Amazing Cheap Game Ideas For Your Children

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Keeping your children entertained when you’re on a budget can be tricky. Expensive days out and new toys are pricey. That means that you’re going to have to find other ways to keep your children busy. It is possible to entertain your little ones without spending a fortune. Doing so will mean that you need to use a little imagination. The great thing about children is that they are adaptable. They will love the fact that you are taking the time to play with them. Money can’t buy quality time, and so you should not worry about how much money you can spend on your children. Instead, focus on how much time you can spend with them. Here are some amazing and cheap games to entertain your children.

Limbo in the backyard

One simple game that your children will love is limbo. If the weather is nice, go outside with your children and play a game of limbo. All you will need for this game is a long stick. You can likely find a stick in the yard or outside. If you can’t find one, a stick from a broom will also do the trick. You will need at least three people to play this game. Two of you should hold on to either end of the stick whilst the other one bends backwards to go underneath the stick. Take it in turns. Each time lower the stick a little closer to the ground to make the game harder.

Doughnuts on a string

One classic children’s game that won’t cost you must is doughnuts on a string. Unsurprisingly, the two things you will need for this game are doughnuts and string. Make sure you get doughnuts with holes in so that you can tie them up. Use the string to tie the doughnuts so that they hang down from a pole of a ledge. Your children have to race to see who can eat their doughnut first. The one catch is that they need to ensure that they only use their mouth. They should keep their hands behind their back at all times.

Decorate boxes like cars and tanks

What is the one thing that children do when there are boxes around the house? That’s right; they play with them. Indulge your children’s imagination by buying some cheap moving boxes and using them in a game. You will also need some paint and craft materials for this game. Let your children decorate a box each that they can play inside afterwards. Often boys like to pretend that their box is a car or a tank, and so they will likely decorate their boxes in this way. Once the decoration is over, your children can play at being tanks and cars.

Have a sports day in your yard

If you have a large family, you can put on a sports day in your yard. Play the same sports that children play at school. For example, put on an egg and spoon race in your yard with ease. Make sure that you hard boil the eggs in advance, or you could end up with a mess. Pick some of your children’s favorite sports to focus on and make an event out of the day.

Hide and seek (in the dark)

Put a twist on the classic game of hide and seek by playing it in the dark. Draw all the drapes in the house and turn out the lights. Count to ten and have your children hide in certain areas of the house. The game will be more difficult than usual because you will find it difficult to see.

 

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101 Questions and Conversation Starters For Kids- Great Time Fillers

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101 questions and conversation starters for kidsI am so tired of my kids telling me they are bored after 5 seconds of having nothing to do.  If we go somewhere and there is a wait, they have NO patience.  Both of my girls have ADHD so that makes it even worse.   All the usual games that we used to play like I Spy, I’m Thinking Of, and Alphabet Games (where you think of words that start with each letter of the alphabet or think of a word that starts with the letter the last word ended on) are no longer of interest to them.  I have been looking for things to keep them busy lately that don’t require any supplies.  I once bought a set of conversation starter type cards that were laminated and on a ring and could be kept in my purse for when we had some time to kill.  Unfortunately, I have no idea where that ring of cards went.   Instead of trying to purchase something similar I decided to create my own list of questions, topics, etc. to use with my children.  Instead of needing to keep a ring of cards with me, I can bookmark this post so I can quickly pull up the list from my cellphone and keep my kids busy.  And the best part, they’ll be busy THINKING instead of playing electronic games that require little actual brain power. 🙂
If you have questions I should add to my list, please comment and let me know!
Make sure to bookmark this post so you, too, can have it handy when you need some time filler!

