Today is the beginning of National Board Game Week.  Another odd national “holiday”, right?  However, I really think this one has an important meaning behind it.  There is a lot of family fun to be had without spending big bucks if you get your family into playing games together.

My son is only 4 and loves to play games.  We play Don’t Spill The Beans and Chutes And Ladders and Go Fish quite often.  This past week we purchased a new game at a local children’s resale store, Monopoly Junior Toy Story Edition.  He was in love!  We played 4 times in two days, it was a lot of fun.

Winter is here (or on it’s way, depending on where you live) and a fun seasonal game you can print and play is Winter Bingo. Start here and customize your Bingo card with the Winter theme and go from there. You can print out th bingo card and a calling sheet as well. This can be so simple that even the youngest children can play along. Here’s the Winter Bingo card I created for my family to enjoy…

Another game my family enjoys is Dominos.  We play a version known as The Mexican Train.  My husband and I just love to battle against each other and my son loves to get his own pile of dominos and match them up.  Here’s a printable version you can make with a Christmas theme to get you in the holiday spirit.  Start here and chose the Christmas theme you would like and go from there.

Here’s a peek at the ones I am printing for my family to enjoy this week…

If you have school aged children and want to get into the Thanksgiving spirit, I recommend the Thanksgiving Fill Them In Tale from Family Fun Magazine’s website.  This is technically not a board or card game, but is sounds like fun!  They also have a printable Thanksgiving Day bingo for older children as it requires reading.

Also, who doesn’t love a good old game of Memory?  I personally love the Circus characters on this printable version from Family Fun Magazine.  Check it out!

Spend some time with your family this week playing games, laughing at each other, competing and teaching them how to be a good winner and loser.  Printing or creating your own games does not require a lot of crafty skills or money and can create a lot of fun for your family.

Happy Gaming!

Andrea