Firstly, by inviting other people to family games night, you get the chance to reconnect with friends or extended family members that you don’t see as much as you’d like. That way you get to spend time with everyone you love, and not just the people you’re related to, and your kids get the chance to see that ‘family’ doesn’t just apply to people you share genes with, which is good for their emotional wellness.
It’s not only your friends you could invite to a family games evening, but your children’s friends too. This will only make your kids happier to have a family games night, especially if they’ve reached that age where they’d rather spend time with their friends anyway. Don’t fight it, just give them the option of bringing someone else along too, and then they can hang out with both of you.
Also, you can meet new people by combining your family game night with other families and having one big family night together. Get someone you know to bring another family along that you don’t know already, or this can be a great opportunity to get to know your neighbours. This is especially good if your kids are a similar age to the ones that come along, as they may end up building lifelong friendships.
Finally, remember that you don’t have to invite new people all the time, and sometimes it will be nice to just have your own family there. However, it might be nice to add some new people into the mix every now and then, if only to spice things up a bit and see a few new faces. That way, you can make family games evenings a tradition that will last for years.