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Just Doing My Best

Thursday, April 2, 2009

 

Frugal Family Fun - Family Games


Now that my children are in their pre-teen years, games are becoming even more fun to play. I no longer strategically let the children win, but rather fight to win so I can maintain my mom credibility. If you have competitive sons or daughters, you know what I mean.

Games are one of the most frugal activities for the family. We usually have several in our closets that could be dusted off or can sometimes find gently used ones in used bookstores and consignment shops. Even if you buy a new game, games are relatively inexpensive and can be played over and over.

If you are in the market for a new, high quality, low price game, keep reading because two lucky readers will win one from Out of the Box Publications. My children and I played two of their games- My Word and Easy Come Easy Go - over Spring Break. We loved them! In fact, I'm hoping to add a few more of their games to our collection.

Easy Come Easy Go is for intended for ages 8-adult. The concept reminds me of Yahtzee, except easier to play, especially for younger children. The rules were easy to follow and the time needed to play the game was very reasonable. As busy parents, it's sometimes hard to carve out 1-2 hours for longer games, but this one was only 30 minutes. My daughter thought it was a "fun game and liked the pictures on the prize cards." She also liked the pace and strategy. My son enjoyed it, though he did not have any glowing compliments.

I was most impressed with the quality of the game. The best part of Easy Come Easy Go, was the cushioned cup for the dice. The shaking and rolling of the dice was not loud and annoying. The prize cards are made of a thick cardboard that would ensure years of play. I was surprised to see this game is less than $10.

The next one we reviewed was My Word. This game is intended for ages 7-adult and also took about 30 minutes to play. The dealer lays down letter cards one at a time and all of the players search for words from the cards that the dealer is laying down. The player who sees a word first, shouts it out and keeps those cards. The player with the most cards, wins. This was our unanimous favorite and I will let my children's comments on the game give you an idea about our opinion.

My Word has easy to follow rules and is suited well to multi-level players. It comes in a compact tin box that makes it perfect for travel. This is the kind of game I would want on a rainy day, if stuck in a hotel room or camper. I noticed that they even have free printable score sheets for this game on their website. This game is also less than $10.

We enjoyed our time playing games together and Out Of the Box Publications would like you to enjoy family game time also.

If you would like to win either, Easy Come Easy Go or My Word, complete any or all of the options below. Each option will gain you a separate entry.


  1. Go to the Out of the Box Publications site and see which game is your favorite. They offer MANY and some of them are great for educators and homeschoolers. Come back here and leave a comment telling me which you liked the best.

  2. Leave a comment telling me how your family enjoys Frugal Family Fun.

  3. Either follow me on the sidebar or subscribe to the RSS feed (top right corner) and leave a comment telling me that you did.

  4. Blog about this giveaway, linking back to Just Doing My Best. Come back here and leave me a comment that you blogged with your URL, so I can visit you too.

Comments will close at 3 pm on Friday, April 10. Two winners will be chosen by a random number generator. Be sure to leave an email so I can contact you or a new winner will be chosen.

Good luck!

Because of the high quality, high educational value, and low prices, games by Out of the Box Publications are the newest addition to Just My Best Picks.

This post is linked to:
Frugal Fridays by Life As Mom.
Freebies 4 Mom

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# posted by Heather@justdoingmybest @ Thursday, April 02, 2009 23 Comments

Thursday, February 19, 2009

 

Thanks Lands' End



A few days ago I attended Blissdom '09. For those who may not be aware, Blissdom is a blogging conference sponsored by Blissfully Domestic and One2One Network. One of the many perks of attending the conference was the sponsor provided swag.

Lands' End was overly generous in providing these great canvas totes. When I returned home, even my young daughter noticed the quality. In her words, "it will last forever because it's so heavy." Maybe not forever, but I am very impressed with it. Inside, you will find pockets surrounding the perimeter and a metal clip on an attached strap to prevent items like keys from disappearing into the bottom of the bag. There is also an outer pocket for the items you need to keep handy. I love the pink straps, but if pink isn't you, there are about 15 other colors to choose from.

While I am a huge bargain hunter and this bag is not what would typically be considered a bargain price, it is definitely a good and reasonable price. I acknowledge there are times to spend a little more for quality that will last and this bag fits that description. Check out their website as they seem to have sales quite often and even have an Overstock and Reduced section.

The Lands' End Canvas Tote is my first pick for the new feature here at Just Doing My Best called Just My Best Picks.

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# posted by Heather@justdoingmybest @ Thursday, February 19, 2009 0 Comments

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