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Is anyone else as obsessed with game shows as this Grandma? During the day, I love turning on old and new game shows alike while I clean, write, or nap, as they are easy to listen to and not stressful to watch. That is what inspired what I hope to become a regular feature here on Devoted Grandma: Game show play with your grandkids!
To begin this activity, let’s try out what is quite possibly my all-time favorite game show: The Price is Right.
First aired in 1956, The Price is Right is a beloved piece of Americana with a unique blend of chance, pricing knowledge, and sheer excitement where contestants guess the prices of various goods, from everyday items to luxurious cars, in a series of different games. Originally hosted by Bill Cullen, it was revamped in 1972 with the charismatic Bob Barker at the helm. The show’s format underwent a significant transformation under Barker, who led the show until 2007, with Drew Carey taking over the hosting duties from there.
Now it’s YOUR turn to host, so come on down!
Hosting The Price is Right at home
Hosting your version of The Price is Right can be a fun and interactive experience for both you and your grandkids. The Price is Right offers a unique way to engage your grandchildren, as it allows them to learn about the value of different items while participating in a variety of exciting challenges.
Materials and props
Hosting a home version of the game requires a bit of creativity and some materials to create an engaging experience. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Prizes: Collect an assortment of prizes, ranging from small toys, books, and candies, to special treats like an extra hour of TV time or a special outing.
- Items for Price Guessing: Gather different household items for the pricing games, which could include anything from a box of cereal, a toy, a book, a bottle of shampoo, etc.
- Game Elements: Depending on the games you choose to play, you might need additional elements like playing cards, dice, or small balls.
- Price Tags: Write down the price of each item on a separate card. Be sure to hide these until it’s time to reveal the actual price!
- Signage: Consider making colorful signs for your different game stations to add a fun, authentic feel to your home game show.
The different games
While “The Price is Right” features numerous games, we’ll focus on a few of the most popular ones that could be easily adapted for home play:
The One Bid
In “The One Bid” game, each player takes turns guessing the price of an item you present. The twist is, whoever gets the closest to the actual price, without going over, wins the item. This game is a great opener, as it quickly engages everyone and sets the stage for the remaining games. You can use any household item for this, but it’s often more exciting if the item is something the children would want to win, like a toy or a candy bar.
Plinko
Plinko is arguably one of the most famous games on The Price is Right. Contestants drop a disc down a pegged board, watching it bounce around until it lands in a slot at the bottom, each holding a different prize value. To set this up at home, you can use a pegboard or a large piece of cardboard with nails hammered into it in a staggered pattern. You can use any small disc-like object as the Plinko chip, such as a bottle cap. The slots at the bottom can be marked with different prize denominations tailored to your grandkids’ interests.
Punch-a-Bunch
In the Punch-a-Bunch game, contestants punch holes in a board for a chance to win cash prizes. To create a similar game at home, you could use a poster board and attach small paper cups, all covered with tissue paper, to them. Inside each cup, you can place a note with a prize written on it. Kids will have a great time punching through the tissue paper to reveal their prizes!
Card Game
In the Card Game, contestants draw cards from a deck, with each card’s value contributing to a total amount. The objective is to get as close as possible to the price of a prize without going over. You can recreate this game at home using a deck of playing cards. Assign each card a monetary value (for example, each card’s number could represent a certain number of cents), and have your grandkids draw cards until they think they’ve reached (or nearly reached) the price of an item. If they’re within a predetermined range without going over, they win the item!
Cliff Hangers
In this game, a contestant has to guess the price of three items to prevent a hiker from falling off a cliff. To set this up at home, draw or print out a picture of a mountain and a hiker. For every dollar the kids are off on the price of an item, move the hiker one step up the mountain. The aim is to keep the hiker from falling off the top of the mountain.
Check-Out
Check-Out is another fun game you can easily recreate at home. You need to select four to five different grocery items. Then, have your grandchildren guess the price of each item. After they’ve made their guesses, reveal the actual prices and add them up. If their total guess is within a certain range of the actual total price (usually $1-$2), they win a prize.
Prizes
The best part about The Price is Right for many players is the prizes. For your grandkids, these don’t have to be big or expensive. Instead, focus on small but meaningful rewards. These could be small toys, special treats, homemade coupons for activities like a baking day, extra storytime, or choosing the movie for the next family movie night.
Conclusion
Hosting The Price is Right for your grandkids can provide a fun, exciting, and educational experience for everyone involved. By getting creative with materials and games and offering prizes that your grandchildren will love, you’ll create a memorable event that they’ll ask to play again and again.
