Tag: San Francisco

Marchés de Noël in the Bay Area!

Marchés de Noël in the Bay Area!

Every year in Europe, there are street markets that occur during the four weeks of Advent in celebration of the holidays. The Christmas markets brings joy to local towns, illuminating streets with Christmas decorations, music and dancing, and the aroma of tasty sweets. The tradition originally began as the December market in Vienna, Austria in 1298 and began to spread all across Europe after Germany popularized it by giving it a Christmas theme in the 14th century. Every country brings their own unique twists to each market but they all hold the same value of bringing cheer to the people around them.

This tradition, called Marché de Noël in France, has spread to the United States and has become increasingly popular in the Bay Area due to the large French community. The Christmas markets help French and Americans alike to celebrate the holidays and have many fun activities for families that also support local businesses.

Blue Orange Games is proud to be represented in the Bay Area Christmas markets by Anne-Sophie Seret through her company, Little Dragon Toys. Little Dragon Toys’ mission is to be a community of parents and child-development experts who share tips, tools, and toys that will allow them to spend more quality time with their children while enabling them to play, learn and fly.

Below is the schedule for upcoming local markets, the perfect place to find Christmas spirit, play our games at the Little Dragon booth, and find the best holiday gifts for all your loved ones!

DEC 6thHoliday French Market
Alliance Française de Berkeley 2004 Woolsey St from 5pm to 8pm
DEC 7thThe Collab – Holiday Market
At 1603 Irving St – SF from 11am to 4pm
DEC 8thLycee Français – Winter Fair
At Ortega Campus from 11am to 3pm
DEC 10thHoliday Market
At Messy Art Lab – 345 Judah St SF from 2pm to 8pm
DEC 14thSunset Mercantile
At SF County Fair Building, 9th Ave/Lincoln from 11am to 5pm
DEC 15thMarche de Noel AF & L’Apéro
The Park Central 50 3rd St – SF from 10am to 6pm

For more information about Little Dragon Toys, visit their website at www.littledragontoys.com

DIY Spot it! Ice Breaker

DIY Spot it! Ice Breaker

Spot it! Ice Breaker

Hosting an event or party in the near future? Worried that conversation will be lacking early in the event? Blue Orange Games will take that worry away by sharing with you our favorite and most successful ice breaker!

Spot it! Ice Breaker Essentials

Your Checklist:

  • Your Favorite Spot it! Cards (Of Course!)
  • 2″ Cork-board DiscSemi Strong Adhesive Glue
  • 1″ Bar Pins
  • Laminating Machine (Optional)
  • Clothespins (Optional)

All of your crafting materials can be found at your local craft & hobby store and purchase Spot it! online or visit your local toy shop.

This simple craft will guarantee that your guests begin mingling from the beginning to the end of your party! Whether you are making Spot it! Ice Breaker tags for a kid or an adult party, your little ones will make great helpers.

Spot it! Ice Breaker Steps:

1. Pick your favorite Spot it! Edition

If you are having a themed event or party, choose from one of our many editions. This is an easy way to incorporate your theme into the event’s details. Spot it! MLB, NHL, and Halloween are just a few of our themed editions. However, you can never go wrong with our classic Spot it!

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          Check out our website to browse all of your options! 

2. Laminate your Spot it! Cards

This step is optional and depends on what type of look you are trying to achieve. If you choose NOT to laminate your Spot it! cards, this will not change your outcome of your Ice Breaker pins, lamination only increases the pin’s durability.

3. Time to Glue!

Blue Orange found that a strong adhesive was best for this project. Any type of rubber cement, Gorilla Glue, or a strong adhesive will work. Apply desired amount of glue to the cork board. Apply the cork board to the red side of the Spot it! card (shown in picture). Make sure you are not gluing to the side of the card with the matching symbols…

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Our next gluing adventure consists of adding the wearable pins to the middle of the g symbols…cork board. Do not worry about the placement of the pin, some images will be upside down and some will be normal.

Press down for a few seconds and move on to the next Spot it! card.

4. Wait! Let your Spot it! Pins dry

5. Party Time!

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Invite your guests to wear your Spot it! pins around your party and find a match on other guests’ cards. Remember this is a great Ice Breaker since every single Spot it! card has a match!

