3.) The first of December is upon us! Describe an Advent Calendar or a special way you count down days until Christmas (past or present). (Inspired by Classy Chaos)
Here’s the problem:
- I lack impulse control.
- I buy love.
- I can justify just about anything…including purchasing 25 games for my kids to open and play every day between now and Christmas.
That’s right…after seeing what some of the crafty women* in blogland are doing I actually went to Target and crammed 25 board games into my cart with the intention of wrapping each one and spending some serious quality time with the kids this month.
You know when you leave a store and you have that sneaking suspicion you may have just made a mistake? I decided I needed to call my Life Mentor.
Me: Mom? I have a feeling I either just did something really awesome and amazing…or really stupid and I kind of need you to tell me which.
Mom: Okaaaay….
Me: I bought 25 board games for the kids so that we can open one and play it together as a family everyday this month as we countdown to Christmas.
Mom: *Insert hysterical laughter*
Me: Soooo…what do you think?
Mom: I just…Kathy! You actually purchased 25 board games!?!
Me: Well…there’s like a deck of UNO in there too so it’s not like they’re ALL board games. And a lot of them were on sale for the holidays…
Mom: You don’t even LIKE playing board games with children.
Me: God I know! I was just thinking…maybe this time I would.
Mom: Whatever happened to the idea of maybe purchasing one or two and learning those and replaying them a few times as opposed to spending the time to learn it and then moving on to another the next day.
Me: Sigh…yeah…you have a point…
Mom: You need to take those games back right now.
And so I did. My lack of sense is beginning to frighten me. Why did I think 25 nights of games with my 8,6 and 4 year old would be anything but excruciating? What’s happening to me?
Our advent calendar this year will be the same wooden house we’ve used EVERY year.
I will fill it with chocolate nougat.
And on Saturdays we will open one of the FOUR games I kept. We will play. I will remember I hate playing and then I will forget I hate playing in time for the next Saturday where we’ll do it all over again.
Also? Let’s all say a little prayer for my husband. His frugal heart dies a thousand deaths every time I utter the word Target.
* This crafty mama wrote the post that inspired the “game night” advent calendar, but I didn’t read it in it’s entirety. She actually wrapped games they already owned in order to SAVE herself from spending big bucks AND as a fun way to adjust the calendar concept for her teens who have outgrown the simple candy calendars.
Now it’s your turn!
Choose a prompt, post it on your blog, and come back to add your name to the link list below. Be sure to sign up with the actual post URL and not just your basic blog URL (click on the title of your post for that URL). For good comment karma try to comment on the three blogs above your name!!
The Prompts:
1.) What did you go through in order to get out? “The best way out is always through” (Inspired by Shatterboxx and some dude named Robert Frost)
2.) Five Things. List 5 things we don’t know about you, 5 things you’re knowledgeable about, 5 things you know nothing about, and 5 things you believe. (inspired by LouLou’s Views)
3.) The first of December is upon us! Describe an Advent Calendar or a special way you count down days until Christmas (past or present). (Inspired by Classy Chaos)
4. Kids say the darndest things…describe a time a child’s honesty made you think. (Inspired by Ashley’s Closet)
5.) Tell us the story of how your pet came to be a member of your family. (Inspired by Busy Day Blog)
{ 78 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh, I love board games, but I am fiercely competitive, which ironically is one of the things I included in my post today (5 Things). However, all I was thinking as I read through this was… “crap, where is my advent calendar?”.
25 games?
You don’t need to call your mom, okay? I have some lovely vacation land to sell you. Sure, it’s underwater 8 months of the year, but during the dry spell, it’s lovely.
May I call you Patsy?
OMG! LMAO! I can’t believe you bought 25 games AND returned them (except 4) LOL! That is sooooo something I would do…I would also call my life coach a.k.a mom, to get advice…hahahahahahaha!!! I love this…I can’t wait to share!
It’s like I’m determined to make things as complicated as possible. :) Thank goodness I even THOUGHT to call her before those games were wrapped and tucked under the tree!
One of my favorite memories of when my kids were little was doing the “Jesse tree” with them. (It’s an advent calendar with Bible stories and a homemade ornament you hang on the tree each day, to tell how the Bible stories all lead up to the coming of the Christ.)
Games?
