Category Archives: Games

PSYCH! A Multiplayer Game For Your Phone and… Your Family Reunion

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I recently attended my nieces wedding,  luncheon and reception. Everything was beautiful and I loved being part of the festivities but like most weddings and such there is a lot of downtime for those of us who are basically spectators.  During one of these downtimes my brother introduced us to  a fun  game you can  play on your phone that involves everyone.

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The name of the game is Psych!  Choose from a variety of fun categories in which each player makes up fake answers to real trivia questions.

According to the games own  description-  the idea behind the game is to get together with a bunch of friends and answer ridiculous trivia questions. The catch is, the multiple choices you’re given include the correct answer as well as a bunch of incorrect answers which are provided by the other players. So, say for instance the question popped up of “Who is the Editor in Chief of TouchArcade?” “Eli Hodapp” would be in there somewhere, along with whatever else anyone playing decides to toss into the mix as possible answers.

Image result for Psych! app

Anyone who knows me will understand that, after playing a few rounds of Pysch! with  my family, my “reunion” brain kicked into gear and I immediately began to think of ways to use the game at a family reunion.

Can you imagine how excited the teenagers in  your family would be if you asked them  to get their cellphones for a game they would be playing. Psych! is a clever way to get family members that just  can’t seem set their cellphones  down to join in  a game or activity to participate with the group.

Psych! is also a pretty fun  way  to get to know family members that you see only once a year at the  family reunion.  Some of the  game options give you a real opportunity to see into your cousin’s psyche.

“PSYCH!” is the perfect app for game night, road trips, or even waiting in line. So grab your phones, gather ‘round, and get ready for a gaming experience unlike anything you’ve ever tried!

NOTE:There’s in-game ads as well, which can be removed for $2.99. If you’re just downloading the game to play with a friend (who might have bought a ton of stuff in-game), it’s totally free.

Mafia Themed Activities for Your Family Reunion or Party

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Let us make you an offer you can’t refuse-

When it was first suggested that we use “Mafia” as our theme for the Stewart family reunion I was a little apprehensive but after three days of Mafia activities over Labor Day I’ve decided that “Mafia” is just another word for “Family”. Family can also be friends, and so a Mafia theme for a reunion or party is a great idea. Included in this party pack are invitations and activities for a party or reunion for either your friends or your family.

You will have fun creating Mafia names for your guests using the list of names and name tags included in this party theme package.

Guests can also fill out an application to join the Mafia using the “Complete Mafia Dictionary” to decipher Mafia lingo.

Test your Mafia IQ to see if you should be “The Boss” or “Knuckles”.

If you are having an indoor party consider playing the party game, “Mafia”. The game of Mafia is all about the power of bluffing and knowing when other people are bluffing themselves. You can be a member of the Mafia, a towns person, the FBI or the Moderator in this elimination and guessing game. You will vote out other players and try to avoid being murdered in the middle of the night by the Mafia!

If you planning an outside party play “Steal the Flag” using marshmallow shooters. Instructions for making custom shooters are included.

Mafia Party

Printables include invitations, The “Complete Mafia Dictionary”, Mafia Application, Mafia funny money, Mafia IQ test, water bottle labels, Mafia name tags and playing cards for the game, Mafia.

Cosa Nostran (This thing is ours!)

Mafia reunion or family party

Mafia Party

Reunion Buddies

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A Getting to know you activity before the reunion even begins

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Get the family reunion started early!

If you’re looking for a fun ice breaker activity and a way to generate interest in your upcoming family reunion try “Reunion Buddies” and get the  party started before the  reunion even  begins.

Reunion Buddies

About four weeks before your reunion make a double sided copy of the “Reunion  Buddies”  printable using the same  information on each side of the paper.

Match family members up into buddies making sure everyone, young and old has a reunion  buddy. 

Write one buddies name on the line that says “My Name Is” and write their buddies’ name below it on the line that says “My Buddy Is”.  You will need to do this on both sides of the  paper but reversing the information.

Send a copy of the reunion buddies printable to one of the  “buddies” with  the  instructions to fill out their  personal information and then mail the  completed  form to their buddy. Be sure and provide an address and if your reunion has the funds, a stamped envelope.

The buddy they mail the form to will complete the form and return it to back to their buddy.

Encourage buddies to spend some time with each other at your family reunion  perhaps even bringing inexpensive gifts (such as their favorite candy bar) to share.  You may even ask some family members to share what they learned about their reunion buddy.

The idea behind  “Reunion Buddies”  is to  make long lasting friendships  between cousins, aunts and uncles and grandparents.  Get a new buddy every year!