Want to add even more competition to your Spot it! Ice Breaker? Purchase small clothespins of your choice and attach 5 around each guest’s Spot it! card. Whoever is the first to find their match, collects a pin from their opponent. Players can only face each opponent once and whoever has the most pins wins a prize!

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Ice Breakers are always great, but are not limited to the first day of school, birthday party, company event, or a family reunion.

Be on the look out for new and exciting Spot it! editions coming soon!

Did you use Spot it! Ice Breakers at your party or event? If so, let us know on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook! @BlueOrangeGames

New Spot it! Unveiled at Annual SF Giants Event

New Spot it! Unveiled at Annual SF Giants Event

Blue Orange Games hosted its annual Giants Event this past weekend. We invited all of our Bay Area retailers to enjoy a night of games, food, drinks, and baseball…and most importantly—to unveil a new Spot it! game!

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The office slowly turned into a party space with games on every table, lots of snacks, and a rotating hot dog machine. Each table offered seating for guests, as well as many of our favorite Blue Orange Games. Toy store owners and workers were able to enjoy playing new games, such as Battle Sheep, Aztack, and Niya; while enjoying classics, such as Spot it! and Gobblet. The competition became intense when co-workers challenged each other to a game…which always followed with several rematches.

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Guests were also introduced to Blue Orange’s Spot it! San Francisco Giants edition. This Spot it! features images from all of your favorite sites and memories at and around AT&T Park. Each attendee was asked to grab a Spot it! San Francisco Giants edition Ice Breaker pin to get the party started. This ice breaker pin consists of a Spot it! card to wear on your shirt, you then go around to other guests to try and seek your match! To learn more about creating an Ice Breaker pin for your next party, keep your eye out for upcoming posts on our blog, Facebook, & Pinterest.

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Toy store guests walked into the world of Blue Orange and were able to connect with many Blue Orange workers and the atmosphere in which we work. Upon entering, guests checked in and received a ticket to the Giants game, as well as a chance to enter into a drawing. The drawing consisted of many Giants themed prizes—Giants flag, bobble head, hats, & best of all two tickets to the Virgin Mobile Suites. Drawing winners were announced toward the end of the event and headed to the ballpark!

We were excited to feature a photo booth for our Blue Orange team and guests to have some more fun. The photo booth consisted of a fun backdrop and many crazy props to create a fun and creative picture! Stores gathered their whole crew to squeeze into one picture and strike a pose.

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Once 7:15 hit, it was game time. The event moved down to AT&T Park to enjoy a beautiful night of baseball in San Francisco. This annual event is always a great way for Blue Orange to connect with their retailers and to appreciate them. We would like to thank all of those who attended our event, and to those who could not make it—we hope to see you next year!

Look for Spot it! San Francisco Giants edition coming your way soon. Go Giants!

Fun Native American Games and Facts

Fun Native American Games and Facts

Thanksgiving is the perfect time to honor Native American cultures and their history as they make up an important part of our nation’s heritage. Native American tribes left behind a rich tradition of games, which were played ceremonially, or to demonstrate fitness, to teach, and of course, for entertainment. Exploring Native American games with kids before the food coma sets shows them that despite the gap in time and culture, Native  American children liked to have fun just like kids today!

1. The Butterfly Game

The Butterfly Game is a hide and seek style game. Stealth and discipline are needed to play properly! The Anishinaabe believed it was good luck if you were quiet and still enough for a butterfly to land on you. To play, one child covers their eyes and chants, “Butterfly, butterfly, show me where to go.” During this time, the other kids playing quietly and quickly hide. The singer repeats this chant a few times and until “the air becomes still.” Then, they must find the other players without saying a word. It’s a game of observation and skill- fun for all to play! Also some momentary peace and quiet for the parents too! Double bonus!