I’m a lot like you: I ‘m not really a game player. Although we’ve had a couple of really stellar game nights in our family history. But…it’s not what we do. One a week would be a stretch. So kudos to you!!!
I love games with grown ups, but kids are beyond frustrating. I’m like “MOVE FIVE SPACES…12345! WHY CAN’T YOU COUNT!?!”
And we totally had a calendar like that growing up!! Oh man…that’s what we NEED…a Jesse tree!!
Seriously, woman. Thank goodness for your mom. Can you even imagine playing 25 board games with children?
Talk about a frequent flier card to the loony bin.
Seriously.
Yup…Board games mean “Christmas” to me, all right. Except you’ll have to have the 25 Days of Christmas instead of just 12, correctamundo?
Indeed!
Only now…just four I guess. :)
Um, I hate board games. ESPECIALLY with kids. I am so glad you survived your temporary moment of insanity, except for the part that you kept four of them? seriously, lady, what were you thinking??!!
Oh, I think that’s the cutest idea ever! (But yeah- wrapping what you’ve already got is a better idea than BUYING 25. LOL.) Still, I admire your gusto!
When your kids are older they will love to reminisce about the narrow escape of the year their mum almost inflicted TWENTY FIVE new board games upon them but how their granny saved the day and saved Christmas!!!
Maybe someone will make it into a blockbuster movie! Which film star would you want cast as you?!!
Enjoy the 4 games!
Will try to post about our advents later (and the one that got away!)
Hahahahahahhhhaaaaahhhhaaaaaa… I think even the thought of the word “Target” must put your brain in some kind of fog. Seriously? You thought for even a moment 25 games in 25 days was a good idea? That sounds like a prison sentence to me…
Now…eat one chocolate and let’s forget this whole thing ever happened. K? Mmm…k….
Too funny. Board games can be awesome… but with children? I am so not ready to go there. Not for a long time.
Hope you enjoy the four new games that survived the cull!
That is hilarious! You were speaking my son’s love language just then. He would think he died and went to heaven if we played a new game every day!
Great prompts this week. I should do one.
This post made me feel so normal, which I really needed right now because I’m just realizing the fact that I chose to write on the “5 Things” prompt… at 3:00am… when I haven’t slept in over 24 hours, so it’s probably just a littttle bit higher on the crazy-o-meter than my batting average.
{The fact that I literally just combined all of that into one sentence, noticed, and thought, “Eh,” just proves that my uber-long previous sentence is true.}
On that note. Good night. {<–Again, just noticed the sentence fragment. Not changing it. Or these.}
Please tell me you got some sleep!! Haha!
Okay, well at least you let someone talk you out of it! I totally would have went with it and hated every second….until about Dec. 5th, when I’m sure the kiddos would have given The Advent Fairy a reason to start taking the games away…
Oh for SURE I’d get 5 days in and be hating life! I don’t know why I do this stuff to myself.
This is funny! Well, your heart was in the right place, but playing those games every night would be exhausting! Glad your mom was able to give you perspective.
This is TOO funny. I smiled when I read about you walking out of the store and realized you’d made a mistake. Even though (99% of the time), what we buy can be returned, that’s such a sinking feeling! Your Mom sounds like a very wise woman!
Buyer’s Remorse!!! I hate it!!
OH, Kat, I laughed out loud when I got to that last part. You’re poor husband! I LOVE target. But, my girls and I generally just go to walk around and eat cheap popcorn that tastes like movie theatre (expensive) popcorn. I’m not much of a consumer. I hope you enjoy your Saturday night games…maybe you will this time:)
My “poor husband” is right!! When I told him the story he didn’t even laugh…just put his head down and started to cry. ;)
Oh, wow, thanks for the BIG guffaw this morning!!
LOL!! I love it! Board games are always better in my mind! I seem to forget to the whining, arguing, and complaining that occurs EVERY.SINGLE.TIME we play one. However, my 13 yr. old has definitely outgrown some of the fun Advent things we do, and I’m really noticing this year. Something tells me he’s not going to be excited about the quarter that awaits him in our advent calendar? LOL!!! He would actually love the idea of the whole board game thing. I will have to be sure to check out that post you read and be sure to follow her advice and not yours. **WINKS
You are going to suck me in to this madness because, as I was reading this post, I was thinking “This is a brilliant idea.” But then again, I am prone to grand statements that haven’t been totally though through … just like you!