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Family Reunion Bingo

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find someone

Family reunion bingo is a great ice breaker activity for family reunions or parties of any kind.  I created a family reunion bingo card several years ago that we have used over and over again. I recently received a request to create some variations to the original game and mix things ups a bit.  The competed Bingo game cards are below and ready for you to play.

Family Reunion BINGO- the Basic Game

Give family members a BINGO card and a pencil and allow a few minutes for your family members to mingle as they get signatures in the bingo squares that apply to them. You can only use a person’s signature once on your bingo sheet.  The game can  end at this point with prizes for everyone that completely  fills up their BINGO card or you can take the game a step further.

Family Reunion BINGO Variation

Write everyone’s name on a piece of paper and put it in a hat.   Pull a name out of the hat one at a time and read it out loud. If a person has that name on their sheet they can put an X on that square.  If they don’t have that name they do nothing. Keep drawing names from the hat until someone get a BINGO by competing a row, column, or diagonal with X’s.

I have created 5 variations of my original  BINGO card that you can download and print by clicking on  the file below.

Bingo Card 5

Fun Ice Breaker Game for Your Family Reunion

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ice breaker

 

This is a fun idea for an ice breaker game for your next  family reunion or family party.  It is even a fun idea for a work, school or church function.

Divide into groups of about 10.  The groups work together to determine the  total amount of points they have  earned.  Each team will need a team captain and recorder. 

You can make up your own list of points but here are a few ideas to get  you started.

1.  Counting January as one point, February as two points and so on, add up the total points of your group.

2. Score one point for each college attended.

3. Score one point for every button on each shirt.

4. Total number of pennies teammates have in their pockets.

5. Total of all sizes added together- one shoe only per person.

6.  Hair color score- Black hair- 2 points, Brown hair- 1 point, Red hair- 3  points, Grey hair- 5 points, Blonde- 1 point

7. Five points for everyone that is  wearing glasses, 2 points for contacts.

8. One point for every child each person has, twins- 5 points, triplets- 10 points.

9. Minus 1 point for every soda or pop consumed.  Plus 1 point for every glass or bottle of water.

10. 1 point for everyone that is wearing a watch.

Add up the total of points each team has and award prizes to the team that has the “most” points, “least” points, “most unorganized” etc.

Bead Geckos- A Family Reunion Ice Breaker

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bead geckos

An effective way to jumpstart your family reunion is with an activity that  family members can participate in independently when they arrive at the reunion and are settling in. There is that awkward time when family arrives at the reunion  and everyone is  getting reacquainted.  Experience has proven that if there is a low key activity planned it will encourage family members to mingle and get comfortable with each other again.  A pre reunion activity also keeps younger family members busy and engaged while their parents are visiting and settled in.

Bead lizards or Geckos are the perfect solution.  Collect a supply of different colored pony beads and some satin cording and let your family create their own Geckos.

 

gecko

What you’ll need for each lizard-

  • 2 yards satin cording of your choice 
  • 1 metal keychain or lanyard hook
  • 27 colored (shown as green in the above diagram) pony beads
  • 21 colored (shown as orange in the above diagram) pony beads
  • 2 black pony beads for eyes

They say a picture is worth a thousand words so I really recommend watching the following video to get some great instructions for making your bead Gecko.  The great thing is,  if you download the video to your tablet, the  video will be available to your guests and you won’t spend so much time  trying to give instructions as you’re registering your family members and getting them situated- they’ll be  able to watch the video!  The video lasts less than 2 minutes and it’s actually quite entertaining.

https://youtu.be/PI5Gxihkyes

You can  find more ice breaker ideas by following the link below

http://familyreunionhelper.com/blog/2010/03/really-cool-ice-breaker-games/

Superhero Reunion Theme

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Family Reunion Helper proudly announces the completion of their latest family reunion  theme- Superhero!

Now you can bring all the action-packed adventure and excitement of your favorite superheroes to your family reunion!

Print

A superhero reunion will appeal to family members of all ages. Superheroes have unique skills, wear awesome costumes and save the world on a daily (sometimes hourly) basis.

A superhero family reunion lends itself to action-packed games, superhero training and fun activities.

secret super power copy

This reunion theme package includes a fun printable reunion invitation, secret super power cards, water bottle labels, superhero training cards, “what’s my super power?” activity, Kapow!, Boom! and Zap! signs and fun printables for napkin rings and table decorations.