 

2. Where’d it Come From?

Here’s another fun game you can play with kids to help them learn where the food they see on the Thanksgiving table comes from! Save the image above to your computer and print it out for the kids to play! Notice that Indians ate a lot like many of us try to eat: organic, local and gluten free! The answer key is posted at the bottom of this blog

foodgame

 

3. Dream Guessing and Wishing

This game is very important to the Iroquois people and to this day is often played at celebrations and festivals in the form of riddles. Someone would begin to tell their dream as a story and those listening would try to guess the meaning behind the dream. To play the game, start a discussion about dreams and how the subconscious is a beautiful portal to where our imaginations give us the power to be anything we want to be. Ask the children to think of a dream or a wish that they have had, then have them draw a picture of their dream. Once completed have the kids go around in a circle and share their dream or wish, or for a little more fun, have them pantomime their dream while the others try and guess what it means!

4. Plant seeds, Respect Earth

What better way to say thank you for the bountiful meals and the warm fire we continually sit comfortably by through praising the land which we live on. This is a year long call to action for families and children to give thanks everyday to the Earth, their ancestors and community. Whether it’s going out and visiting a farm, starting a garden in your backyard or just planting a seed in a cup of soil and watching it grow indoors. Here at Blue Orange Games, we hold this practice close to our hearts as we make all our products as eco-friendly as possible. Did you know that we even plant two trees for every tree used in our products? You can help by planting seeds this Holiday season!  Giving thanks to the land everyday is something Native Americans have always done even before the first Thanksgiving. What better legacy to leave for future generations than treating our local and global community with respect!

 

 

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Answer key for food search: All the foods origins come from Native Americans!

Batkid Saves San Francisco

Batkid Saves San Francisco

Make-a-Wish Foundation Transforms San Francisco into Gotham City. Hearts melt, lives saved!

Today San Francisco has been transformed into an elaborate Make-A-Wish Foundation Adventure for an awesome kid named Miles, who has been successfully battling Leukemia at just five years old.  His wish? To save Gotham City! Have no fear, Batkid is here! Below are some truly heart warming and exciting photos from Batkid’s adventures though our city. You’re a hero to all of us, Miles!

 

Make a Wish Foundation Batkid SF

Donate to Make a Wish

Batkid’s day of fighting crime

Bat Mobile Batkid SF

Batkid Takes off in Batmobile after being called by Police! There’s an issue with the Cable Car on Nob Hill!

 

Batkid SF rescue

Oh no! A Damsel is in Distress  she seems to be tied to a mysterious bomb on the cable cars! Will Batkid arrive in time?

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Phew- Here come’s Batkid!

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Focused and determined, he calmly dismantles the bomb tied to the victim!

Batkid Damsel in Distress

An emotional thanks and Batkid saves the Damsel! (We are officially crying over here too.)

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But the moment of peace was fleeting. Soon after he saves the lady, Batkid receives word that all these shenanigans are the product of the Riddler, and now he is off to the Financial District to rob a bank!

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Batkid fortunately has the help of his trusty sidekick Robin (played by his younger brother)!

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Batkid zooms to the financial district and into the Bank to stop the robbery.

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Batkid apprehends Riddler!

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And throws him in the slammer!

batkid lunch

After successfully locking up the Riddler, Batkid hears a loud grumble. He looks around and hears it again…why, it’s his stomach! “Time for a lunch break,” he declares (hey,  superheroes gotta eat too!) and takes off to Union Square to grab lunch.  While enjoying his meal, he hears the shrill cry of our beloved San Francisco Giants mascot, Lou Seal.

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He looks out the window and sees an all too familiar faced Penguin. And he has captured Lou Seal! Batman leaps from his seat. The chase to rescue Lou Seal is on!

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Penguin flees with Lou Seal. They’re headed to AT&T Park!

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Oh now what is Penguin going to do with Lou Seal tied up in the batting cages?!

Batkid at AT&T Park

Thankfully Batkid was close behind and was able to capture Penguin with the helps of the police officers!

Batkid hugging Giants Mascot

After a congratulatory hug,  it’s announced to Batkid over the big screen that he has earned the Key to San Francisco! Or is it Gotham? No matter, just pass the tissue box please!

Batkid in batmobile

Batkid on his way to City Hall! Crowds flock to the grand building where he will be commemorated for his bold actions!

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Batkid with Mayor Ed Le receiving the Key to the City!

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 Thank you Batkid for protecting our beloved city! Please donate to Make a Wish Foundation to help hundreds of kids like Miles achieve their dreams.

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