As you see we have started our Back To School coverage. It had to happen. I’ve already begun receiving BTS photos from family and friends living outside of NYC. Also, some NYC charter schools are about to go back soon. Just because we’re talking Back To School, and even if you are already Back To School doesn’t mean that summer fun has to end! We are not letting go of that summer feeling until Autumn has swept away every last leaf.
Today, I am sharing with you what has been fun for everyone this summer. As you know, JustaBXgirl and I don’t have a technical backyard. I mean, we have all of NYC as our backyard but when we want true backyard fun we head out to Long Island and invade others’ space.
Usually, that invasion means that one of my cousins gets houseguests for a few days. It also means that the chosen cousin’s children (all tween/teens) get to spend the time entertaining JustaBXgirl and playing with whatever latest toy she’s obsessed with. This tends to be lots of fun for JustaBXgirl but not always as thrilling for the older littles.
Enter Giant Jenga! We took this out to my cousin’s home a few weeks ago and let me tell you there were no complaints or bribery to get the older littles to play! I mean, everyone loves Jenga. Now it comes in giant size and might be even more fun than the original. My cousin’s husband taught JustaBXgirl the secret to winning and the weekend was set!
There were all types of competitions, challenges and, memories made through hours of play. The boys already made plans to have their friends over to see how tall they can build. Us adults started thinking how much fun we could have turning Giant Jenga into a drinking game. JustaBXgirl decided the blocks would be perfect to build a house with and began construction.
Another idea we had was to add questions and actions to some of the pieces. We haven’t done it yet but thought it might add an extra layer of fun and bonding to the game. We decided we won’t add to every block. Somewhere around a third of them would be ideal and since the blocks are so big we would put it on a portion that cannot be seen when plucking your piece. We want to include some action pieces that would challenger the plucker to do silly things. We’re thinking jumping jacks, sing your favorite song, do a little dance and other fun options. Then we would also do some questions, describe the plot of your favorite book, either or questions, and other things of the like.
The amount of fun you can have with this game is pretty endless. Endless fun is a good thing because this game isn’t an impulse buy. It retails for $169.95 but Amazon has it on sale right now! I know, I know, that’s a lot of money. The thing is though, like I said, this isn’t an impulse buy. This is something that you think about. Watching my daughter play with her older cousins for a full weekend without anyone getting bored was a huge deal. Listening to those boys say they couldn’t wait to play with their friends made me smile. Knowing that it is something that even the adults can enjoy is a true blessing. This is not an impulse buy but is an investment for family fun that truly is for everyone.
Oh, and if you’re the competitve type Jenga has a certificate for you to print for the winner! Here’s the details behind the game.
Jenga® GIANT™ JS7 Hardwood Game
- The biggest Jenga® GIANT™ game ever
- 54 precision-crafted polished hardwood blocks
- Stacks to over 5 feet high in play
- Each block is over 14 times the volume of a Classic Jenga® block
- Includes Heavy Duty Jenga® GIANT™ Carry Bag
- Includes Jenga® SPORTS™ Tournament Charts for competitive play. Winners can print out an award: jenga.com/certificate.pdf
- For 1 or more players
- Ages 12 to Adult
- MSRP: $169.95
