Family time games

1.Thorns and Roses game 

Go around the table and ask each person to share the rose (the best or most special part of their day), and the thorn (the most difficult part of their day). 

2.THE HAT GAME

Before dinner, have each dinner guest write their answers to one or more of the following questions on slips of paper and place them in a hat. At dinnertime, the host reads the answers aloud, and everyone tries to guess which guest gave which answers!

• What is a book that transformed your life?
• What character in a children’s book did you most identify with as a child?
• What was your favorite toy as a child?
• What do you feel most grateful for?
• What do you love most about being a part of this (or your) family?
• What animal would you most like to be?

3. CAT and COW

One person at the table is the “leader.” The leader says either “Cat” or “Cow.” When the leader says “Cat,” the others meow. When the leader says “Cow,” the others moo. Keep saying “Cat” and “Cow,” faster and faster, switching back and forth and making the pattern more and more random until somebody “moos” when they should have “meowed” or “meows” when they should have “mooed!”

4.JOKE JAR

Keep a Family Joke Jar handy for nights when the dinner table could use some humor! Let each member of the family write favorite jokes on slips of paper and put them into an empty mason jar, jelly jar or can. When you think a good joke or two might lift everyone’s spirits, bring the jar to the table and take turns drawing slips and telling the jokes.

5.20 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 

6.GUESS WHO?

 Everyone thinks of a person, place or thing that needs help. On a piece of paper, write down 5 ways to help that person, place or thing. Have the rest of the table guess what person, place or thing you are helping by sharing just those 5 ways of helping on your list!

7.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!

8.TWO TRUTHS & A TALL TALE

Ask everyone at the table to say three things about themselves: two true things and one thing that’s made up. The rest of the table will guess which is the tall tale.