Christmas is a time of togetherness, it’s also at the beginning of the very long summer school holidays.
My kids are generally pretty independent and self-reliant, they are happy playing by themselves but even they get to the point in the holidays where the common refrain is ‘I’m Bored’.
The large chunks of time we spend together over the holidays are often wasted and many families are left looking for inspiration of how to make the most of quality time together, without breaking the bank.
I try, most years, to buy something that can be enjoyed as a family; something that will promote togetherness and quality time.
The ToDo Game is a collection of activities for families to do together, spending quality time without electronic distractions; No computers, no ipads, no smart phones and no TV. Just time together fostering creativity, imagination and conversation.
A bonus of the ToDo Game as opposed to other types of games is that there’s no right or wrong answers and there’s no winners. This is exactly the type of thing we need in my house because games usually end with ‘It’s Not Fair’, ‘she cheated’, ‘I never win’ and the list goes on.
Many of the activities listed on the ToDo game cards are creative, thinking, conversation starting activities that are designed to reconnect you with your family and get to know one another much better. A lot of the activities won’t even see you need to leave the house.
The ToDo Game consists of 30 activity cards that are perfect for families with children between 5-13 years old but I think you could still have fun with older children as well.
There are no real rules for how you need to play the ToDo Game either which is fantastic, it can be customised to what works for your family.
It is a good idea to pick a game card a couple of days before game day just to make sure that you can get all the materials you need and plan your activity.
Some of the activities include each person drawing another family member, photography expeditions, pizza nights, indoor camping trips, short story challenges, family scrapbooks, family time capsules, debates and writing letters to family members you aren’t in touch with.
The activities range from about half an hour to a couple of hours of together time so for the best outcome ensure the whole family is committed going in.
I think what would work for my family would be to pick a card (after sorting a who picks roster) at dinner late in the week for a Sunday activity. We often talk about making Sunday family day but by the time we get through the weeks activities we end up just sitting around relaxing doing our own things. Great for downtime but not great for family time. This would help us to have something structured and planned that doesn’t have to cost us much or take us far from home.
This is definitely a great idea for that gift that Santa leaves the whole family to promote togetherness.
RRP: $37.50
For stockist information and to purchase online please visit: todogame.com.au
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