Card Sharks

It is so nice over the holidays to have time to play. In the melee that is term-time, we can go from week to week never opening the toy cupboard. Between school, sport, homework, work and household essentials (like cooking, eating and bathing) the time just get chewed up. But we have been re-acquainting ourselves with their contents (leading to a massive clear out and sorting session).

Oh the guilt borne of seeing the amount of kiddy bits we have accumulated over the past decade. I never saw myself as a rampant consumer, but the box-load after box-load of stuff seems to tell otherwise. Luckily, the boys have been excellent about parting with the things they have outgrown and we are planning a selling trip to the car boot sale on Sunday. I have never done this before, so any advice from veterans would be most welcome.

Thankfully, as the boys grow, their toys and games seem to be reducing (in their bulk, at least). The new craze round these parts is playing cards. Endless games of seven-of-diamonds-begins. Endless. We have to play until everyone has won at least once. And then a couple more hands. Don't get me wrong - I am very pleased about this (not least because my win rate is good) because it means they are not itching to stare at a screen (the eternal holiday temptation).

But arranging and re-arranging their cards for them so they could hold them in a fan and see what they had was driving me nuts. A little Heath-Robinson-esque card holder for each of them was called for.

It's two CDs held together around roughly half their circumference with little strips of masking tape. Not particularly classy,  but it works a treat! 

Comments

[trashalou]

Definitely Heath Robinsonesque, it is a quintessentially British thing.

[Sue]

Genius! My eldest loves card games and board games of all kinds. Such a shame for him that no-one else does :o(

[Julie]

What a great invention Ali - Heath Robinson would have been proud. It's nice to have a little simple game playing - beats the Wii hands down in my opinion! Good luck with your car boot sale - I've been meaning to do one for over a year so can't give you any tips!

[Petit Filoux]

Ha! Very clever!!

[Heather]

That's a genius idea! Well done.

My husband is very taken with you card with bees and ladybirds on - could you tell me where you bought them? They are very sweet.

Thanks :) xxxx

[Gina]

I'm admiring your cards with the little bees and ladybirds! And of course your genius invention. We still all play cards on those occasions when we are all together.

[Anna - Three Sneaky Bugs]

I love this idea! I refused to buy the plastic ones they had at the store, but I'm certainly willing to tape up a couple old scratched up CDs.

[dottycookie]

Ah, brilliant. Mine are just starting to get interested in card games.

[Monica]

genius. must try it. We play UNO a lot ( too much..) and No 3 has to be on one side of the table by himself because he lays his cards out on the chair and then stands next to it because he can't hold them!!!

[lina]

What a great idea. UNO is a competitive sport in our house and the children are forever sitting on (make that losing) their cards. I found a gadget recently in a toy store to hold cards which I thought was handy but couldn't face paying for something. This might be the perfect solution!

[Louise.papas@bigpond.com]

Oh very clever! My Lucinda is into cards but builds houses! And after cleaning out pretty much every cupboard in the house recently, the one facing me today is the toy cupboard!! Let's hope much of it ends up going out the door!

[UK lass in US]

What a great idea! Now I just need to teach my daughter to stop looking at my cards and telling everyone what I have...

[Lisa]

Very inventive! I was teaching S clock patience just before the start of the hols, I remember playing that for hours on end.
Good luck with the car boot. I've done a few and would definitely recommend pricing up everything before hand. And if you don't want to bring it home again be very open to negotiations! We always put a tablecloth over our pasting table and display things nicley, so many people say it makes a difference than having a jumbled look. Also try and pack similar item together before you go as this makes it easier to unload when you are there. In my experience clothes sell better if they are hung up. Take an airer and some hangers to display stuff on if you haven't got or can borrow a collapsable clothes rack. Have lots of change and plenty of food and drink so you are tempted to buy stuff there.
Lisa x

[Rebecca]

Oh Ali, you are a genius! Brilliant, brilliant idea. Sadly in this family Cheat is the game of choice, perhaps not a very healthy sort of card game..... The seven year old is alarmingly hard to read!

[PinkCat]

What a novel idea - very clever.

I'm afraid at the grand age of 28, the most complex card game I can manage is UNO - the shame of it! x

[Gemma]

How I wish someone had thought of that when I was younger!! I used to have to sit behind the sofa with my cards spread out around me!

[lucy locket]

What an inspired card holder! I really must get my children into playing cards because I loved it as a child and as the youngest by quite a gap didn't always have someone to play with as often as I would have liked. Now I can make the children play with me instead!!! Lucy x

[Kitty]

We are big 'game players' in the Wrinkle household, but I don't know about the Seven of Diamonds game - I'm off to explore your link right away. :) x

[Lynn]

You're a genius, woman! I was getting a little bored with the CD-as-decorative-mobile recycling idea...

[Anna]

You are of course prepared to have complete strangers crawl all over your car the minute you pull into the field?! That will be the people who are hoping you have accidentally packed up the family heirlooms to sell...Once they have got bored and gone away you can get stuck into the massive box of homemade sandwiches and cakes you have cunningly packed, and large flask of tea.And don't forget the comfy chair. You're set! it'll be a breeze. You may need to warn the kids that you don't intend to come home with more than you took to sell..my brother turned up at our car 20 years ago dragging the Battle Star Galactica behind him."Look Dad, I spent all my pocket money on it and it's only missing a few parts!" (that's where the hip flask comes in handy)

[Lucille]

We have been playing a variant of this called Halfpenny Knock. If you can't make a move, you rap the table and put a penny into the communal kitty. It works perfectly well without money though and we are addicted. Similarly we always take UNO on holiday with us.