out CHRISTMAS-TWISTED 

UNO, 

SCRABBLE, 

PICTIONARY, 

TWISTER

or

HEDBANZ, 

your family is sure to enjoy making some new memories with some old games! 

And for some other great CHRISTMAS ACTIVITIES, check out these posts from some of my amazing fellow homeschool blogging mamas…

1. Don’t let your learning stop over the holidays. My teenage kid will DEFINITELY be doing some of these Holiday-Themed Science Projects from Homeschool On the Range! 2. And, here’s a GREAT math printable for the littles! Christmas Cakes One More One Less Printable Worksheet from The Art Kit. 3. I collect natitivies so this might be TOO CUTE to eat but we definitely want to make one of these Gingerbread Nativities from Hess Un-Academy! 4. We use our fireplace ALL THE TIME during fall and winter so I really hope my teenager wants to make me some of these DIY Firestarter Gifts from Making Room 4 One More. 5. I LOVE grapevine wreaths and have many sizes to use for different seasons. And after seeing this craft, I want to get some teeny ones to add to my collection! Such a cute ornament from Woodland Birds Ornament from Heart and Soul Homeschooling! 6. Whether you NEED new Christmas traditions because 2020 just ain’t allowing for your norm or you WANT to add something new, you should consider this Cultural Family Night: Christmas edition from Stand Up, Reach Out! 7. Are you BIG stocking stuffer people? We are! My husband often wonders if we spend more on stuffing stockings than we do stocking the pantry for the holidays, but it’s so hard NOT to scoop up all the cute little things! This year I plan to use some of these ideas for Easy, Cheap, Stocking Stuffer Ideas for Kids from Julie Naturally! 8. I’m always looking for cute, personalized ornaments but this year, I think I will MAKE them. Check out how stinkin’ cute these are! Scrabble Tile Christmas Ornament from I Choose Joy! 9. I’m one of those moms who takes the easy way out and buys the expensive Star Wars Lego Advent Calendar each year but I REALLY WISH I could make the switch to something like this Simple Christmas Family Traditions: An Advent Tree from Whole Child Homeschool! 10. Here’s another SUPER CUTE handmade ornament to hang on your tree this year! Handprint Candy Cane Ornament from Homegrown Motherhood 11. If you live in a cold-weather climate, here are some great ideas for how you can STILL get your family outside! Outdoor Christmas Activities for the Whole Family from An Off Grid Life 12. I collect nativities, and they’re not always cheap nor CHILD-FRIENDLY, so I really wish I had known of this option when my kid was little! Nativity Set for Kids to Make and Play With from Orison Orchards 13. If you love all of the creative and clever ideas to make the holidays happy and bright but you are short on TIME, check out this great list of Simple Christmas Activities for Busy Working Homeschool Moms from Thrive at Home! 14. How about THIS for an original yet meaningful craft!?!?!? How to make a fork painted manger set from Our Crazy Adventures In Autismland 15. Again with the TOO CUTE nativities! This one is not only cute, it’s easy to make and you probably have every single item sitting in your craft tub right now! Heart Nativity Paper Craft from My Joy-Filled Life

GAME REVIEW: Election Night

by Leave a Comment

{This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our Disclosure Policy for details.} 

Election Night is available on Amazon HERE.

Read on for a detailed REVIEW. 

We use a lot of educational games in our homeschool, especially in areas where my son needs extra work {hello spelling and math!} but I also like to find games that help teach topics that we don’t spend every day working on like geography, general science and the often-confusing ELECTORAL COLLEGE.

This game, Election Night, was designed specifically to teach about the ELECTORAL COLLEGE so I figured this was the perfect time to try it out! 

Read on for a helpful review of Election Night!

In addition to reviewing the

FUN FACTOR and the

EDUCATIONAL VALUE,

I will also include info on the

ORGANIZATIONAL COMPONENT,

TIME COMMITMENT, 

CLARITY LEVEL

and an OVERALL SCORE. 

NAME: Election Night!

PUBLISHER: Semper Smart

CATEGORY: Social Studies

SUB CATEGORY: Government

TIME COMMITMENT: Moderate {30+ minutes}

PLAYERS: 2 {or Teams of 2+}

HOW TO WIN: Be the first to claim 270 electoral votes!