  1. What was something fun you did this week?
  2. What is your favorite meal that your mom makes?
  3. What is your least favorite meal that your mom makes?
  4. Describe your day if you were a zoo keeper.
  5. What is one thing you couldn’t live without?
  6. What cartoon character would you most like to meet and why?
  7. What job would you like to have when you grow up?
  8. What is your favorite movie?  What is your favorite part of it?
  9. What is something you are afraid of?
  10. If you could redesign your house, what would you change?
  11. What is your favorite joke?
  12. If you were to create your own country, what would you call it?  What laws would you have?
  13. If you could do anything for your next birthday party, what would you want to do?
  14. What would you do if someone teased you?
  15. How would you describe your father to someone?
  16. How would you describe your mother to someone?
  17. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you want to go and why?
  18. What television show would you want to be on and what would your character be like?
  19. Who is the funniest person you know?
  20. What 3 words would you use to describe your teacher?
  21. What 3 words would you use to describe yourself?
  22. What is something you are really proud of?
  23. What is something that you wish you hadn’t done?
  24. Where is the best place you have ever been?
  25. If you could have 3 wishes, what would they be?
  26. Do you want to have children and if so, how many?
  27. What is your favorite song?
  28. If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
  29. If you could change one thing about your family, what would it be?
  30. What actor or actress would you most want to be friends with?
  31. What television parent would you want to be your parent and why?
  32. If you were invisible, where would you go and what would you do?
  33. Name 5 things that make you smile.
  34. Name 5 things that make you sad.
  35. What is your favorite thing about yourself?
  36. If you could go anywhere on vacation, where would you want to go?
  37. What book character would you most want to meet?  What would you do with him/her?
  38. If you could invent something, what would it be?
  39. If I gave you $1 million dollars what would you do with it?
  40. If you could decorate your room any way you want, what would you do to it?
  41. If you were a parent and your child wasn’t listening, what would you do?
  42. What is your favorite family tradition?
  43. What family tradition would you like to start?
  44. Who do you think is the best television mom?  Who do you think is the best television dad?
  45. What is the hardest part about being you?
  46. If you could have any animal as a pet, what would you choose?
  47. If a time machine was real would you rather go back in time or go to the future and why?
  48. Describe what you think your parents were like as children.
  49. What would be your ideal meal?
  50. Would you rather be a child or be an adult?
  51. What is your favorite store to shop in?
  52. If you were locked in the mall overnight what would you do to pass the time?
  53. If you could plan the most perfectly fun day, what would you do? Where would they go? Tell me everything from waking up to going to bed.
  54. If you could own any store what store would you want to own?
  55. If you could make a new law for the country, what would it be?
  56. If you could make a new rule for your school, what would it be?
  57. What are 3 ways you like to get exercise?
  58. Make up a silly word, tell me what it is and what it means.
  59. What famous person would you like to meet?  What would you ask them if you met them?  How would you spend your time with them?
  60. What is something that makes you angry?
  61. If you could only keep one thing to save forever what would it be?
  62. Who is your hero and why?
  63. What is your favorite thing to do during the summer?  What is your favorite thing to do during the winter?
  64. What is the weirdest thing you have ever eaten?
  65. If you could be someone else for a day, who would you want to be and why?
  66. What is your favorite room in your house and why?
  67. What is the worst job in the world? Why?
  68. If you could only eat 1 food for a week what would it be?
  69. If you had $1,000 where would you spend it?
  70. What was the best part of your day?  What was the worst part of your day?
  71. Why did the chicken cross the road?
  72. What is one food you’d never want to taste again?
  73. Where would you choose to live, the ocean or the moon?
  74. What is your favorite thing to do when you have free time?
  75. What is one thing you wish your parents knew about you?
  76. If you could visit any place in the world, where would you choose to go and why?
  77. What one chore do you wish you never had to do again?  What thing around the house do you wish you could do?
  78. If you could trade places with someone for a day, who would you trade with?  What would you do?
  79. What is your favorite game to play?
  80. What is one thing you want to learn how to do?
  81. Describe the steps it takes to cook your favorite meal.  What items do you need to make it?  How long do you cook it for?
  82. What song do you know all the words to?  Sing it.
  83. What is your favorite holiday?  How do you celebrate it?
  84. Who is someone you think is brave?  What do they do that makes them brave?
  85. What could you do to make the world a better place?
  86. What do you think the biggest problem in the world is?
  87. What do your parents do that makes you crazy?
  88. Who do you think has things easier, boys or girls, and why?
  89. What food would you never eat?
  90. What is your favorite subject/class in school?  What is your least favorite?
  91. If you could change your name, what would you change it to?
  92. What is the bravest thing you have ever done?
  93. Who is the smartest person you know?
  94. What is your favorite snack?
  95. What do you love most about your sibling?
  96. Name two things you want do as a family on the weekend.
  97. What do you think you will be doing 10 years from now?
  98. What would be the ideal allowance?  What would you do with it?
  99. What advice would you give your parents?
  100. What do you like about being a kid?
  101. Would you rather have wings to fly or gills to breathe under water?

