All schools in Cyprus are temporary shutdown according to the announcement of the Cabinet on 11^th of March 2020.  The schools’ temporary shutdown is precautional and targets to contain the spread of the new coronavirus (COVID-19) in Cyprus.  

Kids though if they do not have nothing to do at home, you will definitely, feel hopeless. 

Therefore, we have created a list with several ideas for kids’ activities at home which will spread the fun side of staying at home and let their creativity shine.

Of course, some of the mentioned spread-the-fun activities, will require the participation of adults, which is why; Moms, Dads, Grandma and Grandpa be ready! ?

1. Read your favorite Books
2. Play Board Games
3. Prepare an Indoor Picnic
4. Arrange a Karaoke day
5. Convert your living room to a Home Cinema and watch your favorite movies
6. Play an Indoor Treasure Hunt
7. Go an Indoor Camping
8. Play a Yes / No Game with your family
9. Bake Cookies
10. Bake your own Cake
11. Bake Bread
12. Make a Home-Made Pizza
13. Craft a Breakfast Menu
14. Prepare Family breakfast
15. Make snacks in shape
16. Create your own recipe
17. Play Dough
18. Create a colorful collage
19. Craft a Time Capsule
20. Craft paper airplanes
21. Write jokes
22. Have fun with colorful crayons
23. Paint pictures
24. Craft Paper images
25. Craft your own Finger Puppets
26. Exercise Indoor
27. Play the game Animal, Vegetable and Things
28. Organize your room toys
29. Play Shopping at the Mall and Supermarket
30. Build a house with a paper box
31. Turn a box into a spaceship
32. Make a Volcano
33. Play console games
34. Play UNO
35. Write your own fairy tale
36. Watch your baby videos
37. Go through the old photo albums and listen to your baby stories
38. Ride your bike in your yard
39. Play with Tupperware
40. Play Investigators
41. Give your action figures a bath
42. Play red light, green light
43. Create a toy parade
44. Dance Disco Party
45. Prepare a theatrical play with puppets
46. Practice cutting paper
47. Play with stickers
48. Design your stickers
49. Play with Legos
50. Play bowling with cups
51. Practice your math
52. Make a revision of your lessons
53. Play with balloon – indoor tennis
54. Create your own musical instruments
55. Play Nerf game – Knock the balls and cans
56. Play the Game – Race with a book at your head
57. Play a letter matching game
58. Play a building contest
59. Make puzzles
60. Play Inventors and discover new use of toys
61. Play toy motor race
62. Take funny photos
63. Create a funny album
64. Play drawing games with your hands
65. Create talent contests
66. Prepare your own broadcast show
67. Craft your own board game

All the above aim in making home time with the kids as pleasurable and fun as possible! Just remember, stay home and stay safe 🙂

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The Global Game Jam® (GGJ) is the world’s largest game jam event (game creation) taking place around the world at physical locations. Think of it as a hackathon focused on game development. It is the growth of an idea that in today’s heavily connected world, we could come together, be creative, share experiences and express ourselves in a multitude of ways using video games – it is very universal. The weekend stirs a global creative buzz in games, while at the same time exploring the process of development, be it programming, iterative design, narrative exploration or artistic expression. It is all condensed into a 48 hour development cycle. The GGJ encourages people with all kinds of backgrounds to participate and contribute to this global spread of game development and creativity.

The structure of a jam is usually that everyone gathers on Friday late afternoon, watches a short video keynote with advice from leading game developers, and then a secret theme is announced. All sites worldwide are then challenged to make games based on that same theme, with games to be completed by Sunday afternoon. In January 2019, we had 860 locations in 113 countries create 9,010 games in one weekend! GGJ 2020 is 31 January – 2 February at a location near you… if not you can make one of your own. The jam is known for helping foster new friendships, increase confidence and opportunities within the community. The jam is always an intellectual challenge. People are invited to explore new technology tools, trying on new roles in development and testing their skills to do something that requires them to design, develop create, test and make a new game in the time span of 48 hours.

The GGJ stimulates collaboration and is not a competition.

GGJ Team

The Global Game Jam is operated by Global Game Jam, Inc., an international non-profit corporation based in San Luis Obispo, California, US, with a mission to foster game design and game education through innovative events.

The Global Game Jam is run by a combination of hired staff, volunteer board members, and a small international team of volunteers banded together in the “Executive Committee” (EC).

GGJ Staff

• Kate Edwards, Executive Director
• Jo Summers, Executive Producer
• Zain Ul Hassan, Technology Manager

GGJ 2020 Executive Committee (led by Jo Summers): 

• Jung-Sheng (also known as Johnson Lin)
• Sabrina Culyba
• Gwen Foster
• Tim Cullings
• Elif Karaata
• Hernán Valdés

​The EC is supported by a large number of regional organisers who provide support to all of the local GGJ site organisers within their specific regions.