Oh we would be quite the pair walking through Target, “You think 25 is ENOUGH?? I mean I could easily play two games a day…couldn’t you??” Haha!
I love your wooden house! I have seen reading 25 books before Christmas. Games does sound like fun, but my guys don’t like to play games.
Sometimes it’s the thought that counts! I’ve never even had an Advent calendar. I did look at them at TJMaxx the other day and saw a really cute one very similar to yours but then thought, “Nah!”
Your conversation with your mom cracked me up. The voice of reason is always good to have! :)
Now that was totally something I would do and Pat and my husband can be roomies in the hospital while they have their hearts taken care of from the shock of yet another trip to Target! Man that place is dangerous!!!
I loved family game night as a kid. Hate is as the mom.
But, I still do it from time to time to make some memories for my kids :)
I love the board game idea. In theory. But I hate them, too and my children are so freakin’ competitive that it usually ends in disaster.
Ha Ha your convo with your mom remonds me of mine with my sister when I was obsessed with getting all the happy meal smurfs. She informed me I didn’t have to buy tons of happy meals just to get them. You can buy the toys for like $2 each. What an amazing idea!! saved me money and some extra pounds :)
My husband’s heart does the same thing when I mention Target ;) I just love that store, it’s so much better then hellmart.
my hubs hates Target too, and if I came home with all of those games before Christmas I think he might ban me from ever going there again…
oh yeah, and the fact that I can’t play those games with my kids either, I’m way to competitive and refuse to let them win, which ultimately ends in tears…
That’s hysterical Kathy. We used to have game night every week when our kids were small (3 girls) and EVERY time someone would end up crying! It got to the point that I finally said to myself “WHY are we having a fun family night if it ends up making us all so miserable?” They were some good times though. Good luck with your family night.
Thanks for the giggle …
You are so freaking funny. I can’t even stand it!
Only you! Playing games with my five-year-old is a nightmare, especially when he loses of course. My mother always used to let me win but I don’t subscribe to that belief.
It’s actually a fun idea, but I agree with you–so unrealistic. Enjoy your nougat’s.
It sounds like a great idea…..but I don’t like playing board games either.
I think 4 times in the month is PLENTY!
I love board games! We have game night once a week. I am “slightly” competitive, so it’s not always fun or special or ending in smiles and hugs when Mommy yells, “Ha! That’s my property! Pay up, sucka!”
I am giggling so very hard at your mom’s response.
I straight up refuse to play board games with my son. He is 17 but he sucks big time to play with!
Our advent calendars are 2 of the 49 cent ones from the store that have crappy chocolate in them. Hubby & son will forget to open them most days and about once a week have to catch up & make themselves want to vomit from the nasty fake chocolate. Yup, Happy Holidays are here again.
Psst. Pat! It could be worse. It could be “Costco.”
Be happy it’s Target.
The game thing sounds like a neat idea, but practically, I’d never be able to pull it off. Finding time to do it would never happen. I like your compromise, but we can’t manage to actually sit down and play a game anyway.
Haha!! I had to laugh at the phone conversation with your mom…I guess mom does know best ;)
Seriously, though, this sounds like a great idea! I think the Saturday game night sounds even better though.
I hate playing board games with my kids. I just let them have at it…they throw pieces around, rip cards….all while I sit on my precious MacBook Pro checking Twitter.
That absolutely sounds like 25 days of pure torture to me.
Funny! Thank God for our moms!
I love you little wooden house. I have been wanting one exactly like it for a couple years now. I do not do 24 days of board games, but I do 24 nights of books. I have 24 Christmas books wrapped and under the tree. Every night my son gets to pick one book. I typically read two (maybe three) books a night, so at least one is in the Christmas spirit.
I LOVE that idea!! I think I’ll start collecting them from around the house and maybe do it next year…no way do we have 24 holiday books yet and I will NOT make the same mistake and go out to buy 25. :)
Okay, I have to say, gift wrapping already-owned games for the countdown? Brilliant. Once the boys outgrow their Lego Advent Calendar (which may never happen, since we have to buy a SECOND one every year for DH to open at work. SIGH.), I will consider that. We have enough board/card games to last the entire autumn…
I used to hate board games with my kids. Then they got older, started paying attention and strategizing…and it got FUN. Imagine that!
