Is anyone else as obsessed with game shows as this Grandma? I sure am!
During the day, I love turning on both old and new game shows while I clean, write, or even take a nap. They’re fun to listen to and not stressful to watch. That’s what gave me a fun idea for Grandmawise: Game show play with your grandkids!
Let’s kick things off with one of my all-time favorite game shows: The Price is Right.
The Price is Right first aired in 1956 and quickly became a classic. It’s a fun mix of luck, smart guessing, and big excitement!
Contestants try to guess the prices of different items, from simple groceries to fancy cars, while playing all kinds of games.
The first host was Bill Cullen. Later, in 1972, the show got a big makeover when Bob Barker became the host. Bob made the show even more popular and stayed until 2007. After that, Drew Carey took over and has been hosting ever since.
Now, it’s YOUR turn to be the host — so come on down and let the games begin!
Preparing the props and materials
Hosting your own game show at home takes a little creativity and a few supplies. Here’s what you’ll need to make it fun and exciting:
Prizes: Gather a bunch of prizes your grandkids will love! You can use small toys, books, candies, or even special treats like an extra hour of TV time.
Items for Price Guessing: Find different things from around your house for the pricing games. You can use a box of cereal, a toy, a book, a bottle of shampoo—anything that would be fun to guess the price of!
Game Tools: Depending on the games you want to play, you might also need things like playing cards, dice, or small balls.
Price Tags: Write the price of each item on a card. Keep the cards hidden until it’s time to show the real prices!
Signs: Make some colorful signs for your different game stations. This will make your home game show feel even more real and exciting!
The different games you can play
Hosting your own version of The Price is Right can be a super fun and interactive way to spend time with your grandkids! It’s a great way for them to learn about the value of different items while having a blast playing exciting games.
The real Price is Right show has lots of different games, but we’ll focus on a few of the most popular ones that are easy to play at home.
Plinko
Plinko is one of the most famous games from The Price is Right! In this game, players drop a disc down a board covered with pegs. The disc bounces all around until it falls into a slot at the bottom, each with a different prize value.
To make a Plinko board at home, you can use a pegboard or a big piece of cardboard. Hammer in some nails in a zigzag pattern to create the bouncing effect.
For the Plinko chip, you can use a bottle cap or any small, round object. At the bottom, label the slots with different prize amounts or fun rewards your grandkids will be excited about!
Check-Out
“Check-Out” is another fun game you can easily play at home. Pick four or five grocery items from your kitchen. Then, have your grandkids guess the price of each item. After they’ve made all their guesses, reveal the real prices and add them up. If their total guess is close enough to the real total (within about $1 or $2), they win a prize!
Card Game
In the “Card Game,” players draw cards from a deck. Each card has a value, and the goal is to get as close as possible to the price of a prize without going over.
To play this at home, just grab a regular deck of cards. Decide how much each card is worth (for example, a 5 could be 5 cents). Let your grandkids draw cards and add up the amounts until they think they are close enough to the real price. If they stay within a set range without going over, they win the prize!
Cliff Hangers
In “Cliff Hangers,” players guess the prices of three different items to keep a little hiker from falling off a mountain. To make this game at home, draw or print a picture of a mountain and a hiker. Every time the kids guess the wrong price, move the hiker one step up the mountain for each dollar they are off. The goal is to guess carefully and keep the hiker from falling off the top!
The One Bid
In “The One Bid” game, each player takes a turn guessing the price of an item you show them. The fun twist is that the person who guesses closest to the real price—without going over—wins the item!
This game is a great way to start because it gets everyone excited and ready to play. You can use any household item for this, but it’s even more fun if you pick something the kids would love to win, like a toy or a candy bar.
Punch-a-Bunch
In the “Punch-a-Bunch” game, players punch holes in a board to try and win prizes. You can make a fun version at home by using a poster board and attaching small paper cups to it. Cover the tops of the cups with tissue paper. Inside each cup, put a note with a prize written on it. Kids will have so much fun punching through the tissue paper to find out what they won!
Make the rewards meaningful
One of the best parts of The Price is Right is winning prizes!
For your grandkids, the prizes don’t have to be big or expensive. Small and meaningful rewards are just as exciting. You could use little toys, special treats, or homemade coupons for fun activities. Some ideas are a baking day together, extra storytime, or getting to pick the movie for the next family movie night!
Conclusion
Hosting your own version of The Price is Right for your grandkids can be a fun, exciting, and even educational experience for everyone! By getting a little creative with your games and prizes, you’ll create a special event your grandkids will love. Best of all, they’ll have so much fun, they’ll be asking to play again and again!
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