CLARITY LEVEL: ♥♥♥♥_ The instructions look a bit overwhelming at first, and frankly, even when you begin to read them, they seem a little complicated. But, they’re not. We decided to read the instructions quickly and then to just start playing. As we played, things made more sense and we were able to reference the instructions as we went. It’s not a speed-dependent game so taking this approach worked perfectly fine. But, it’s probably not a game that a couple of 8 year-olds would be able to figure out on their own based on the instructions alone. ♥♥♥♥_

FUN FACTOR: ♥♥♥♥♥ This is a rather FUN game! I’ll admit that politics and FUN don’t usually go together in my brain but this game proved me wrong ….at least in one small way.  It’s not like I think much else related to politics is FUN but this was definitely a FUN way to learn about an important topic. My son, who is 13, absolultey loved this game and had a blast trying to strategize how to win. He loved it so much that he asked to play two days in a row! We got a lot of laughs when we realized we must sound like real politicians when we said things like,

“I need to alter my focus and try to take California. I cannot win without California. I MUST MAKE CALIFORNIA MINE!” 
“Ugh. North Dakota is just not worth it. Isn’t there another state I can claim?” 
“I should probably start working on New York…or maybe Florida. I don’t know which. How do I decide?”
“I have absolutely no interest in that state…” as he sacrifices a special card to roll again and try to gain a different state. Poor Wyoming. ♥♥♥♥♥

EDUCATIONAL VALUE: ♥♥♥♥♥ With a tagline like “Learn your way to the White House,” I had high expectations of this game’s EDUCATIONAL VALUE. And, I’m happy to report, I was NOT DISAPPOINTED! Not only did this game do a stellar job of reinforcing what my son has been learning about the ELECTORAL COLLEGE, but MATH was used multiple times on every turn and in a variety of ways. And for a kid who does not love MATH, but needs the practice, games that offer FUN opportunities for MATH to be used, are the perfect choice! {BONUS: The gameboard is two-sided. One side is used with ADDITION and the other side is used with MULTIPLICATION. So, it’s GREAT for kids of many levels.} Then there’s the entire concept of STRATEGY. I will admit that I tend to shy away from “strategy games” because they take too much time and are usually slow-paced {which, for me, means not exactly my type of  FUN} but with this game, STRATEGY is key {and, thankfully, not too time-consuming.} My STRATEGY was to claim as many states as quickly as possible, even if it meant they were small states with few electoral votes. My son’s STRATEGY was to claim the big states and their bounty of electoral votes. Wanna guess who won? ♥♥♥♥♥

ORGANIZATIONAL COMPONENT: ♥♥♥♥♥ Maybe I should be embarrassed by the fact that the way a game, its box and all of the components are organized matters to me. But, I’m not! Organization is important in my home and that trickles all the way down to the way our games hang out on the shelf. I hate when boxes cave in or when pieces are easily lost. But, Election Night ranks 5/5 in this important-to-us category! The box is sturdy and has a strong plastic insert where everything has a designated spot. All of the pieces are high quality, which is especially important because the game requires using dry-erase markers directly on the board. I am sure the red and blue dry-erase markers will eventually wear out but those can be easily replaced. The game board itself is two-sided and very well-made. At first, I was nervous that the dry-erase marks would not erase easily or fully but they did, though I would not suggest leaving the marks on the board for days/weeks/months in between games. ♥♥♥♥♥

OVERALL SCORE: ♥♥♥♥♥ This was a complete hit in our home! Not only was it tons of fun, it was also filled with educational value too. I would highly recommend this to families with kids AND ADULTS of all ages! And though it would be a fabulous choice to play during an election year, it is also a great choice at anytime. ♥♥♥♥♥ 

If you are ready to offer your entire family a really fun way to learn about the electoral college, you can snag it here on Amazon.

If you are needing other fun ways to teach about the ELECTORAL COLLEGE, check out this PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION FACT PACK. It’s a quick, easy and fun way to teach the ELCTION PROCESS to kids of various ages and levels. 

Categories

Archives