My family is huge on game night. We have one at least nice a week. Sometimes more. And more often than not, card games are a big winner. I love that card games teach kids strategy, and counting, math, colors. They are just an all around winner in my mind. What I find difficult, rather what my kids find difficult is holding a hand of cards. Their little hands just aren’t big enough.

When you play a game of UNO, and kids get that draw four card things can get ugly fast. Having grown up playing cards, I had a few tricks up my sleeve, like sorting cards into like colors or suits and stacking them on the table face down. But of course, every time the little one has a turn we have to wait for them to turn over every pile to find a card, and they lose out on that strategy building I am so keen on. Instead, we go to egg cartons. The cardboard kind are the best, but a styrofoam works as well. I usually go for the largest pack of eggs at the market for this reason. The more spots for cards the better.

All you need to do once you have used all of your eggs is remove the top, turn it upside down and cut small slits in each “mountain.” I like to let my kids decorate their own card holders. Some paint, stickers, and their name, make the whole thing a new level of fun. Then they can slip their cards into the egg carton as the get them. They can have a row for each suit or color of cards to keep things organized.

Their hands won’t get tired of holding cards, and the game play goes so much faster. Plus there is less frustration on the part of my kids which means they spend more time having fun, and less time dropping cards and getting upset about it.

-Stephanie Wright