I’m always on the hunt for fun new games that will hold the attention of teens and pre-teens—especially during LOTS of family time with cousins and friends throughout the holidays. We were introduced to this gem a few years ago by a good friend and it’s been a favorite. When I share with people how fun it is, they immediately want to know how to play so they can introduce it to their friends and gatherings. Last Christmas season we played it countless times (with as few as 8 and as many as 25 people). It’s a winner! Here’s why:
Category: Fun
5 Things I’ve Learned Since Prom
It’s prom season. Which means Facebook feeds are popping up with happy photos of dapper couples sporting color-coordinated dresses and cummerbunds, showcasing pretty flower wrist corsages. There’s hope and celebration in their smiles and a wistful “school-is-almost-over” delirium. My friends with prom-going teens are sharing that the make-up, hair, and nail appointments—plus tux rentals, elaborate prom invites, and dinner plans—are budget-busting and more complex than some weddings we remember. At the same time, the dresses are much more simple and streamlined than the fussy, ruffled peach taffeta affair I wore back in the day.
List Yourself
If you dream of leisurely, sun-filled afternoons for jotting your thoughts in your journal but spend more of your time racing from one activity to the next, maybe try “listing yourself” instead. Just like making a grocery list or recording what you have to do today, list making is easy.
You don’t have to pour your heart out, record your days, or pass judgment. Yet you can quickly open the doors to your soul and reveal your deepest thoughts. For starters, try writing down everything that comes to mind with some of these lists:
- the best gifts you’ve ever been given
Talk About a Game
We didn’t watch much football at our house when I was growing up—maybe if the Ohio State Buckeyes played in the New Year’s Day Rose Bowl game or if our family invited friends over to watch the Super Bowl championship. 
So I was like a fish out of water after college when friends gathered to watch the sport. Mainly there for the fun and interaction, I didn’t pay much attention to what was happening on the field. But everyone was into it, and I was left out. Listening to what my friends said while spectating, I started asking questions about why they said what they did. Not surprisingly I began to learn more about the rules…and actually enjoy the game.
The Year without a Christmas Tree
January 6. Epiphany—the day I like to wait for before taking down the Christmas tree. Driving around town, I noticed it seems to be the day for town square trees to come down, too.
I grew up in a family that put up a tree the day after Thanksgiving and left it standing until well into January. The year we got a new, artificial tree (before pre-lit ones came on the scene), my dad spent hours wrapping 21 strands of white lights around each branch (and even in a way—if memory serves—that would allow the tree to be taken apart with the strands still on to be put away for the next year). He lamented that he would never do that again and hoped we would enjoy the illuminated masterpiece.
Hello New Year
As the calendar page turns over a new year, the flipping feels as fast as the commercials zipping by for Oprah’s WW, Nutrisystem, Lifetime Fitness, and E-Trade Investments….” A New Year, A New You” we’re promised. Blog posts boast the 5 ways to make resolutions stick and how to kick those recurring bad habits.
Motivating perhaps. Inspiring—maybe. Experience, for me, has borne out that focusing on a few areas and considering what might be possible these next 365 days can have a profound effect on what actually happens throughout, rather than just hoping the new year turns out better than the last. Asking, “What do I/we want this year?” “What are my goals?” “What needs to change?”