When you’re trying to come up with a holiday game to please toddlers, teens, seniors and everyone in between, bingo is a winner.
So when Seattle’s Sara Miller and her extended family get together for the holidays, they break out the bingo cards and little cage filled with tumbling balls.
The idea came from Sara’s mom, Ellen Nelson, about a decade ago. Ellen picks up small gifts for prizes, and everyone is sure to get one.
But the game isn’t only a race to blot out letters and numbers. Each family member has their own bingo card that they use each Christmas (or Thanksgiving, if that’s the holiday when everyone gathers). On the back of the card, players record the year and something for which they’re thankful. Then they share their thoughts with each other.
“We didn’t understand how meaningful it would be until the following years and we’re looking back at the cards,” Sara said. They document events including Ellen’s recovery from an illness and the birth of Sara’s daughter, Hazel, who’s now almost 2.
Bingo wasn’t part of Christmas celebrations when she was growing up, “but now it’s our family tradition together,” Sara said. “Sometimes they kind of come up organically as your family changes.”
