The Gift of Adventure

Today, I will be sharing with you a gift idea. Every year, my family has a Pollyanna exchange at Christmas time. This year to keep things interesting, we chose Pollyanna’s as couples. This gift was a wonderful Christmas present but could be given year-round at a Bridal Shower or to your partner this Valentine’s day!

The concept of the gift Is simple—I sat down and brainstormed 8 mini adventures my sister could go on with her fiancé and 8 more adventures that she could do with her fiancé and son. We had a spending limit of $100.00 a couple so there isn’t anything in here that is bank-breaking. In some cases, the gift pays for a small portion of the date, all of the date, or the date is something that is largely free. I made sure there was a variety of activities—funny adventures, physical challenges, food-related, artistic… something for everyone to enjoy.

I started the gift with the carrying case. This helped to set the restrictions and realities for what we could accomplish. I purchased an Extra Large IRIS Photo and Craft Keeper, 16 individual 4x6 cases within at Michael’s (with a coupon!!). I knew I needed to make each adventure fit in to a 4x6 photo case and I needed to have 16 in total. Maureen has a ton of printed pictures so I was confident that she would use the case even if she dismantled the adventures. I did choose options that you can keep doing over and over again (aside from the couple needing to purchase more items), so she could use the case for years to come as well.

Coming up with gifts that would fit into the case—that was the fun challenge for me! Take a look at the printable (link below) that I have included in this post for more information. I have the date descriptions, what I included in each case, and the case labels for each all ready for you to peruse -- you can make your own!

The Gift of Adventure - Printable!

On a side note, my sister is an avid scrapbook enthusiast. I included Project Life cards, embellishments, and photo challenges in most if not all of her cases. If the person you are gifting this to is not a fan, it is best to leave that out and use the expense somewhere else. I recommend hounding your local Groupon and Living Social pages for deals. There were quite a few we looked at but passed up for other adventures. Do you know someone that wants to ride a Segway on an obstacle course or get family photos taken at Picture People?

Lego Week- Lego Building Challenge Game

I love a challenge. When I was on a cruise last year, there was a Lego Building Challenge activity that we participated in, and I thought it was so fun! 

I decided I wanted to make a Lego Challenge Game of my own for my son and his cousins. First, I collected the scraps of Lego packaging that I saved. I know, I'm silly, but I love to cut out the pieces of packaging I think I can use on a project. I do it with every single super hero tag off of the clothes I buy. Obviously - it's buy a shirt get an embellishment free!

I used a tag punch to punch out some of that yellow cardboard, which is actually a yellow Lego background. I then cut each red square logo and inked the edges. I found some cute kraft envelopes in my stash and decided I'd use those to hold the challenges.

Next, I put red numbers on the yellow tags, punched small holes in the top of the yellow tags, and put twine through the holes. I attached the tags to the yellow journal cards using red washi tape. 

Lastly. I added some challenges. I thought that the kids could go through each challenge and whoever successfully completes each one wins. They can also roll a dice and just complete the one challenge that matches the number, too! The best part about the washi tape is that it is removable and you can make new journal cards with new challenges. 

The challenges in my game are make a garden, build something you find in the city, make an animal, build a house, build a car, train, or airplane, and make a boat. 

Lucky for you, I have created a Free Printable for you to make one of your own!

I hope you enjoyed! If you're looking for other fun Lego games to play, check out Creationary, this printable lego board game, DIY Lego Land Game, Lego Tic Tac Toe, and Lego Hangman. 

Lego Week: Creationary Review!!

The geniuses at Lego created a game titled, "Creationary."  It is just like "Pictionary" but you build objects with Lego blocks instead of drawing pictures.  This game is for ages 7 and up and is definitely fun for the whole family!

Inside the box, you will find several shapes and sizes of Lego pieces!  There is a variety of colors as well.  There are also three difficulty levels you can play.  For the easiest creations, choose the single question mark cards to play with. 

Some of these cards and categories are quite challenging.  The categories seem to be transportation, buildings, nature, and tools.  Depending on your skill level with the use of Lego blocks, your results will vary greatly!

 My seven year old made this creation:

He drew a "?" card (which is the easy cards) and rolled the dice that chooses your category.  The dice gave him the "building" category in red.  He thought the greenhouse SOLD plants.  The "man" is working at the register.  Those little buttons are plants :)

Just for fun....I looked on Instagram under #creationary.  You should check that out!  There are so many creative builders out there that really know how to use Lego bricks and build masterpieces.  Way to be crafty!

Personally, I am a fan of the game.  You can only improve on your building skills and people of all ages will have fun playing together.  You can't take yourself too seriously with this game.  I am not as skilled as many "Creationary" players, but it was nice to be creative while spending quality time with my son laughing at how silly I made a row boat look with Lego pieces. Good times and family fun!  Enjoy!