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What is your family’s favorite board game to play?  Do you love the intrigue and mystery of Clue or the competitive capitalism of Monopoly?  Are Candy Land and Chutes and Ladders more your speed or do you love to challenge each other with Chess?  Whatever games you love to play together, it’s time to get your game face on, fabulous feasts cooked up, and get ready for National Family Game Night which will happen on September 23^rd.

In order to have a night of fun and laughter with your family, you only need three things: your family members, some great games, and fabulous food.  Here are some fun ideas for game board inspired family game night menus to get you started.

1.     Fun for Little Ones

If your children are small or if you are looking to recapture everyone’s youth, games like Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders, Hi Ho Cherry O, Cooties, and Don’t Spill the Beans are a lot of fun and perfect for short attention spans.  Make a menu that caters to this crowd by focusing on sweet treats and creative presentation.  You could create a candy bar with jars or bowls of everyone’s favorite candy.  Take that idea a little farther, add some ice cream, and you have an ice cream sundae bar, just don’t forget the cherries!   Bake up a batch of Cheerios and Trix Treat Bars which are sure to be a hit with this crowd.

2.     Apples Apples Everywhere

If you haven’t played Apples to Apples yet, you should definitely include it as part of your family game night.  In fact, it is so fun and so different each time you play, you could make an entire game night out of just this one game.  To keep the apple theme going, make your menu all about apples.   You could start with Apple Pear Salad, followed by Baked Pork Chops and Apples, and finished off with Apple Crisp.  Another option is to do dessert with a trio of apple options including Apple Raspberry Pie, Baked Apples, and Apple Pumpkin Bread.

As a bonus, apples are in season right now and for those wanting a little more family time, you can spend the day picking apples together and then use the apples you picked in all your apple-centric foods.

3.     Creative Pairings

Make your menu match your game choices by tying your food choices to the games you plan to play.  Does your family love Scrabble?  Make a batch of Nuts Over Brownies and use frosting to draw a letter on each brownie to make it look like a Scrabble tile.  Planning on a good old fashioned game of Clue?  Why not choose a menu like the one the characters in the game might have been served at high tea including Cucumber Sandwiches, Applesauce Bread Pudding, and Classic Banana Nut Bread.  Preparing to take each other out in Monopoly?  Create a menu fit for a mogul featuring Arizona Rancher’s Prime Rib, Brent’s Honey Bacon Green Bean Bundles, and Swiss Chard with Beets, Goat Cheese, and Raisins.

Family game night is about making memories and spending time together.  Pick some great games, gather everyone together, and don’t forget to add fun and fabulous food!

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