BONUS- What question do you want to ask your parents?

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Monster Discipline Board Game Review and Giveaway

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Disclosure- We received a Monster Discipline game board to facilitate our review.  We received no other compensation and all opinions are 100% our own.
monster discipline review

In the quest of better behavior and let’s be honest, my sanity, we’ve tried varies behavior plans with our girls.  We’ve tried everything from a token system, a point system, a reward and consequence system, and a ton of other things.  Everything works for a little while but then it gets hard to keep up with, we forget, it gets too complicated, or 101 other reasons and we stop doing it.  I was looking for a behavior tool that was easy to use but would work with my girls.  That’s when I found Monster Discipline.  Monster Discipline is great because it is a fun game that is easy to set up and play because it doesn’t take much time.  The best part is that my girls love it.  The game comes with the game board, magnetic playing pieces, a die, and a dry erase marker when you purchase the laminated game board like we have.  We used our own magnetic clips to hang it on our front door.
monster discipline set up
We set our game board up on our front door so we can easily access it every night on our way upstairs for our bedtime routine.  Our rules were already posted on our door so we put the game board on the other side and used magnets to keep it on the door.  I also added a magnetic cup on the side to keep the dice in as well as a few dry erase boards that we always keep on the door for messages, etc.
monster rules
Families start by posting their family rules on the game board.  We already had family rules and expectations typed up so we just hung ours next to our game board.
rolls and points
Monster Discipline is a simple to follow board game.  Each day children start on Good Good which earns them 1 roll of the dice for the day.  If they are extra good for the day they can move up to Great Job or Excellent to earn extra rolls and bonus points.  If they break the rules they have to move their game piece down on the chart and lose their turn to roll, lose points, etc.  The purple and blue pieces pictured above didn’t come with the set.  The set came with smaller red, blue, green, and yellow game pieces but my girls wanted to use the light blue and purple magnets we already had on our refrigerator.

game
At the end of the day, each child get to roll the dice the number of rolls that they earned.  They then move their game piece the number of spaces on the game board equal to the number that they rolled on the dice and earn the number of points that is on the space they landed on.  The game comes with magnetic colored pieces to use as game pieces but we put our game board on our front door and the magnets had a hard time sticking to the parts of our door that were indented (the squares in the picture) so we use the dry erase marker to keep track of what spot each of our girls are on each day.  You can see the A and the D on our game board in the picture above.
points earned
There is a spot on the game board to keep track of how many points and how many bonus rolls each child had earned.  This is great for me because with other systems I would forget how many points, tokens, tickets, etc. my girls would earn.  Now there is nothing to forget!
rewards
Once children make it all the way around the game board and into the Treasure Chest area they get to use their points to pick a reward.  We let our girls come up with what they wanted their rewards to be so they would be more motivated to earn them.  I like that we are able to change the rewards if the girls decide they want to work for something else.  Usually children earn between 400-600 points per trip around the board so keep that in mind when assigning point values to rewards.

Want your own Monster Discipline Game? There are 2 ways to get it.  You can download it digitally and print it yourself which is obviously the fastest ways to start using the program.  I personally like the laminated game board because we can use the dry erase markers on it, it is easy to use, and comes with everything you need.

2 Ways to Get Monster Discipline-
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD (print yourself):

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PROFESSIONALLY PRINTED (and laminated!) GIANT GAME BOARD:4311046_orig

Want to win a Monster Discipline Board Game?
Here’s how to enter:

First of all – you must follow my blog – The giveaways I host are for my wonderful readers. To be considered a Cori’s Cozy Corner reader, you must receive my once daily email.  This is not considered an entry, but rather a requirement in order to enter any of my giveaways.  🙂
I do verify that you subscribe to my e-mail at the time of the winner drawing.  You can sign up for my once daily email easily by entering your e-mail address right here:

Once you are a Cori’s Cozy Corner reader via email you can continue onto the Entry Form Below.
Good luck!

