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Board games, card games, dice games, and the like all make for fantastic fun when mixed with a crowd of your favorite friends and family members. It has makes for uncomplicated evening entertainment. Games nights don’t have to be more than a few loved games, people, and snacks to eat. Order a pizza and pick up some beer! However, if you want to make it a bit more special, add a few touches to enhance the evening, keep on reading for my favorite game night tips for a brightly colored, potluck get-together.

 5 Ways to Level Up Game Night

Invite some friends over and pull out your favorite board games for a low-key, but anything but boring evening. 

When it comes to hosting something right after a jam packed holiday season, easy is the name of the game. For a game night menu I would actually play on words a bit and ask for guests to each bring a different food board of choice to compliment an evening or board games.

1: Game Night Food Idea: Enjoy Board Games with Food Boards!

Food boards—Charcuterie Boards being the mainstay—started to gain major traction in 2017-2019, even leading to treads of things like grazing tables! During the height of the pandemic favor for them left for more individualized (and safer) portions. However, as the world has been shifting into its new phases, food boards have gained back their former popularity. They are popular for a reason! It gives guests the ability to pick what they want to eat, it is pleasing to the eye, and they are a great way to display food.

For game night lean into the fun of word play and ask each of the guests you invite to bring a food board for an evening of board games! Give an assignment to each party so that you have a variety of food items— one guest brings the appetizer board, another an entree board, and another a dessert board, etc. The best part is that these are ultra-transportable! Guests can pile up items on a board, cover it with plastic wrap or aluminum foil, and head right over.

Game Night Potluck: Food Board Suggestions

The options for food boards are endless! But, some of your guests may need some ideas. Supply them with a few tips when requesting they bring a certain assigned food board for the evening.

Appetizer Food Boards:

  • Vegetable Platter
  • Charcuterie Board
  • French Fry Board
  • Pretzel Board with a variety of Dipping Sauces
  • Cheese Board

Entree Food Boards:

Whoever is on this duty will have to have a bit more substantial fare on their board. This is the perfect board for the host to assign themselves.

  • Taco Food Board: Do a tray of hard tacos filled with taco filling of choice. Add toppings on the board for guests to top their tacos with.
  • Hamburger Food Board: Do a board of plain hamburgers with buns and then cover open spots on the board in yummy toppings like lettuce, tomato, pickles, cheese, avocado, mustard, mayo, and other favorite toppings.
  • Baked Potato Board: Baked Potatoes, split in half, and wrapped in foil are surrounded by a variety of toppings to make a delicious baked potato dinner.
  • Fried Favorites Board: This would be fun for a snacky game night! Fill a board with some favorite fried foods such as chicken strips, corn dogs, taquitos, fried mac and cheese balls, etc. Add your favorite dipping sauces to complete this board.

Dessert Boards:

Desserts can be anything from favorite candies and popcorns on a treat board to a pile of favorite cookies and cakes displayed with fruit.

Tips for Hosting a Potluck Safely

As a host, make sure you have plenty of tons and serving utensils available so people are not picking items up with their hands. Also have hand washing and sanitizer areas available. As it is game night, and no one wants sticky hands while playing games, it isn’t a bad idea to have hand wipes available for those who need them!

2: Charades and Chillers: Drinks for a Family-Friendly Game Night

The name of the game is easy. So, instead of complicated cocktails or make your own bars, serve some favorite sodas, beers, cocktails-in-a-can, etc. If you too enjoyed the holidays in a bit of over-abundance and want to step it back a bit for the new year, lean into the desire to just lighten things up with some of the new probiotic sodas and favorite kombuchas. If you’re feeling like serving something specialf or the adults, mix up a pitcher of mocktails for a fun alternative. 

bightly colored flowers in a clear vase that is filled with colorful dice. Bananagrams game is on the table

3: Roll the Dice with Game Night Decor

While a game night truly doesn’t not need any decoration, I do like to add a special touch that adds a bit of interest. Give your game night just a bit more interest by adding some brightly colored linens, clear acrylic containers for food or drinks, and a couple of bright centerpieces crafted with store bought flowers.

How to Make a Game Night Centerpiece:

Needed: Create a game-night themed centerpiece with 1 larger glass vase, 1 smaller glass vase (or rocks glass), tape, brightly colored dice (#ad), and store bought blooms.

Instructions:

  • Using doubled up tape, tape the smaller vase in the middle of the larger vase. This will not be a permanent or very solid fix, but it will help keep the vase in place as you add dice around it.
  • Surround the smaller vase with dice. You can fill all the way up around the smaller vase, or just halfway up the side, either way, it will give the effect of the vase being filled with dice!
  • Add water to the inner vase.
  • Fill inner vase with store bought blooms that are cut just taller than the larger vase. I used a mix of gerber daisies, craspedia billy balls, and eryngium flowers.