Our superhero reunion is jam packed with more than 35 pages of ideas for many of your favorite superheroes: Batman, Spider-man, Thor, Hulk, Captain America, Iron-man, Flash, Hawk-eye and even Aqua-man.

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With the Superhero reunion theme your family will want to save helpless citizens, fight the forces of darkness and defeat the evil villains. Plan a superhero reunion and let your families’ powers shine. Whether they’re saving the planet or saving your family, a superhero family reunion or party will be a memorable reunion for anyone who has ever yearned to make right what’s wrong in the world.

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You can find the superhero reunion theme at Family Reunion Helper.com and by clicking on the link below.

Super Hero Family Reunion

Piñatas- a Smashing Good Time!

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Piñatas are a fun activity for birthdays, celebrations and family reunions and because they’re made with paper Mache paste and newspaper strips they’re inexpensive to make though can be expensive to fill.  You can make your own piñata or buy one in any shape or design that will add to your party’s theme.

Traditionally, to play the piñata game,you blindfold the first child in line and turn them around three times, and give them a wooden stick so they can swing at and if lucky, hit the  piñata.

Piñata Fun  with Dice

At a recent family reunion we did a fun variation of smashing the piñata by using a large dice made from a square box.  Each child rolled the “dice” to determine how many swings with a stick they would have at the piñata.  If they roll a four they try to hit the piñata 4 times.

dice

HINT:  When  planning to use a piñata as one of your activities be sure to have a plan  for how you will hang it up- tree, a beam if inside or 2 adults could hold a rope or a pole with the piñata hanging in the middle.  For safety’s sake keep everyone away from the  person  swinging at the piñata.

Pull Piñatas

”Pull” piñatas are perfect for small children or  for times when sticks may not be appropriate. Fill them  with  treats as you would a classic piñata and instead of hitting it with a stick just choose a ribbon and pull to release the trapdoor and the treats.

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Piñata Cakes

One of the most clever ideas I’ve seen on Pinterest recently is a piñata cake.  No smashing involved with  this piñata but you will  find plenty of treats inside.  Below are some quick instructions but for more detailed information click on the photo below- they’re the real experts.

Pinata party cake

A piñata cake is simple to make- just make a 3 layer, round cake.  Leave two of the layers intact for the  top and the bottom.  Frost the bottom layer.

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For the third layer, the middle layer, cut the center out and place the remaining ring on top of the bottom layer. Fill the center of the cake with  small,  unwrapped candies such as M and M’s or Skittles. Make sure you fill  the cavity to the top with candy. Frost this layer then top  with the remaining cake layer. 

Frost and decorate the cake as  desired.

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Human Piñata

If you haven’t already, don’t forget to read about “HUMAN” piñatas.  Just follow the link below to read about all the crazy fun!

human pinata

What’s Your Leprechaun Name?

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leprechaun name

Post a copy of this printout at the entrance to your St Patrick’s Day Party along with name tags and markers.  Party goers figure out their “Leprechaun” name, write it on a name tag and go by that name during the party.

I put my 1st grade aged grand-daughter in charge of this activity at our St Patrick’s Day breakfast.  She really had fun helping everyone’s leprechaun name and carefully wrote it on name tag stickers.

This was a very simple activity that was actually very fun and good for a few laughs. My leprechaun name is Merry McMagic.  What’s your leprechaun name?

An Easter Hunt Twist

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Get Your Plastic Easter Eggs Now!

Now is this the perfect time to purchase plastic Easter eggs- not only for Easter egg hunts but for other themed parties you may have throughout the year.For instance, fill eggs with small  plastic dinosaurs for a prehistoric or dinosaur reunion or fill eggs with small plastic dragons for your medieval reunion  or princess party.

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Moana and HeiHei Fun!

With all the excitement over Moana  you could also fill plastic eggs with HeiHei memorabilia or pictures. (Take a picture or HeiHei and  then cut into puzzle pieces.  Hide one piece in each egg and when all the pieces Are found you can put the puzzle together.) These eggs would be  perfect for a HeiHei egg hunt.  I purchased them at Walmart.

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How to Play

Hide the eggs around your reunion or party location. Tell the kids that they must find all the eggs before they hatch. The person that collects the most dinosaurs or dragons (or Easter themed prize) is  the  winner. This may not be the child that finds the most eggs as not every egg will have a prize in it.

A fun twist is to tell kids that if  they find an egg that is empty, they have to put it back for another player to find. This way, the hunters will have to remember which eggs they’ve already checked…which adds to the mystery and suspense of the hunt.

 

Caveman Reunion     Medieval Reunion