I think you’re a genius and Target is the best place ever. It is good we are not nearby each other. We could cause trouble.
This reminds me that I need to pull out my advent calendar. And not to be impulsive. :) My post today is calling your name. Seriously. I thought of you when I wrote it.
Oh my gosh! I never in a million years thought someone would go out and buy 25 games when I posted my idea… that’s a boatload of $$$. Glad you were able to return it.
Playing games with the kids when they were small wasn’t all that fun for me but it meant the world to them – and that was the point. Now they are teens, they don’t get excited about quarters or stickers or opening a door; but they are THRILLED that today we’ll be playing poker after dinner or in Sunday having arousing game of Settlers of Catan or Risk. Most games that we like only take about 20 minutes – that’s less then a TV show.
I’ve always played with my boys because I want us to have a lot of ways to have fun together that aren’t just screens or running off to our own corners.
For us, wrapping up their 25 favorite games was a perfect fit.
Hope you have a wonderful holiday season.
Warmly,
Nicole
Thanks Nicole! I loved your post and that idea. I think my little ones will be thrilled with the four games I kept. :) I’m going to wrap them and put them under the tree and we’ll open one each weekend. They’re so little that I think learning one and spending a week getting good at it is a good idea. By the time they’re teens we’ll have 25 games to wrap and I won’t need to make that special trip to Target! Haha!
You’ve done your good deed for the month…I NEVER play board games with the kids and this may be the start of some great memories for them and all thanks to you!! :)
I am Linky #103…and apparently am not savvy enough to link an image. Love your blog.
sounds like something i would do! hahaha and something my husband would want to kill me for! lol
Here’s a family friendly place to go with the kids online and watch what Grant is opening in his calendar. He gets more entertaining as the month goes on. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hwIAd8f-hE&feature=youtu.be
He’s been doing this for years.
Fun! Thanks!!
I love that you did that. I actually think it is an awesome idea. But yes, it’s probably a bit pricey. And yet it has me thinking … ;) I am looking forward to linking up (probably tomorrow) and now I’m not sure which prompt to choose. Ahhh!
Hey! We have the same wooden house! We use little ornaments in ours. They take turns opening the door of the day and placing the ornament on the… oh crap. It’s the 1st! We don’t have the house out! Or the TREE up!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!
*scrambles*
Oh that’s hilarious! I always put little ornaments in it too!! For some reason I can NOT find ornaments to put in it this year! Where do you get yours??
The house? I can’t recall. The ornaments? I few places. I got a couple packs from BigLots and more recently, I found a ton of them at the Goodwill. I realize that probably doesn’t help you in the slightest. Sorry. Target might have some?
Great prompts this week! The 5 things is so fun- I’m learning so much about people.
And the games? They WERE great prices Black Friday weekend.
Oh well NOW you tell me!! ;)
I like that game playing idea–using the ones we already have though, not buying 25 new games to play! HA! I used to love playing games with our family growing up–maybe when your kids get a bit older it would work for you.
I love that you did that!! I have teenagers, and they love to play games. Maybe even a deck of cards and a new game every few nights would work. I think it is an amazing idea and I just might want to copy it. (I do like the four game idea better!)
This is EXACTLY the kind of crazy idea I would have. Then regret.
Oh sweet Kat, this reminds me of that one time when you sang to Jack. Just nutty.
Well that’s a brilliant idea!
I would prefer 25 days of cupcakes though. A surprise flavor each day.
Thanks for the link-up opportunity — I had written about advent calendars yesterday already! Off to read more of the link-ups.
My kids are a little older so it’s fun to play games with them. I used to play games with my oldest all the time until she became a poor sport and ruined the fun!
My husband says I’m a marketers dream. Nice to meet a kindred spirit.
You will survive this… Good thing you returned some of those games and, you know, you can change your mind about the whole thing. There! :-) Happy Holiday Season!
I buy a chocolate dollar store advent calendar, so apparently I am the worst mother in the history of the universe…..
….peace out…..
Oh I love this. I giggled out loud. I am in the boat of board games make me wanna poke my eyes out. However this is the cutest idea….in theory of course. lol
Glad you stuck with your sweet wooden count down house and 4 games…..a perfect balance.