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Posts Tagged ‘family night’

by Brandie Valenzuela

In my opinion, one of the very best things you can do for your family is to start holding a regular family night. If you don’t already do something like this with your family, I encourage you to start this week! It is a way for the entire family to get together–no matter what. You can talk, play games, go out for a dessert, watch a movie, just about anything qualifies for a family night–as long as you are together as a family!

Want to know more? Just read on so that you can learn about starting your own family night:

The first step is determining when your family night will work best into your schedule. When are most (or hopefully all) of your family members home? In my home, this is Sunday night. My husband works evenings and nights during the week, so Sundays work out great for us.

The next step is to block off that day of the week, every week, for your family night. Let the family know that this night will be for your family and tell them to not make any plans for that day. I know that may be easier than it sounds–particularly with teenagers–but let them know how important it is to you to have them there.

Next, you must decide what will take place during your family night. You do not have to do the same thing every week, but for some families this works out great. You may want to rotate who gets to choose the activity–one week your oldest may wish to watch a family movie, then the next week, your youngest may ask to play “Chutes and Ladders” together. Another way to get them to your Family Night is to provide a dessert or snack. After the activity, or even possibly during, you can all enjoy the yummy treat! Your family night can be as big or as small as you wish it to be–there is no right or wrong way, just make sure you do it.

Peanut Butter Puffs

3 to 4 tablespoons peanut butter
20 vanilla wafers
80 miniature marshmallows

Spread about 1/2 teaspoon peanut butter on each wafer. Place on a foil-lined baking sheet. Top each with four marshmallows. Broil for 2-3 minutes or until the marshmallows are lightly browned. Serve warm. Makes about 20 snacks.

Snack Mix Squares

2 1/2 cups halved pretzels sticks
2 cups Corn Chex (or similar cereal)
1 1/2 cups M&M’s
1/2 cup butter or margerine
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
5 cups miniature marshmallows

In a large bowl, combine pretzels, cereal and M&M’s. In a large saucepan over low heat, melt butter and peanut butter. Add marshmallows; cook and stir until marshmallows are melted and mixture is smooth. Pour over pretzel mixture; stir to coat. Press into a greased 13×9x2-inch baking pan. Cool until firm; cut into squares. Makes about 3 dozen.

Mozzarella Puffs

1 tube (7-1/2 oz.) refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 block (2 to 3 oz.) mozzarella cheese
2 tablespoons pizza sauce

Make an indention in the center of each biscuit; sprinkle with oregano. Cut the mozzarella into 10 cubes, 3/4 in. each; place a cube in the center of each biscuit. Pinch dough tightly around the cheese to seal. Place seam side down on an ungreased baking sheet. Spread pizza sauce over tops. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Makes about 10 servings.

Favorite Snack Mix

6 cups Crispix (or similiar) cereal
1 can (10 oz.) mixed nuts
1 package (10 oz.) pretzel sticks
3/4 cup butter or margarine
3/4 cup packed brown sugar

In a large bowl, combine the cereal, nuts, and pretzels. In a small saucepan over low heat, melt butter. Add brown sugar; cook and stir until dissolved. Pour over cereal mixture; stir to coat. Place a third of the mixture on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 325 degrees for 8 minutes; stir and bake for 6 minutes more. Spread on waxed paper to cool. Repeat with remaining mixture. Makes about 14 cups.

Strawberry Yogurt Fruit Dip
(use it to dip just about any type of fruit into it!)

1 1/2 cups frozen whole strawberries, thawed
1 carton (8 oz.) strawberry yogurt
1 cup whipped topping
Assorted fruit for dipping

In a bowl, mash berries. Add yogurt and mix well. Fold in whipped topping. Serve with fruit. Makes about 2 3/4 cup of dip.

Reprinted with permission.

by Joe Schmieder

Growing up my parents made it clear that enjoying time with family was very important! They didn’t come out and say it all the time and they didn’t need to. They did it with actions and as the saying goes, “Actions Speak Louder Than Words”. They did this by turning their basement into a home game room. It was done before I was born and games came and went all in the name of good old fashioned family fun! Now I’m the last of 10 children, 8 boys and 2 girls and I tell you this, our home game room worked wonders in keeping this family close!

When I was young just about every weekend I remember my brothers and sisters who weren’t living at home anymore, visiting. We’d play pool, pinball, pachinko, cards and more all the while listening to golden oldies on the jukebox. Before you start thinking we were rich, don’t, we were just a large middle class family. My dad worked very hard, often seven days a week and made just enough money to keep a roof over our heads and food in the fridge. My mom worked even harder taking care of us! The home game room functioned on it’s own keeping us at home base on most weekend nights!

The games were all bought second hand and didn’t work when my parents acquired them. Luckily my dad and a few of my brothers could fix them. That’s how we ended up with pinball games, a jukebox and an old bowling machine in our basement. Those were some of the best times in my life. Playing pool and games with my brothers and sisters into the early hours of the next morning.

Of course not every moment was perfect. We had our fights. Sometimes they were HUGE FIGHTS! But usually by the following weekend things were back to normal and we’d play together all night once again. On many nights we had to swallow our pride!

Those games taught us many life lessons right in our own home. They taught us about winning and losing graciously. Although tempers flared at times someone would step in and remind us that it’s just a game. We learned that cheating was wrong, especially with so many siblings watching over the games. We were taught to respect adults and that they would play first and we’d get our turn if we waited! Also that helped us to learn patience. There were so many life lessons learned in our game room that I’m probably only touching on a fraction of them.

We had so many great times in that game room with family and friends. On some nights you’d be the winner and others you’d be the loser. It’s the same as in life as an adult. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose but you have to keep your head up and try harder the next time.

All of those experiences made us become closer as a family. We learned how to deal with the different personalities of each family member and it’s kept us close to this day. No a home game room won’t solve every problem in the world. And it may not work for every family. But I firmly believe that “Families That Play Together, Stay Together”. That is coming from my own life experience.

Home game rooms are good for another reason also. They teach some great skills to children. From the hand-eye coordination from playing pinball to the angles, cut/slice shots and bank shots in pool. Those coordination skills come in handy when you’re older and are great to learn as a kid. With pinball you learn how to count numbers and keep score. In billiards alone you learn how to hold a stick, aim and shoot the balls and rack them up afterwards. Also for the youngest of children the pool balls are different colors with different numbers. I’ve never seen a child who didn’t LOVE to sit on a pool table and roll the balls into the pockets. (Just make sure you’re watching the child closely so they don’t fall off). Every table game is good for learning skills. That includes ping-pong, air hockey, foosball and shuffleboard also. You’d be amazed at what a child can learn by playing those basic but fun table games.

It’s a good idea to turn off the computer and video game once in a while and play a “real” hands-on game! Invite family and friends over on the weekends. Sure it doesn’t have to be every weekend but a couple times a month would be great. Show them your new trick shot. Have some laughs! And maybe a few tears will even be shed? No matter what happens it’s getting family together and sharing experiences what counts. And playing games with family and friends in a fun setting like a home game room is something every family could learn to enjoy!

In closing I’d like to say that “no” my family is nowhere near being the perfect family. We have our problems like every family does. We argue and we disagree on many things but we can still stay close. Somehow having a game room and playing games with family and friends seems to relieve that stress and tension and can make even the biggest of problems go away, at least for the moments we’re together anyway! So I’m convinced from my own experiences that: “Families That Play Together, Stay Together”.

Joe Schmieder is the Webmaster of http://www.game-room-decorating-ideas.com. To find more fun and interesting information about Game Room Decorating Please Visit His Informative Site.