family game night: theme night

we recently took our kids to their very first, in-the-theater movie: toy story 3. we were wondering how the kids would do with their 3-d glasses but they not only gladly wore them for the movie, but still love wearing them around the house.

they still bring up different parts of the movie that they especially loved, even though it has been three weeks since we watched it.

one way to keep that movie magic alive is to take advantage of the wealth of movie paraphernalia that is prevalent at so many stores these days. we are excited about the toy story 3 games that are available.

for tate (age 3), i think he is ready for the game memory. toy story 3 memory has pictures of all his favorite characters on the cards.  it is hard to find games that we can play with all three kids.  i love the game memory because the playing field is fairly level.  zoe (age 8) may have the best memory but tessa and tate hold their own.  sometimes we let tessa and tate get an extra turn (so they flip over 3 cards instead of 2) and that seems to keep things fair.

for tessa (age 5), i am looking forward to introducing her to the game yahtzee jr.  this, of course, requires a little bit more strategy as you try to decide which dice to keep and which dice to put back into the cup.  this is another great game for a variety of age levels, but tate needs a little extra help making a good decision in order to win the game.

one of my favorite games of all time is operation.  i still remember when we brought home our first game (from a garage sale!) when i was growing up.  i'm sure i spent hours trying to perfect my "operating" skills, trying to avoid that fateful "buzz" sound. 

now zoe can experience the same thrills i did with her own toy story 3 version of operation by operating on buzz lightyear.  i'm excited for her to have this game because it will be fun for our family, especially when tate and tessa are more coordinated and able to join in.  for now, i think she will also enjoy playing this game on her own during "room time."  this will hopefully help her develop her coordination a little bit more!

i love how hasbro takes something that my kids are already interested in and turns that interest into something that will help my kids develop great thinking skills.  (for older kids, there is also a series of shrek games now available).  i think a family game night is a great way for us to spend time together and learn and practice important character traits like patience, sharing, cooperation and good sportsmanship.

we are looking forward to this year's family game night on wednesday, september 29.  this will be a great opportunity for us to use our new toy story 3 games!

i received these three toy story 3 games from hasbro for the purpose of this review.  i have in no other way been compensated for  this post and the opinions expressed here are purely my own.