Why not throw together an election-day party for your family? If you have extended family or friends who can join you, so much the better. (Use judgment in selecting guests who can watch and discuss election results with each other in a civil manner.)
Invitations:
Have these ready when your crew comes home from work or school:
Folded cardstock: on front, paste a clip art image of Uncle Sam and write“I WANT YOU…” On the inside write “… to join me for an election party.” Then lower on the page put the headline: “Proposition One” and following that this text: “Proposed: That you join us in celebrating our great country at (7 pm) (tonight, Nov. 4, etc.) The parties concerned will have food and games while watching the election results together. There will be activities for children and adults. This party is non-partisan. There will be good-humored joking but no ranting allowed.”
Leave a space, then: write “Shall this measure be enacted into law? Please place a check by your position.” Make boxes for guests to check YES (will come) or NO.
Greeting Your Guests
If you really want to get into the spirit, the host and hostess could greet guests wearing masks of the different candidates. (You can get not only masks for the presidential and vice presidential candidates, but also for President and Mrs. Bush, the Clintons, Rudy Giulani, Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice.)
Icebreaker
For an icebreaker, have sheets of paper printed out asking guests to vote on favorite things. Give two choices in each category using categories such as: ice cream (chocolate vs. vanilla), restaurant, sports team, pastime, etc. You could also vote for the best ending to the sentence: On a Saturday outing I would rather (go to Madison Square Garden or the Nutcracker Ballet). Compare answers.
Watching the Results
You will probably want to devote much of your evening to watching the results. For help choosing what station to watch, read Michelle’s blog Who Will You Be Watching. Try to have some seating—even if it’s just floor cushions, dining room chairs or beanbags—near the television, but also some away from it so that groups of two, three or four can sit and talk.
You may wish to have someone color in the states red or blue as the results come in, just like they do on TV. If drawing the United States is not any more possible for you than it is for me, you can print out an outline map of the 50 states here and enlarge the copy to place on a bulletin board, foam board, or on the wall (be careful with your markers if you choose that last option!).
Related Games
Before the results start coming fast and furious on the television, you may have time for a board game or two. Check out major bookstores or specialty game shops for appropriate choices. Generally the games are of two kinds: “process” games where the players try to amass enough votes (before spending all their “money”) to get elected, and “knowledge” games where the players move toward the White House or Presidential Seal by answering trivia questions about the U.S. and past presidents.
Both types of games can teach players a little something about the way our country works (although possibly not a whole lot).
Board Games include Road to the White House, In which different cities have different “point values”. Candidates can choose to send a surrogate (campaign worker, running worker, spouse etc.) to a city, but they will receive fewer points than if the candidate travels there. But as in the real world, there’s never enough money or time! The similarly-named Race to the White House promises that you will “find out what it feels like to be a politician forced to take positions that please and placate but don’t alienate.” The instructions to Election USA
advise players to “avoid journalists”.
Hail to the Chief is a trivia game. the Convention players must answer questions about presidents to advance to the Campaign, where they must answer questions about U.S. history and geography to be the first to land on the Presidential Seal.
Even when people are watching the returns, they will still be able to work on a puzzle. You can find many U.S. puzzles. You can also get the GeoPuzzle Red State/Blue State , which features two pieces for each state, one red and one blue, so that the puzzle can be put together according to pollsters’ predictions for each state, and them reassembled as the actual results come in.
For younger children
If you have children too young for these games, set them up in another room to watch “You’re [Not] Elected, Charlie Brown”. This is an extra half-hour show on the same DVD as “The Great Pumpkin/A Charlie Brown Halloween”. I also recommend the America Rock section of Schoolhouse Rock, which is available at many libraries and stores. There is also an “Election Edition” available. Most of the songs are on the America collection or the 30th anniversary edition, but the election edition also includes “an interactive tracking kit with stickers to let kids follow the progress of the election”.
You could also invite children to sing a song or read a patriotic poem. You could do this as a break between result-watching: maybe at the top of every hour or half hour have one child perform.
Food
My next blog will have ideas for food, decorations and favors for your party.
Conclusion
A sparkling-cider (or other libation) toast of “God Bless America” would be a nice ending to the evening.
Pam Connell is the Adoption Blogger for Families.com. To see more of her blogs click here.
Please see these related blogs:
Will You Be Taking Your Kids to the Polls on Election Day?