The Games We Play

I love to play games. Ever since I was little, our family has always played games together. I have so many great memories of all of the times we sat around talking and playing games. Every one in our family is pretty competitive. That's what makes it fun! On Thanksgivings, my grandpa would always set up Bingo for us to play while we cleaned up after the meal. Then, when everything was cleaned up, we would all grab a piece of dessert and a coke and gather around the table. This was not a small group either. There were times when we would have over 40 people playing the game. We often had our friends join us,too. Papa would be the one to call out the numbers and if any one had a Bingo, they would get one dollar. He sometimes would keep going to let several people Bingo and then yell, "Don't clear your card!" Then, inevitably the little ones always accidentally do it. They would miss out on the cover all for $5.00. Our family is so weird though. We had so many odd things that we did during this game that is still a tradition to this day. For instance, when someone has a Bingo, every one yells,"Check their card!" saying this really grouchy. We also lick our Bingo chips and stick one on our forehead for good luck. Yes, it works!!! When Papa calls O-75, every one yells, "The Big Boy!" On O-66, we always say that with a lisp. Yes, that's so dumb, I know! On I-22, every one yells,"tu-tu!"And we have a dear great aunt that can never hear what was called out. She always makes Papa stop and repeat everything.. We always get a kick out of that. Now that all of the cousins have gotten older, our own kids have picked up on all of these and the dumb little things that we did are being continued. We also always have some sort of card tournament on Christmas Day. This is so much more fun than the presents. We play poker and it is serious. No messing around! I'll have to admit that I'm pretty good at it. Well, I'm more than pretty good at it, I'm pretty much unbeatable=). I just love to play games with family and friends. It is such a great way to get everyone to talk and enjoy each other's company. My favorite games to play are spades, poker, and Scrabble. The games I play the most are Disney Yahtzee, Disney Bingo,slap jack, gold fish, Curious George Uno, and Dora Memory. My kids love to play games, too. Susanna has that same competitive streak in her and Luke is developing it very quickly. We can't even ride bikes without them fighting about who is winning. I have tried to explain that when we ride bikes, it is not a race. We are working on that.

I'm always looking for a new game to play. What is your favorite game to play with family and friends? Any recommendations?