You Win!

The kids came home with their end-of-year report cards on the last day of school. They were excited to see their grades because they had been working hard all year to make straight A's. The school does a great job of rewarding the kids with various incentives like certificates and gift cards to local restaurants or activities, so opening the report card usually has a surprise or two in store.

Jeff and I had been talking for a while about how we could reward the kids for their hard work and wonderful grades. We decided to splurge on a big gift for them, but we wanted a fun way to present the gift. After some brainstorming, we came up with a brand new game called "You Win!" and we explained to the kids that we had the game as their surprise for such great report cards.

Here's how the game works: I printed several pages of card stock with various logos/pictures representing different choices for the kids to make. We started with Round 1 which was a dinner choice between CiCi's Pizza (Connor's favorite) and Rainforest Café (Kaitlynn's favorite) -- presented as two sheets of paper, each with the restaurant's logo. We told the kids that for Round 1, they had to agree on the same choice. They went back and forth, but they ultimately agreed on Rainforest Café for dinner.

So, to Rainforest Café we went! (not sure why but I didn't manage a picture of this round!)

After we finished our dinner, the kids were begging for their next round of the game. Round 2 of "You Win!" was another fun choice, this time for dessert! They were presented with two cards, one labeled "Ice Cream Buffet" and another with "Candy Buffet." Man, their eyes got so big! I thought it would be a toss-up, but they both immediately chose the candy buffet, which so happened to be a short walk away. We went to the Katy Mills candy store and loaded up on mix-and-match candy, to the tune of $30, ha! The kids were so excited, but it didn't take long for them to start asking for Round 3 of the game.

Round 2 of "You Win!" was a success!

Ready for Round 3, we headed home with the kids in great suspense. They were making guesses all the way home of what they thought would be their choices in the next round. By the time we got home, they were out of patience. It was the perfect time for a little trick, wouldn't you agree?

Here's what their "You Win!" Round 3 choices were:

Shower (with a picture of a showerhead) or Bath (with an image of a bathtub)! Hahaha.

OK, so maybe it was a little corny. I'm not sure how much they appreciated our joke, but we had a good laugh.

Back to the official game, it was time for the 4th and Final Round of "You Win!" We told the kids that for this round, they could make an individual choice. They were on the edge of their seats. Their final choice, and the true reward for their great academic performances in 4th and 1st grades, was...

Gift (with a photo of a present) or Cash (with a photo of a stack of bills).

 

We were nice and told them that they could unwrap the gifts before making the choice. So they quickly tore into the gifts to uncover... brand new iPads!

The kids were blown away! Their reactions were priceless, and I wish I would have recorded them. I have lots of blurry photos with expressive faces instead! Kaitlynn took a few moments to make her decision, but in the end, they both chose the iPads instead of the money (as we had hoped and expected).

Kaitlynn opens her gift and is so surprised.

Connor is so excited that this was the least blurry photo I could find.

iPad or Cash? Tough choice for Kaitlynn, who was saving for a new American Girl doll.

The final choice for Round 4, iPads for both kiddos. BIG smiles!

We were happy to present these gifts to Connor and Kaitlynn after such great school years for them both, but we made sure to explain that we wouldn't be able to reward them like this every year.

But needless to say, our invention of "You Win!" was the ultimate hit game and sure to become a family staple for many years to come.