During the long winter months, what are some of your favorite ways to entertain your family?

~we play the Farming Game lots. We all love that game and it really helps the kids to not only have fun, but to learn while doing it.

~we love watching old movies if we can find any

~reading

What about you and your family?

OK CJ, I have to know what the farming game is!!!! Is it a board game? Please let me know!

We like to play board games, and right now I am in the market for a big, low, square coffee table to sit around and play board games. I must be getting old because laying on the floor to play a game is misery for me! I have to keep changing positions because my bones *ache* if I stay in one spot for too long. And our kitchen table is rectangular so it's a long reach for the ones on the far ends to move their pieces. I can see now why card tables are so popular - they are the perfect size for games.

We like watching movies together too. I love old westerns - and although this probably doesn't qualify as an old western, I love Bonanza reruns!!

We also like to go back into our woods and cut wood and stack it, just to clean up the woods of fallen branches. We build a bonfire and the kids keep occupied just hunting around looking for tracks in the snow. I love the woods in winter. No worrying about deer ticks and wild raspberry canes cutting into your legs. It's so pretty and you can see for such a long ways with the underbrush all covered up with snow. Then we come in for hot chocolate and take naps!!! :)

We spend time playing cards and board games, watching movies, reading and playing in the snow (when we have some). :)

Farmgirl, here is the Farm Game: http://www.farmgame.com/

http://www.farmgame.com/image/bf6.jpg (http://www.farmgame.com/prodItem.asp?catno=1001)

I wanted to add here, it was created on a tractor by a farmer. Its a great game, fun, challenging and educational all at once.

I LOVE the Farming Game! I'm so excited to find someone else who knows the game!!! My grandparents immigrated to and farmed in the Yakima Valley for about 50 years, so the game is really meaningful to our family. My sibs and I would argue over who would be "Sunnyside Sam" as that is where dgrparents lived for many of the years. Abou 5 yrs ago dmom was decluttering her house and I inherited the game. It's pretty tattered, but we don't care! I can't wait until our kids are old enough to play it! Cj, this is just so cool! I wish we lived closer to eachother so we could play!

Okay, now to answer the question! We do a lot of reading. Right now I'm reading the Long Winter to dd while dh is reading Paddington Bear to ds. We also play a lot of games. We got the kids card holders for Christmas and that helps a lot. We have quite a video collection of family videos (we invested in those instead of getting cable)....the Anne of Green Gables series, Sound of Music, Pollyanna, the Sarah Plain and Tall series, 10 LHOTP videos, etc. Ds (age 4) would rather watch Thomas the Tank Engine videos, but he likes these other ones as well. They love to cuddle under blankets and munch on stove top popped popcorn and watch these videos together.

Oooh Sarah Plain & Tall series, we love. We watch that over and over again.

Now to the Farming Game - I always try to buy up all the fruit. You can make big $$ that way, but now the kids are getting smart. They see what mom buys and they want the same thing. :mwhistle:

BlessedMom is would be so much fun to have a game together. Now that I've gave away my secrets, I wonder who would win. :mwhistle:

You're so right about the fruit, cj! But it can either make or break you! It seems like when dh buys it he wins, but for me a frost always hits!! I have sooo much empathy for fruit farmers!