4: The Clock is Ticking: What Games to Pick for Game Night?

Finally, the games! I like to avoid games that take too long or tend to drag on. Quick games that are easy to learn are usually the way to go with a crowd. Depending on the size of your game night, you can have one game going for the group, or several different games going with smaller groups of players.

Some of My Favorite Game Night Games:

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  • Tenzi: This action packed, very quick, dice game is fun for the whole family. We play it at the table after dinner sometimes just for a few minutes of fun together. The one I’ve linked there first comes with a booklet of 77 other games that can be played with the set. I have the basic brightly colored set and I also really think this sweet set will join our game shelves soon too.
  • Bananagrams: A classic! If you love games like scrabble but want it to be a bit faster, this game is for you. It is also really easy to bring on camping trips and to getaway cabins. Already have the classic version? Try the Bananagrams party edition!
  • Colorful Stacking Board Game: This colorful game may remind you of the game night mainstay Jenga. And, in essence the idea is the same. However this game also comes with dice that you roll that tells you which color you must pull! That combined with a much more slippery block makes for a more challenging game.
  • Sussed: This card game is directed at Tweens with its fun spin on Would You Rather? But, we had fun playing ages 8 through 60+! It is a great way to get to know each other or test how well you know your friends and family. There are four different ways to play the game as well, so once you master one way of doing it, you can switch it up!
  • Platypus: A word game, a how well do you know your teammate game, and a pop culture game all wrapped into one. This is a cooperative game so no one wins or loses, but it is a lot of laughs. We played on New Year’s Eve and started knowing that there was no way that we’d make it staying up til midnight… next thing you know, it is ten til midnight and we are sad to stop playing to get ready for the countdown!
  • Family Faceoff: This game (which I completely messed up the name on TV!) is such a fun way to bring multiple ages together. There is a bit of acting (charades style), a bit of guessing songs, a bit of finding things within the room, and then the FACE OFF challenges. This game was created by the Holderness Family who have been one of my favorite follows on social media for years. It is in the name, but this one is very much a family-friendly find.
Score cards on mini clipboards with pencils attached. Flowers and games in background.

5: Keeping Score: Keep Track of the Real Game Night Winners!

Part of the fun of game night is the competition. While you’ll track each game on their own, each of the players will want to keep track of how many wins and losses they’ve racked up. Whether on teams of 1 or teams of many, my free printable game night score card will help guests track their scores, note the ultimate winner, and keep track of the teammate that they will just have to have join them next game night!

Make a fun night with friends and family just a bit more special with these game night bonus points. Use them all or just a few, but for sure get together with some friends and family and play your favorite games together.

I’d love to hear your game night mainstays! Any games you’ve been ready to try? Snacks that are always present? Share in the comments below!

My four year old was very particular about his party theme this year. This was the first year for him to have a “friend” party inviting neighborhood kids and his classmates. He wanted desperately to combine his two loves… superheroes and unicorns. Done…with joy I might add. I loved this theme!

This is a LONG post… if you don’t have time, but want to get the TLDR version, scroll down to the very bottom for the biggest takeaways!

We had so many kids that we had to have two tables set up. The floor table was set for older kids to enjoy a selection of cereals and treats.

His birthday falls into a really busy time for us. I traveled for work at the end of October and followed it with our annual Halloween party. Then my husband traveled for work the week between the Halloween party and his birthday. It was nuts.

Though life felt super crazy at this time, I really didn’t want his birthday to feel like it was an inconvenience or a second thought. Thankfully, we kept decor to a few installations and I was able to get it together with the help of a VERY good friend who was up with me til midnight blowing up balloons and creating a streamer rainbow.

Unicorn Superhero Birthday Party

Unicorns are incredibly popular right now. So are superheroes. Unicorn superheroes? A tad harder to find! I had fun creating the theme design. The decor, while impactful, was pretty simple in concept: streamers, confetti, and a whole lot of balloons!

I chose to do a balloon floor because what would be more fun for a four year old than a room full of balloons! It served as both a party activity AND decor. Because the balloons were on the floor I didn’t have to use any helium and they lasted for nearly two months. We created balloon garlands out of them after this party and used them for a party a full month later at another location and they still looked pretty great.

Rainbows were an easy way to please all who were involved. I loved the unicorn party supplies from Target.

Unicorn Superhero Birthday Party Decor Supplies

Note: All of the below links are affiliate links. Affiliate links give a small portion of a purchase to me if you purchase anything on this list. It is at no extra cost to you, but it does help support this blog. Thank you for supporting our blog.