GGJ Board of Directors:

• Joseph Olin (President)
• Susan Gold (Vice President)
• Houssem ben Amor (Treasurer)
• Justin Berenbaum
• Ashley Brown
• Alexander L. Fernandez
• ​Foaad Khosmood
• Gorm Lai

The GGJ depends on the generous work and support of many other people around the world – including sponsors, jam site organisers, and volunteers.

If you are interested in volunteering, sponsoring, or otherwise assisting in a GGJ event, please reach out at help@globalgamejam.org!

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So…if you are planning your next hangout with your friends, here are some ideas on what you could do to make the night even better!!!

Movie Nights:

All you night for a successful movie night is a great movie (or couple of them for movie marathon nights), salty popcorn, some chocolate to be put in the pop corn (if you haven’t tried the salty / sweet combination you don’t know what you are missing) and warm blankets.

Karaoke Theme Nights:

Imagine you and your friends singing while wearing a space suit! We propose a karaoke theme night to spice up these Christmas nights to come! Laughing your head off in a bling-bling suit can really be something you will never forget!

Spa Nights:

This is mainly addressed, but not limited, to girls’ nights. The recipe for success is sparkling wine, cheese platter, cozy pajamas and your favorite beauty products. Scrub, face masks, hair care and selfies are what should be included in the night!

Poker Nights:

Poker night is a safe fun time since you will all be mostly amateurs. Add few drinking games and wear your best pro poker face for even more realistic result.

Game Nights:

Board games, card games, challenge games or any other type, your night is going to be a success because you will be surrounded by your closest friends. Add chips, drinks, cheese etc and your game night is going to rock!

BBQ Nights:

Food, food, food!! The magic word in Cyprus! Just set up your foukou, cook your chosen meat and spend time around the BBQ with your drinks and chit chat. Just keep in mind that by the time the BBQ is done, you probably won’t be hungry anymore but that’s the beauty of BBQ with friends, right?

Christmas Season is the PERFECT opportunity for some quality time with our loved ones and some fun times with us being kids again ?

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What about that cheeky smile on your face when you realize that Christmas is around the corner?

These final days before Christmas are exciting, hopeful and at the same time a bit stressful since you have to coordinate everything to be ready on time.  Preparations for the Christmas feast, cleaning the house, decorate accordingly and of course, find the best present for your close family!

We LUV Christmas and we want to help you at least with one (!) of your Christmas “chores” in order to ease your search for the perfect gift!

For Travel Addicts:

At least one member of every family is addicted to travelling and the first thing on their bucket list is to travel the world. Scratch-Off World Travel Map is the best present for that family member, as they can scratch off every part of the world they have traveled to and plan their next adventure in a random part of the globe!

For Movie / TV series Lovers:

We all love watching a movie or two during the week, but there are people who really, really love cozy winter nights with hot cocoa, pop corn and of course Netflix. So…..what’s a better gift than a yearly Netflix subscription for some serious Netflix and chill nights?

For Game Lovers:

Nothing compares to a family night playing board games, especially during the Christmas Holidays. If you are planning a family gathering or go to one, a great gift would be a funny board game for the hosts. Our suggestion is Watch Ya’ Mouth, a hilarious card game in which players must say the phrase on their card while wearing the mouth-opening cheek retractors.  Just picture your family’s ridiculous faces while they try to say “warm beef meatballs” while wearing the mouth-opening cheek retractors 😀

For the Gamers:

If you are wondering what to get to a gamer (and your budget is extended of course), then Nintento Switch is what you should choose. You really can’t go wrong with Nintendo Switch as its portability is something it cannot be beaten and it’s the only console where you can play all of Nintendo’s best games and many of their old ones.

For the Book Lovers:

J.K. Rowling once said, “I do believe that something very magical can happen when you read a good book”. A good book, is the greatest gift you can get to the little “book worms” in your family. Some suggestions to make your life easier are My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing, Jojo Moye’s The Girl you Left Behind, Mercedes Hill by Chrysiyda Demoulidou, Me Lene Data by Lena Manda and H Kardia Thimate by Kaiti Oikonomou.

Customized Gifts:

The safest choice for gifts are the customized items where the variety is enormous and due to their personal touch, are always greatly appreciated! You can set your imagination free on mugs, pajamas, keyrings, posters, hoodies, coasters and even board games!

The above suggestions can be your guide to your Christmas Gifts List and maybe help you make your purchases stress-free!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

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