@marksbren

This is the first post in a series on adding a little play to regular activities. I have blogged about this before (Making things fun) and really love adding a "Pinch of play" to activities. 

This Christmas I added a little spice to the present opening process. Using a small Twilio app I made (Textbox), I turned opening gifts into an engaging trivia game. Here is how it worked:

To start, my family awoke to an odd sight. All gifts were missing recipient tags. Instead, a large, single letter appeared on the wrapped gifts.

A nearby note explained the puzzle:

We wrapped so many more presents this year
Hoping to bring everyone all some cheer

Departing the north with mounds of gifts
The sleigh was weighed down and began to shift

Raindeer pulled and tugged with all their might
As presents tumbled and shuffled all night

As we elves landed and unloaded here
We realized what happened and along came fear

The presents were shuffled and no one could tell
Which gift each person should open, oh hell

Wanting you to miss the gifts we did not
So we labeled the presents and thought a lot

Back in the north is the master list
So send a text to find your gift

xxx-xxx-xxxx

My dad texted the elves and they immediately replied:

Hey, sorry for the screwup. To start, open package "8" after the person who was given a drug-related nickname while playing a sport.  Txt back after

After deciphering the clue, my girlfriend texted in and received:

Hey Sharon... sorry! The turbulence was rough, but the master list says start off the Christmas gift opening with gift "d". Txt back after opening that gift.

The gift trivia game began. For the next 2 hours, we followed the same pattern: people would text "The North Pole" to get clues and open gifts in the order the elves hinted. It made the morning more engaging and fun. By adding a little story and technology (Textbox uses Twilio and Google Appengine) the experience of opening gifts was awesome. Everyone participated and helped each other figure out the clues.

What else can you add play to? Foursquare has made going out a game ("I've gotta reclaim my mayorship!"). Turntable has added playful elements to online music. Often those little elements of play make all the difference.