The winner of this giveaway is: Angelique Drummond

For our last giveaway tonight we will be giving away a copy of 7 Ate 9!

Just tell us who you would be playing the game with if you win!

We will pick a winner at 11:00PM PT!

Good luck and thanks for playing!

1. Include the Kids- Kids make everything more festive, and if most of your friends have kids, they will appreciate not having to try to find a babysitter that night.

2. Pick easy to learn Party Games- This will keep the atmosphere light and festive. The more laughter the better!

3. Make lots of game friendly snacks and hors d’oeuvres- Because the party will go until midnight or later, people will definitely get hungry, so stock up. Also, choose snacks that are easy to eat and not too messy– sticky snacks can dirty up your games in a hurry!

4. Have alternative activities for the really little kids- Kids under the age of 8 will enjoy some games, but will tire out fast and will want alternative activities too. Kid friendly movies, books and a drawing and coloring station are all great options. Also, having a snoozing area filled with pillows and blankets will allow kids to crash and still let the parents stay until midnight.

5. Have prizes for the winners- Even a small prize makes a game night feel more like a party. Paper crowns, inexpensive card games or small treats are great options.

6. Don’t forget the New Year’s Paraphernalia- Even at home, people want to feel like they are part of the festivities. Buy New Year’s hats, necklaces and noisemakers to help build the excitement!

7. Offer lots of festive drink options- Champagne is a must, but also include sparkling juice for your non-alcohol drinking attendees and other fun and festive options.

8. Choose quick games or games where players can come and go- Your guests may have multiple invitations for New Year’s Night. Offering quick games or games where players can come and go easily gives everyone more flexibility in scheduling for the night.

9. Take a break for the ball drop and count down- Many of your guests will want to watch this and will want to celebrate the exact moment of the year turning over.

10. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself- Remember, this is supposed to be fun. If things don’t go the way you want them to, there’s always next year!

River Heights Elementary (WI)- River Heights Elementary School in Menomonie Wisconsin should win a box of games. For the second year in a row, River Heights has been chosen as a Wisconsin School of recognition for their success teaching low-income students. They often incorporate games to teach students and I think that receiving a box of games from Out of the Box would be perfect, because the teachers and staff think out of the box to use innovative teaching strategies to teach ALL learners.

Bryan Elementary School (TX)- My school, Bryan Elementary, would be very appreciative to receive these wonderful games.  We are a Title I school in South Texas, and recently, we have seen our budget monies cut drastically.  Our students deserve every opportunity we can provide for them to learn and do so in a fun and exciting way.  These games would be just that – a wonderful opportunity!

BM Williams Primary School (VA)- My school deserves to win because our teachers put our students first. We are a close knit military community and we support our kids and their families through innovative programs. We strive to set up remediation programs that help our students who are struggling. Having great educational games for this type of program helps our students and keep them excited about learning.

Achieve Language Academy (MN)- Achieve Language Academy in St. Paul, MN deserves to win educational games because they have a limited budget for fun and educational items.  I know from personal experience that Out of the Box makes the best in educational games and the students at Achieve would benefit greatly from them.

Hopkins Elementary (OR)- Games are a staple in education at Hopkins Elementary in Sherwood, Oregon!  Hopkins is a very deserving school.  Learners from the entire breadth and depth of skill levels would access these games.  English language learners, students will learning disabilities, students with behavioral issues, TAG students, typical students…  at Hopkins, games are a way to bring all of these learners together!

Hopkins hosts a Games Library of numerous board, card, and dice games that enrich the learning of all students.  These games are used to teach, to reinforce, and to extend curriculum goals.  What better way to engage students in lifelong learning!

Students and families look forward to Hopkins’ annual Family Game Night, where families and friends enjoy an evening of game play using the games from our Games Library.  This night has become a wildly anticipated tradition at the school.  More games means more fun and more learning opportunities!

Hopkins would be an excellent choice for this gift of Out of the Box games!  Students, staff, families, and community would all benefit.  Hopkins Elementary loves games!

There were so many great responses and so many deserving schools. Thanks you so much to all that participated!

That is why I have decided to join the Slow Entertainment Movement (okay, so it is more of a concept than a movement at this point, but we can dream, right?). The name is coined off of the ‘Slow Food Movement’; an Italian organization dedicated more mindful eating (also known as the opposite of fast food). Slow entertainment is the type of entertainment that challenges you mentally and/ or physically, allows you to become fully involved in the entertainment process and, helps you create long-term connections with other people, basically, active entertainment rather than passive. Yes, just like slow food, this will probably take more time and more effort on the front end, but the long- and short-term rewards will make it worth it. In fact, there are a lot of parallels between food and entertainment. They can both strongly affect your emotional health, they both offer opportunities to connect with other people and they have both changed dramatically in the last fifty years in this country.

Taking time for more meaningful entertainment experiences, doesn’t have to be complicated or time consuming, in fact, some of the more simple things I am doing allow me and my friends to interject more of our personalities in to the experience. Play a game, join a sports team, go on a walk, take a class, these are all simple ideas that leave me more invigorated and more connected. You will also notice that there are other benefits to entertainment choices like these—they are cheaper, they are better for the environment and they exercise either your body or your mind.

This isn’t to say that I will never watch another TV show or play on YouTube, but I will be more mindful of the time and costs when I do. I don’t know about you, despite the bit of extra work, I would take a homemade picnic and board game over a bag of fast food and a sitcom re-run any night!

Peek a Boo – Yes, this is the simplest of all games and may not even seem like a game to you, but think about the great stimulation you are giving your baby. To baby, you disappear and reappear like magic! Although, before you know it, baby will start looking for you and it will become more of an interactive game. You can add hats and other disguises to increase the fun factor.

Simplified Shell Game- You’ve probably heard of the shell game before. You put something under a shell or cup without the other player seeing then, you mix that shell or cup up with several others and see if your opponent can guess which shell or cup the object is under. Its just the same with babies, but you may want to go much simpler (and also make sure the object you use is large enough not to be a choking hazard) by using just two cups and only moving them once or twice. Baby will continue to get better at this game and you can increase the difficulty. For a change, you can also play this game with squeaky toys. Put one under a blanket or towel and squeak it. When baby uncovers it and discovers the toy, he or she will squeal with delight.

I spy- I spy can be played in various ways depending on the age and development of your baby. You can start this game as soon as baby starts to understand simple language. Start with something like ‘Where is mommy?’ and let your baby gesture towards you. As your baby develops, you can include objects– ‘Where is the ball?’ Then, once baby starts developing language, add in questions like ‘Who is that?’ or ‘What is that?’ Finally, add characteristics– ‘Find something red.’ This game comes very naturally to many mothers and fathers and is great for language development and critical thinking.

Basic Skill Games- It may not seem like a skill game to you, but yes, stacking up and knocking over blocks, cups or other toys is a great precursor to other skill type games. Every time baby stacks and knocks over the blocks, he or she is building eye hand coordination which will be useful in future games like Jenga or Shake ‘N Take.

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