So far, my husband and I are the first couple within our immediate group of friends to have children. Has this fact affected our social lives? Yes. Has it been a detriment to our friendships? Not the ones that really count. We may not go out and “party” like we used to, but we do find ways of having fun with our little family while maintaining our relationships with our friends. Our group is a very supportive one who loves my children as their own and is very much involved with their lives. One of the activities we have made a tradition is “game night.”
Game Nights can be a social event with friends as well as family bonding time. It’s so nice to have everyone come over and spend quality time while having a little competitive fun – all while being in the comfort of our own home!
Here’s a play by play of how our game nights typically go down:
Friday 5:00pm #itsthefreakinweekendyall
The workday is through, time to pick up the kiddos and head on home, but don’t you worry … no one will be “board” tonight.
6:00pm #allthejunkfood
Make Snack Dinner, order pizza, or hit up the Waitr app for dinner options. Ain’t no one cookin’ tonight. As hosts, we typically supply most of the meal and our company brings sweets and/or booze – whatever tickles their fancy as they swing by Rouses on their way over.
6:30pm #gotime
Our game nights typically kick off around 6:30pm. We chose this time because it gives us a bit to decompress, decide on dinner, and tidy up the house for company. I use “tidy” as a loose term here – my house is ALWAYS a hot mess.
7:00pm-8:00pm #cuzweathome
By eight o’clock, both of our girls will be headed to bed. So, we spend this quality time eating together, showering them with sweet treats, having them share special news from the week with our friends, and playing a special game with them before they hit the hay. The girls can easily be tucked in between turns during any game we decide to play. But, of course, they always beg to stay up late on game nights, and sometimes that luxury is granted, because guess what? We are conveniently at our home!
8:00pm till #gameon
Adult game night commences. Recently, our games of choice are among: Cards Against Humanity, Tokaido, Code Names, Castles, Settlers of Catan, Sushi Go, and my personal favorite, Bob Ross “The Art of Chill.” Sometimes we play games “battle of the sexes” style and pit the women against the men. On other occasions, we split into two games if the guys want to play anything we ladies affectionately term a “thinking” game.
Sometimes we veer off course and end up just chatting, laughing, eating, and drinking. Sometimes my girls are a bit more rambunctious than usual. Sometimes (almost never) I am a winner during game night. But I ALWAYS have fun with all the people I love the most! And I consider that a solid #momwin.
