There are certain holidays that are so exciting for children. On Valentine's Day, they get to open numerous cards and special treats. Easter brings about the Easter bunny and egg hunts. Halloween gives kids trick-or-treating, costumes, and tons of candy. One way to extend that fun and create more family time is to play board games! You can easily make a board game for any holiday, using just a few items. And the best part is that children can actually help to build the game they are going to play!
Total Time: 20-30 minutes
Yield: 1 game board
Supplies:
- 1 medium size poster board 11"x14"
- holiday stickers, at least 1x1 inch each
- colored pencils or Markers
- fine tip permanent marker
- white, rectangular labels 1x2
- holiday erasers for game pieces
- 1 die
Steps:
From my experience teaching Pre-K, I learned quickly that you can make board games for any theme!
- Write "START" on one white label and "FINISH" on another, using the permanent marker. You can color over them with the colored pencils or markers. The color you choose can reflect the holiday you choose to do. Mine are orange for Halloween!
- Add the "Start" label, vertically, to any corner of the poster board. You can also add an arrow to point the direction the game show go. Add "FINISH" to the corner that is diagonal from your starting position.
- You are going to use special spaces throughout the pathway. Take the labels and write, "JUMP 1-2-3 spaces" on a few of them. If you need more, you can make them as your are building the game. Don't forget to color your labels.
- After the starting position, add 3-5 stickers, and then a special space.
- When you come to the edge of the game board, it is good to draw an arrow to show which way to continue. I would do this through every turn.
- Continue making that pattern of 3-5 stickers and a special space until you have completed your pathway.
- Now it is time to play the game! Simply have your child roll a die and move that number of spaces. If they land on a special space, they get to move ahead that number. When a player reaches the end, the game is over. If you are worried about hurt feelings, make it a rule that there are no winners until everyone reaches the end. It can be a group effort!