  • Unicorn Straws – Target
  • Enchanted Forest Snack Plate – Target
  • Coordinating bowls, spoons, and napkins. Target, it is a one-stop shop!
  • Streamers – Amazon
  • Confetti – Amazon
  • Balloons – These days I make my own balloon garlands and such and have quite the collection of balloons. Amazon is my go to for balloons and I buy multiple sizes and store what I don’t use for later use. Unless you host often or have a ton of storage, I’d suggest getting a multi-color pack of balloons in a single size for the floor and a balloon garland kit in white for the cloud.
  • Unicorn Inflatable Pool Float
  • See all the Enchanted Forest party items from Target. Many of these would come together to make the sweetest party!
A view of the space before I added the fruit tray to the coffee table. The balloons were the biggest draw, but I also love the backdrop!

Making the rainbow wall backdrop

I knew I wanted a backdrop that would draw the eye when guests walked into the space. A friend came over and helped me get it up the night before the party so I really got to surprise my kiddo with it as well!

  1. Cut streamers in a variety of colors to the same length at the size you want for your backdrop. Ours was about 7.5 feet tall. Attach to wall using painter’s tape. We chose to just make it multicolored the whole way through, but you could also decide to do it in big chunks of color in the colors/order of colors of the rainbow.
  2. Create balloon garland out of white balloons and hang from ceiling. I used bakers twine and pins to attach it. The balloons were light weight enough that it didn’t take much effort. Try to center the balloons over the space where you have your rainbow streamers to cover up the painter’s tape as much as possible.
Choose your own cereal and donuts for the win!

Superhero Unicorn Birthday Party Food

Knowing I’d have a house full of kids and parents… I wanted to keep food pretty kid-friendly and simple to make. I decided to host a breakfast party!

These egg bites were so easy to make. I bought pre-cooked pastry shells and filled them with an egg mixture. One was vegetarian and the other had ham.

We hosted the party in the morning and served a variety of cereals, donuts, and fruit for the kiddos. I had a couple of varieties of milk (both dairy and non) and some allergy-friendly cereals. For the adults I served a big bowl of boiled eggs (many kids liked these too), egg bites, salad, fruit, and donuts. Drinks for the kids were milks and juices. The adults had mimosas and coffee. The donuts served as the birthday cake as well as a fun piece of decor.

Mimosa bar

Superhero Unicorn Birthday Party Activities

In my mind the story of this party was that the kids would come in as the wonderful unicorns they are and then learn how to be unicorn superheroes in our superhero training. Wrangling 16 kids for structured activities in a small space was a bit overwhelming, but the parents (and their kiddos) were SO amazing and game for anything that it really worked out well.

This is one happy 4 year old. 😀

Kids began the party by playing in the balloons until the majority of everyone was in attendance. We then ate breakfast. After breakfast we moved the plates away and used the table space to create our superhero costumes.

Laser obstacle course as part of unicorn superhero training

I found unicorn horns (affiliate link), superhero masks, and capes (affiliate link) affordably on Amazon. The capes and masks came with stickers that the kids were able to use to decorate their costumes. I tell you… there is nothing cuter than a bunch of excited little unicorn superheroes.

After the craft activity we explained the rules of the superhero training course. We got four parent volunteers to help with this process. It made it even more fun for the kids when they saw their parents participate.

Bad guys getting caught!

Two of the adults were our “bad guys” and they dressed up in black masks and had a bag of “stolen” goodies. I bought little bad guy kits (affiliate link) to make it look more authentic and filled the bags with unicorn party favors (affiliate link). The bad guys were instructed to do all of the activities FIRST so the kids could follow them.

  • Unicorn Superhero Warm Up: The kids followed my husband down the stairs to our family room where they had to do warm ups for the course. My oldest son led them in a series of easy exercises.
  • Crawling: The kids then had to crawl through a tunnel (affiliate link- I love these things!) to get to their accuracy training.
  • Accuracy Training: Two of the adult volunteers put on these outrageously funny unicorn hats (affiliate link) and the kids had to ring the unicorn before passing to the next part of the course.
  • Laser Obstacle Course: Streamers substituted as lasers for this Entrapment-esque challenge. It worked really well in our wide but long mudroom. I could see it also working in a hallway!
  • Catch the Bad Guys: The final challenge was to catch the bad guys! The bad guys led the way upstairs again where they sat down for a break. The unicorn superheroes then captured them by tying them to their chairs using streamers. Giggles ensued!