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Moshi Monsters: Katsuma Unleashed Review and Giveaway

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Thank you for visiting Cori's Cozy Corner! Please make sure to like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and subscribe to our E-mails!

 Disclosure- I received the item(s) mentioned below to conduct my review.  I received no other compensation and my opinions are 100% my own.

Moshi Monsters Katsuma Unleashed Review

My girls love Moshi Monsters so they were excited to find out that Katsuma, the most popular Moshi Monster character now has his own game!  Moshi Monsters: Katsuma Unleashed – the newest game in the best-selling series for Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo DS™ –is now available!  It stars Katsuma and is based on Moshi Monsters, the popular interactive online world with 70 million registered users worldwide!

A vibrant, side-scrolling, action-adventure platform game, Moshi Monsters: Katsuma Unleashed (3DS SRP $29.99; DS SRP $24.99) will bring fans of all ages into the Moshi Monsters world like never before. The non-stop action begins when Dr. Strangeglove, intent on his evil mission to learn the secret of Moshi Picchu, captures Elder Furi and all of the innocent Moshi Monsters – except Katsuma! As the most popular Moshi Monsters character, players embark on a far-reaching voyage, traveling through six new worlds packed with mini arcade challenges and epic boss battles. Katsuma must work to rescue his Moshi Monsters friends, so he can gain their unique powers – from Furi’s “Smash” to Diavlo’s “Flight” – to help him combat the enemies and keep the secret of Moshi Picchu safe!

My 10 year old said she likes that this game is challenging.  You have 3 lives so if you lose all 3 lives you have to start over at the checkpoint of the level you are on.  This adds to the challenge.  She also likes that that are different types of “bad guys”.  Some move back and forth and some move up and down.  They are color coded by what they do so you know how they will act.  For example the red ones move back and forth.  On some of the levels there is a magic trail.  When you walk along the trail it turns into a blue path that is as long as the trail.  This special blue path prevents you from falling which she thinks is a cool feature.   Be careful of the grey characters that look like pufferfish.  They will explode when you get near them and will shoot grey spikes at you.  If you touch the spikes you will lose a life.  If you are a Moshi Monsters fan, you’ll love Moshi Monsters: Katsuma Unleashed.

moshi monsters katsuma

Moshi Monsters: Katsuma Unleashed is jam-packed with bonus content and includes hidden areas for players to unlock, plus exclusive codes that they can redeem to earn virtual items at www.MoshiMonsters.com. In addition, Nintendo 3DS Streetpass users can search for interactive maps and special monster attack games that allow them to play as each Moshi Monsters character and enjoy their distinct set of “moves”!

Here’s a special sneak peek trailer, so you can check out the new game in action!

packshot-us

Want to win your own Moshi Monsters: Katsuma Unleashed DS Game?
Here’s what you need to do to ENTER –

First of all – you must follow my blog – The giveaways I host are for my wonderful readers. To be considered a Cori’s Cozy Corner reader, you must receive my once daily email.  This is not considered an entry, but rather a requirement in order to enter any of my giveaways.  🙂
I do verify that you subscribe to my e-mail at the time of the winner drawing.  You can sign up for my once daily email easily by entering your e-mail address right here:

Once you are a Cori’s Cozy Corner reader via email you can continue onto the Entry Form Below.  Good luck!

6 ACTION PACKED WORLDS TO EXPLORE

Jump, spin, dash and bash your way through 6 monsterific worlds packed with battles, baddies and a host of hidden secrets! From the lowlands of Pirate Bay to the snow-capped peaks of Mount Sillimanjaro and beyond, get ready to discover the farthest reaches of Monstro City.

DEFEAT THE ROBOT MOSHLINGS

Fur will fly with epic battles against Dr. Strangeglove’s evil robot Moshlings – an army of dastardly drones sent to stop Katsuma in his tracks. You’ll need all your skills to dodge Robot Blurp’s flying spines, whack Robot DJ Quack, leap over Robot Long Beard and thump as many Glumps as you can!

SUPER MOSHI POWERS

Unlock amazing superpowers, rescue your Moshi mates and access hidden hero areas and super short­cuts! Once unlocked, you can use your super powers to battle your way though even the toughest levels. Unleash the awesome Zommer eyeball attack, bash through walls with Furi’s smash ability and discover secret areas with Diavlo’s char-vellous flying powers!

