Christmas Tic-Tac-Toe

    One of the things that I have noticed as an educator is that children and young people are completely addicted to technology. They don’t take time out to speak to one another fact to face anymore and they definitely don’t play the kinds of games that we used to play when we were kids. The games I’m talking about were Jacks, Tic-Tac-Toe, Hopscotch, etc.

    Lately, my husband and I have been trying to limit technology in our home. Since we now have a teen and a pre-teen, they would rather spend most of their time playing video games when we are home. While we do reward them with time to play these games, we’ve also been going back to basics by making them turn off their gadgets in lieu of playing some good old-fashioned games as a family.

    When I was younger, one of my favorite games was Tic-Tac-Toe because it was so easy to play and because you could basically use any surface as a game board and many items can be used as game pieces. That is exactly what inspired me to create a Christmas Tic-Tac-Toe game that my sons and nephews could use to play with one another when the family gets together for the holidays. 

Christmas Tic-Tac-Toe

Materials –

• Drawstring jute bags 6″ x 8″
• 5 packs small erasers (Dollar Tree) 
• Puffy paint 

Directions –

1. Open your eraser packs and place the cardboard backing into the jute bag.
2. Use your puffy paint to draw a tic-tac-toe board on the front of the jute bag and let dry overnight.
3. Choose 10 erasers, like 5 presents and 5 Santa hats to place in the bag when the bag is dry and use as your tic-tac-toe pieces.

    I can’t wait to see how much fun they actually have with this game. I’m sure that they will all complain at first when they are asked to put their smartphones down and their video game controllers. Once the adults also get in on the fun and everyone is laughing and enjoying themselves, I’m sure they will all thank me. At least that is what I hope will happen…

Let’s Discuss: What are some of the ways that you get the kids and young people in your family to disconnect from technology during the holidays?

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