Summer Vacation! Don't forget to pack your games
Summertime is the perfect time for family vacations. School has ended and the kids are ready for some fun getaways. So pack up the car and head out.
As a parent, it’s easy to recall those care-free summer family vacations. Everything was just footloose, fancy-free fun. There really wasn’t anything to worry about – after all, it was summer vacation!
But now we’re grown and realize that getting away for a family vacation doesn’t mean “care-free” any more. In fact, it can be quite the opposite. We have to “care” about a lot of things and that in turn can just add to our stress. All the planning, the packing, and the rush to finish things up at work can create more stress than we bargain for. And then once the vacation does begin we get the stress of playing referee when the screams start emanating from the backseat, “he’s touching me,” or “she won’t stop singing.”
So do you really want to take a family vacation this year?
Actually, even with all that, we sure hope you do. Sure it may not be as care-free as when you were younger, but it’s still refreshing and rejuvenating to get out into the world and see some new places. Or to introduce your kids to familiar places that you loved as a child.
Family vacations are fantastic times to really connect as a family and enjoy one another’s company. But that doesn’t mean you have to be busy the whole time – running from place to place to see and do as much as you can. Sure you want to take advantage of what’s around the area, but don’t lose focus on what matters most – your family. The worst thing to have happen is to let things and activities get in the way of people.
We’ve found that one of the best ways to do that on vacation is to schedule down time each day. Most of the time, that means kicking back in the evening. But depending on the age of the kids, it may also mean calm time mid-afternoon and in the evening.
And one of the things that helps us settle down and enjoy focused time with each other is to remove other distractions and play some light family games. This is one of those perfect times to play light games because we find ourselves in the mood to let our brains take it easy. Light card games are also great for family vacations because they don’t take up much space and are easy to pack.
Here are some of the card games that we like to throw in when we hit the road for a family vacation.
- BANG! (plays just fine without the player sheets and bullets)
- SkipBo (simple game play leaves a lot of conversation time)
- Mamma Mia! (it seems we always order pizza at least once while on vacation)
- Straw (so quick to play that we can stop whenever we want)
- UNO (the old stand-by that’s still fun)
- and let’s not forget just a standard deck of cards – we can always play WAR.
We’d love to hear what games your family enjoys playing while on vacation.
Share your comments with us.
Ticket to Ride, Dominion, Roll Through the Ages, a bunch of dice, a set of cards. I wanted to take Forbidden Island as well, but I think we’ve got a good selection of games. Of course, we try to play games that appeal to everyone. I’ll probably pick up something like Fairy Tale or No Thanks as another filler game. My wife picked “Bandits” as well – an easy filler-type game. Of course, we’re trying to introduce our families to games other than Monopoly, Sorry, and similar. That changes our choices a bit.
Of course, if we’re going camping or similar, we choose differently – dice games, card games, and preferably something that doesn’t blow away easily. 🙂
I love the idea of dice games for outdoor situations so you don’t fight with cards blowing away.
We took a winter vacation to Florida (from PA) this past New Years. Because of flying we had to pack somewhat conservatively. I took San Juan, Archeology, and Scripts and Scribes – all smaller boxed games that fit in my suitcase.
For me I feel a good strategy board game can be fun and educational for kids. I know when you hear about educational board games for kids, you think ” This isn’t going to be fun at all.” but it can be if you choose the right game. Games that are fun for everyone such as MASTERMIND or Tri-Ominos can really exercise the brain and yet still be fun for the whole family.
Small World is a good choice as well as Category 5 (6 Nimmt!). Bohnanza would be enjoyed as well.
Hey y’all!!! In my family, we have enjoyed playing Would You Rather? the travel size and we literally spent the whole roadtrip laughing from san diego to san fran =)