Blogmas December 6th

Advent Activities - Game Night

This past week, our daily routine was thrown completely off course by an unwelcome intruder—the flu. While the girls carried on with their usual Advent activities, I could only watch from the sidelines, cocooned in tissues and tea. Not exactly the role I prefer, but sometimes life hands you a “skip turn” card of its own.

On Saturday, the spirits were high because the Advent activity was game night. They already knew exactly what they wanted to play: Uno Extreme. Ever since we brought it home about a month ago, it has completely taken over our game shelf. Nothing else stands a chance.

If you haven’t played it, imagine classic Uno—but leveled up with chaos, suspense, and a bit of electronic drama. Instead of drawing cards, there’s a battery-powered launcher that spits out a random number each time you hit the button. Sometimes you get nothing. Sometimes you get ten. You never really relax during this game—the lights and sound effects keep everyone on edge in the best possible way.

On top of that, there are new action cards like Discard All and Trade Hands that intensify the madness. It’s hilarious to watch the girls brace themselves every time someone presses the launcher, as if they’re waiting for a mini explosion of cards.

What fascinates me is how far Uno has come since I played it as a kid. That simple little deck has now spawned countless variations, themes, and tech-enhanced versions like the one currently dominating our living room. I ended up going down a little rabbit hole and learned that Uno shares a parent company with Barbie—Mattel, which bought the rights in 1992. Even more charming is the origin story: the game was invented in 1971 by an Ohio barber named Merle Robbins, who created it after a family argument about the rules of Crazy Eights. He printed the first decks right in his shop and sold them locally before it grew into a worldwide classic. Talk about humble beginnings.

The best part? The girls are so absorbed in the fun of it all that winning isn’t even the main goal (okay—they care a little, but not with their usual competitive fire). For them, it’s all about the laughter, the surprises, and that suspenseful moment when the launcher decides their fate.

And honestly, watching them—flu or no flu—felt like its own kind of win.