Kids aren’t the only ones with their faces stuck in screens for far too many hours of the day. Check your own smartphone’s screen time usage stats and I’ll bet you spend more time than you realize on your device, too. Add TV and laptop time to the mix as well and chances are that most of your day is spent in front of some type of screen.
Take a break from the bright light and solitary activity or at least use screen time for something more interactive. To help you do just that, we have some screen-free gift ideas to consider. With each one, the focus is on quality time with loved ones where you can positively engage with one another.
Lego Sets Are Great for Families
The great thing about Lego is that while it’s technically a building toy, it’s the type of toy that people of all ages love, from young kids to grown adults. And with the latest themed and licensed sets, you can find something that everyone will love. There’s a new line of Lego Harry Potter sets, including the Hogsmeade Village Collector’s Edition set, a collaboration with Nike, a retro-inspired vending machine, Lilo & Stitch sets, a Shire Lord of the Rings set, Jurassic World, Fortnite, Wicked, and most recently, The Goonies. Find one with a theme they love and enjoy quality time putting it together. Having it on display after you’re done is a wonderful reminder of the activity. Pricing varies based on the size and complexity of the set, but you can find options for as little as $40 up to as much as $500.
Music-Related Games
There are lots of games that incorporate music, and Hitster is an interesting new one. Rather than hear a song and guess its name and/or artist, this game asks you to identify the decade during which the song was released. You need devices with this one, but only to scan a QR code to call up each song on Spotify. As it plays, place a decade card on the corresponding spot on the board and flip it over. If you’re correct, you get to keep the card. The first person to acquire 10 cards wins. It’s a great way to not only enjoy family fun time, but also expose your kids to hits from previous decades, not to mention expand your own music knowledge. Go ahead and play the entire song for a full-on sing-a-long or save the tunes to a new playlist to use as background music during your next activity. It should work with a free Spotify account if you don’t have a paid one, though you might have to endure ads. Get the game for about $30.
Guessing Games for Groups
A favourite among families is guessing games, and there are many ways to play them, some that integrate screens and apps and some that don’t. Ultimate Catchphrase is a great one that removes the connected device aspect altogether. It’s a battery-powered disc that displays a word or phrase on the small digital screen. The person holding the disc must try to get their partner to guess the word or phrase using only other words or phrases that don’t contain any form of that word or phrase. Once their partner guesses, they pass the disc to the next person, and the game continues. When does it end? There’s a timer clicking away and once the disc buzzes that time’s up, whoever is holding the disc loses. This summer while waiting in line at an amusement park, my son and his friends played a variation of this game via a smartphone app where one person held the phone up to their forehead while the others tried to get them to guess the word. Once guessed correctly, they flicked the phone forward and back to move to the next word. It was wonderful to see them using their phones for something other than mindless games, and the parents got in on the fun, too. Find Ultimate Catchphrase for about $35.
Ikarao Shell S2 for Karaoke Parties
The Ikarao Shell S2 is just $480 and a great way to enjoy a fun karaoke party at home. The all-in-one karaoke machine has everything you need to belt out top hits with the family. It has Bluetooth for connecting to a music source, comes with wireless mics, offers 140W peak power, and works with all the popular karaoke apps. Powered by a rechargeable battery, it is lightweight so it’s easy to move from room to room, even bring up to the cottage or to a friend’s house. There’s a screen but it’s just to display lyrics, and the unit comes with a six-month KaraFun subscription with access to more than 10,000 songs. Connect it to Wi-Fi or to a TV via HDMI if you want a bigger screen experience to show the words as you do your best Mariah Carey or The Beatles song renditions.
Skee-Ball Home Arcade Deluxe
If you remember playing Skee-Ball at amusement parks as a kid, maybe still do at local summer fairs, you’ll love the idea of having a machine in your own home. Ideal for those with larger, open-concept basements, the US$2,199 Skee-Ball Home Arcade Deluxe is the cheapest one in the line, but it provides everything you need for indoor fun without the need for screens. There’s two-player challenge or single player modes and the machine comes with lighting, carnival sounds, and a digital LED marquee display for an authentic look and feel. Don’t worry, the balls are rubber, so you won’t wind up with a cracked window when someone’s roll goes rogue. It comes with four 2.5-inch rubber balls and runs on four AA batteries or plugged into a 110V wall outlet. Delivery takes up to three weeks so if you want to surprise the family for Christmas Day, order it soon!
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