Games: The holiday gift that keeps on giving

With the holiday shopping season around the corner, the only aisle to visit to shop for the entire family is the games aisle. And, not just video games, consider board games and card games that bond family and friends to make the holidays a little warmer and create hours of fun.

Make the holidays a little warmer with board and card games for the whole family.

With games and puzzles sales up more than 10 percent in 2003, according to the Toy Industry Association, the benefits of games for kids and adults are equally as important as the fun they bring to the table.

GAMES FOR THE ENTIRE FAMILY

Engaging kids with games at a young age helps to encourage important learning and developmental skills. It also promotes sharing and interaction with playmates.

Newly introduced The Lion Sleeps Tonight Game from Fisher-Price(R), is an interactive game that gives kids a fun, musical adventure. Kids try to be the first player to travel through the jungle to the animal picnic. It sounds easy, but there is a sleeping lion between the start and finish and if he wakes up, everyone must scurry back to the nearest bush to hide until the lion goes down for a nap.

"The rhythm, rhyme and repetition of music like in The Lion Sleeps Tonight Game helps children learn," said Dr. Kathleen Alfano, director of child research, Fisher-Price. "And, when parents play games with their children, their interaction forms family bonds and creates fond memories."

If kids are older and they are "plugged in," try the newest trivia game that incorporates the DVD player from the popular Scene It?(TM) brand of games. Scene It?TM Jr. is the first-ever DVD-based board game for teens and tweens all about pop culture with movie, music, TV and sports trivia.

Finally, try bringing the entire family together, from grandparents to kids, and introduce a new generation to the classic card game Skip-Bo(R). The card game that combines skill, strategy and fun celebrates its 40th anniversary with a deluxe version. The object of the game is to be the first player to get rid of their cards by playing them in numerical sequence from one to 12.

PARTY GAMES

Games provide a way for adults to socialize and uniquely entertain, get to know their friends and have fun. Find out if friends can come up with clever definitions from made-up words and phrases with BalderdashTM, the bluffing game where players try to fool each other. Bluff answers can be really zany, leading to lots of laughter and hilarious fun. But sometimes the real answer is the wackiest of them all.

Or, try a new spin on an updated old favorite with Outburst(R) Remix, the game of verbal explosions where teams compete to yell out 10 words listed under a given topic. This latest version of Outburst features updated content, hot topics and packaging. For example the game includes a topic, "Idol Chatter" where players are asked to name people that have appeared on the popular television show "American Idol."

After the holidays are over, games are the gift that keep on giving because they bring the family together for monthly game nights or invite friends over for dinner and games. Who can ask for a better gift than a game!