It all ended with the kids getting to get a favor from the robber’s bags. In the end, I feel like this was a super fun party!

I threw on this dress at the last minute because it was so colorful… at the end of the party we realized that I matched!

TLDR: Party Highlights

  • Breakfast time parties make for easy, kid-friendly foods! Keep it simple… cereal, donuts, and fruit were a total hit. Don’t forget the adults with some coffee and more savory items.
  • Four year olds don’t care about the fancy decor. Balloons, streamers, and confetti doubled as both party activities and decor.
  • Get the parents involved in the activities. It will make the kids more likely to participate and everyone will have a good time. Keep their participation super simple.
  • Putting together your own superhero unicorn party? Shop the supplies above (or from the box below) and help this blogger bring more fun ideas.

Cheers to all the unicorn superheroes out there. May your day be as unique and fun as my four-year-old is! If you liked this party please do me the favor of sharing on your favorite social media site. It really helps me create more content like this.

Cheese boards are having a big moment right now and I’m here for it. I love a good cheese board, charcuterie platter, or grazing table. This grilled peaches and brie summer cheese board is not only a showstopping party dish, but also so easy to put together that it works for a nice weeknight meal!

This post is not sponsored by any of the companies or products mentioned below. There are affiliate links within this post. Purchases made from affiliate links help support this blog without any additional cost to the buyer. Thank you for supporting this blog as it allows me the opportunity to create new content!

I am a part of a Facebook group in which group members are always sharing photos of everything from super simple cheese boards to extravagant platters. I think that this type of dining works so well these days because people are all on different diets and because they can be put together without a ton of cooking skills.

This cheese board was inspired by an email or pamphlet I received from Fred Meyer’s with a recipe for Cedar Plank Grilled Peaches and Brie. I have linked the recipe here and you are welcome to follow it as it is very close to what mine ended up being, but I did make a couple of small changes that I feel like made a nice difference.

I wanted to make a the grilled brie and peaches to go with a few small items to create a nice charcuterie board or cheese board. However, as I was serving it as dinner, I also served a vegetable platter which is why you are seeing the artichokes on the grill in pictures. (I’ll share the vegetable platter in another post.)

Cedar Plank Grilled Brie and Peaches

This is the most labor intensive part of this whole platter and it takes around 20 minutes aside from prepping your cedar plank. Cedar planks are going to be important for two reasons: 1) to impart a nice smokey flavor to your dish and 2) to prevent the peaches or brie from just melting right into the grill. You’ll want to make sure your cedar plank gets a good soak in water so that it doesn’t just burn on the grill.

Grilling brie and peaches on a cedar plank prevents leaking.

Cedar Plank Grilled Brie and Peaches Supplies/Ingredients:

  • 1 Cedar Plank *(Affiliate link) soaked in water for approximately 2 hours
  • 1 wheel of brie
  • 2-3 ripe peaches (not too ripe as they will just get mushy)
  • 1/4 cup honey + extra for drizzling after
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • Fresh thyme- approximately 1/4 teaspoon
  • Salt & Pepper to taste (I used sea salt flakes and fresh ground pepper)
  • Grill (an alternative is using your oven and broiler but again, it is essential that your cedar plank has been properly soaked)

Cedar Plank Grilled Brie and Peaches Supplies/Ingredients:

  1. Soak your cedar plank in water. I put mine on a baking dish and cover in water for two hours.
  2. Heat grill (or oven) to approximately 350 degrees F or medium heat.
  3. Slice peaches, discarding pit.
  4. Mix together olive oil, thyme, and honey in a bowl.
  5. Toss your peaches in the olive oil and honey mixture. Remove from bowl and set aside.
  6. Brush your brie with the remaining olive oil and honey mixture.
  7. Place the brie and peaches on the cedar plank and place on grill. If there isn’t room for all of the peaches and brie on the plank then grill your peaches first, and then move to your brie.
  8. Cover the lid of the grill and let cook for approximately 10 to 12 minutes. The cheese will be warm and melted (it will still hold its shape with the rind, but you should be able to see that it might be starting to seep through a bit. The peaches should be warmed through and softened a bit. If using the oven, you can put the broiler on for a moment at the end to help caramelize the peaches a bit.
  9. Place on platter, salt & pepper to taste, drizzle with some honey, and serve!

How to serve grilled peaches and brie

You can do so many different things in serving this dish starting with just adding some grilled bread or tasty crackers and calling it a day. I wanted to add a bit more bulk to the dish so I added prosciutto, blackberries, apricot jam* (affiliate link), and sliced baguette.

What other summer fruit or vegetables would pair well with grilled brie? Share your thoughts in the comments below or @ me @JenniBost!