The shorter days and cooler weather bring with it one of the few things I like about winter -- more carpet time with the kids. Instead of bounding outdoors after dinner (most of the time we ate outdoors, too), fall and winter evenings are spent in the living room playing board games, turning up the stereo and dancing around, playing dodge ball with giant beachballs (parents on one floor, kids on the other ...yes, we let our kids throw balls in the house -- heck, we start it half the time).

Last night we played a rousing game of hide-and-seek which is nothing short of hilarious when you're playing with preschoolers who keep losing track when they're counting and can't stifle giggles when they're hiding. We had as much fun as they did. Shrieking, laughing, yelling, running through the house chasing each other.

Seems there's never time for hide-and-seek or Chutes & Ladders in the summer -- we're busy doing all the outdoor stuff we miss all winter (splashing in the pool, swinging on the swingset, taking walks in the creek out back). We rarely get the kids in the house before 9 p.m.

Now, there's time for games after dinner and an earlier bedtime (8 p.m.) which is a nice break for all of us.

When was the last time you played a board game with a kid?
Some of our favorites are: Chutes & Ladders, Don't Spill the Beans, Whack-A-Mole, Busy Bugs, Fisher Price's Matching Middles, Memory, Go Fish, CandyLand, Hi Ho Cherry O and Cooties.

What are you child's favorite board games (be sure to tell us what age group it's best for)? Post your response below.