FAMILY YAHTZEE! Super Fun Christmas Gift Idea!

Can you believe that it is time to start really thinking about Christmas?! Where does the time go?!

As I was thinking about the gifts I would be giving this year it made me think of one of the favorites we gave last year. It was SO fun to make them and SO fun to see the reactions of those we gave them to! This was actually SUPER easy to make and totally easy on the wallet! I mean, I would say they were under $5 each! I made 10 or so! If you are looking for something super fun and original, you should totally try these out!

FAMILY YAHTZEE

This was the version we gave to Jake & Mallory. We called it "Daw-tzee". How fun is that?!

You will have to pardon the box on this set. I was on the tail end of paper and the front got a little scrappy.

Let me give you the break down......

My friend Maryon grabbed us a couple of lengths of 2x2 boards.

Technically, they measure 1 1/2x1 1/2. They were about 8 feet long. You can get a LOT of blocks out of one of those puppies and each board was like $1 - $2! Awesome!

Now for the cutting......

MyR's hubby has a fabulous saw that he agreed to let us use. Brave Man!

MyR first measured and drew lines every 1 1/2 inches for the length of the board. Once that was done, it was time to start cutting.

Now, if we only knew where the ON button was for this thing!

HAHAHA! We found it! After a little searching and then trying to push the handle down to see if we were missing something, we found out that THAT was the key to turning it on. The saw RIPPED into action!

See that look on MyR's face?

The only reason why I even got this pictures was because I was holding my camera up to be ready for the first cut. When that baby screamed into action, I jumped so stinking high! My finger hit the button and CLICK! I caught a picture of MyR that will FOREVER make me shake with laughter! I think it kind of freaked her out! Hahaha! Look at her neck! Oh my! LOVE IT!

Once we had it figured out, we cracked right through the boards. At the end we had over 100 blocks cut! SHEESH!

Just a note...When you get to the last couple squares of a board....SKIP THEM! Just toss the remainder! We tried to use every inch of that board and when we tried to cut the very last part something crazy happened and a block launched out of the saw and across the garage. I am SO glad no one was in the way. Perhaps all of this is why MyR's hubby was a little nervous about us using the tools! :)

After the blocks were cut, it was time for sanding. We held up a circular sander and held the on button while holding the blocks to the paper. It made quick work of each block. However, by the end, our hands were numb from all the shaking and our minds were jello from the tedious-ness of it all! :) Next time I don't think we will try to tackle so much all at one time! :)

After the sanding the blocks were painted, paper modge-podged on & picture applied, I modged podged the whole thing to give is a finished look.

As for the pictures, there are 6 pictures on each one of the blocks/dice. Find the pictures you want, add the numbers 1-6 to the bottom of each of the pictures & shrink to 1 inch. Maryon used Microsoft Publisher to do this. It worked perfectly. I have also done the same with the Microsoft Photo editor since then. You will have to know how many pixels are in an inch, and maybe do a little experimenting.

Maryon packed the pictures (5 copies of each picture, 1 for each of the dice) into a 4x6 size photo (fits 24 pictures each) then uploaded them to the nearest photo store and had them printed. 54 cents for every 24 pictures....Great!

We used a corner rounder on our pictures and the paper underneath, just helped to clean them up a bit!

For the boxes, I picked up a few unfinished wood jewelry boxes at the craft store. I painted them and modge-podged paper to match the dice. Then I made a title image for the game that included all the pictures on the dice. I modge podged this to the top and then gave it all a couple more coats to seal it.

The boxes were $3 each. Maryon found a lot of tins, the perfect size for the dice to fit in, at a thrift store for like 50 cents each! She spray painted them and they turned out awesome! Do whatever works for you!

Then we made the scorecard. It matches a "Yahtzee" scorecard almost exactly. The rules are all the same. The dice are just a bit bigger and a whole lot more fun! :)

When I printed the cards I chose the option of printing 4 per page. I cut them into individual small sheets that would fit in the box. Then after I gave the gift I emailed a copy of the file I had made with the specific scorecard so that they could print extras, as needed.

Really, such a fun gift to give and receive! We did a Grand kids set for my in-laws. 5 of their children had children at the time. Each little family had a side and the 6th side went to a picture of Grandma & Grandpa. I think I called the set, "Lindstrom Grands Yahtzee" or something like that. Another set was for my parents. They have 7 kids. We put a family picture for each of the children and their families. The last 2 kids aren't married yet, so we put a picture of them together on the last side. We also did individual families and found fun pictures of each family member or different combinations of family members. I did a set for my younger sister. A picture of each of her closest friends on each side.

Gathering the pictures can be the hardest part. I emailed and asked siblings, for the gifts for parents, and used a lot of Facebook or blog pictures. Thank goodness for those.

If you are interested in making this fun game and you have any questions, please let me know! I will totally help you! Your friends and family will LOVE these! The only problem we have now is finding a way to top this! :)