6 ACTION PACKED WORLDS TO EXPLORE

Jump, spin, dash and bash your way through 6 monsterific worlds packed with battles, baddies and a host of hidden secrets! From the lowlands of Pirate Bay to the snow-capped peaks of Mount Sillimanjaro and beyond, get ready to discover the farthest reaches of Monstro City.

EPIC BOSS BATTLES

Prove your skills as you fight your way through epic boss battles. Topple Sweet Tooth from a candy throne, take to the skies in a dogfight with Scare Force One, and rumble in the jungle with Big Chief Tiny Head before taking on the ultimate boss, Dr Strangeglove himself!

MONSTERIFIC MINI GAMES

Unleash Katsuma in a multitude of monsterific mini games and unlock exclusive abilities, Rox rewards and Moshlings too! Every mini-game you unlock can be played on its own. Perfect for practicing your monster moves!

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Highlights Hidden Pictures Club

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Disclosure: I received an advanced copy of the magazine mentioned below along with several other Highlights magazine samples at the Highlights breakfast event I attended while at BlogHer13.  I received no other compensation and all opinions are 100% my own.

Did you ever go to the doctor’s office as a child and get excited when you saw a Highlights magazine sitting there in the waiting room just waiting to be read?  And how great was your excitement when you realized that the puzzles hadn’t been completed yet?!?!  SCORE!  Most of us have childhood memories reading Highlights magazines either at home or somewhere else.  I personally loved the hidden pictures the best.  What was your favorite part?

Now that I have my own children, I have made Highlights a part of their childhoods, too.  We subscribe to the regular Highlights magazine as well as the Puzzlemania magazine by Highlights.  My girls love getting mail and I love that these magazines keep their brains working without electronics.  They are great for in the car, while waiting at restaurants, and of course they are still great for the wait at doctors’ offices.
eagle eye hidden pictures collage 3

I am excited that Highlights has made my favorite part into its own magazine called Highlights Hidden Pictures Club which will be available in September.  It has 2 age levels, Let’s Play for ages 3-6 years old and Eagle-Eye for ages 6+.  We received a copy of Eagle-Eye to review because my girls are over 6 years old.  My girls love that it has lots of hidden pictures to find but there is so much more inside.  This edition has a page that lets children create their own dialogue for the characters, a hidden words page, and one of my favorite pages is a page that has children create their own hidden picture by drawing an object (a boomerang in this edition) and then turning it into a picture of something else to “hide it”.  I love that this activity gets kids thinking outside the box and using their creativity.

Eagle Eye Hidden Pictures Collage 2
There are also pages that teach several words in other languages, a page that has word families, recipes, stickers, pages to color, a crossword puzzle, and so much more.  The pages are all visually and mentally stimulating for children.  As a parent I love that this magazine is full of so many different types of activities to keep my girls thinking outside the box and using their brains.
Eagle Eye Hidden Pictures Collage

Check out the new free app from Highlights, Highlights Hopscotch! With Hopscotch, you’ll find fun videos, interactive comics, easy recipes, children’s audio stories, crafts and free digital Highlights™ magazines that will keep your youngsters entertained for hours.

 

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Fame Us Game- Name Your Claim To Fame!

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Looking for a fun game for the 10+ set?  Check out Fame Us.  In this fun “bluffing” party game, players play Description cards to define characters – real or fictional.  Be careful when you call the other players bluffs as they may be your “secret” Divas or Celebs teammate. This is a great game for a group because you can play with 4 to 8 players.  It would be a great slumber party game.  Pop some popcorn and start guessing.

Hummmm…. Non-American, Popular With Your Parents, Blond, DJ/VJ… Can you guess who I am? If not you better be able to bluff your way out of it! Test your skill at identifying a famous person or character based on the descriptions given on the cards. You’re stumped? No problem! Just don’t get caught!

Features
•Cards that are thought-provoking and other that are just plain funny!
•Game of bluffing and “secret” Team play
•Hourglass available to control the length of players turns.

Ages 10+
4-8 Players
Average Game Time- 10 Minutes

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