Holiday Bunco Gathering - Time to Get Festive!

Although getting together for our favorite dice game is loads of fun year round, getting together at this special time of year is especially enjoyable.  Just getting together with friends, snacking on some delicious treats, and playing Bunco is enough - but why not add in a few festive touches to make December's gathering even more memorable?  Here are some ideas to add that special little somethin' to your holiday Bunco gathering!

*  Why not serve a timeless holiday beverage like eggnog or cider?  Yes, these are tried and true, but these consistent favorites will not let your Bunco players down!  These can be store-bought or homemade, and served with a little kick of alcohol or without.  Yum!  If you are feeling adventurous - and we know you are! - why not try making this version of egg nog, found on the Food Network site (it calls for Brandy):  Emeril's Old-fashioned Egg Nog.



Vintage linens make the holidays merry and bright!

 
*  Fun cocktail napkins?  Yes, please!  There are so many cute options out there, at a variety of price points.  Check out these luxe napkins - inexpensive, no, fabulous for a gift for your fave Bunco hostess, yes!  Bangle Neiman Marcus napkins.  Now for our more bargain-savvy Bunco players (and we include ourselves among you!), check out this cheeky option, shown below: Sassy Santa vintage napkins.  But our favorites of all are vintage linen cocktail napkins you have to hunt, peck, and find in glorious victory at local flea markets and antique stores.  Check out the beauties, right, that Lindsay snagged last year at Atlanta's monthly Scott Antique Market.



Sassy Santa cocktail napkins



*  Now you have to serve something really mouth-watering on those fabulous napkins... we love little bite-sized snacks so that the Bunco playing is never slowed down!  And what better to serve at your festive game night than holiday cookies?  Southern Living is a veritable treasure trove of wonderful recipes, and their holiday cookie recipes can't be beat!  For a fun mix, try their Almond Snowballs (hey, is that powdered sugar on the dice?), Salted-Caramel Pecan Bars (sweet AND salty.... mmmmm), and Blackberry Thumbprints (think Pepperidge Farm, only homemade).  Delicious.

*  Want to jazz up your buffet or game tables?  Easy!  For an elegant look, gather some beautiful greenery and other goodies from outdoors and place around your serving table alongside some white candles in silver candlesticks.  Timeless.  In our neck of the woods, we love Holly and Magnolia, but bare branches in an assortment of silver vases also make a stunning statement.  Bowls of cranberries are also a beautiful touch.  Looking for a different feel?  Check out Plumparty.com - this website is chock-full of easy and fun decor.  One of our favorites for this season is their Retro Ornament Printable Set - this set is a colorful and adorable mix of everything you need. 


Plum Party's Retro Ornament Printable Kit



*  Lastly, why not get back to what this season is really about and make a group donation to a favorite charity?  In our Bunco group, we put in $15 apiece at each monthly gathering, and the pot is divided among an assortment of winning categories at night's end.  However, at last year's holiday gathering, we decided to forgo playing for money and instead donate our pot to the local food bank.  Other charities we always love to support are local homeless shelters, the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army, and local pet shelters.  But the options are limitless for giving a financial gift to a group that really needs it! 



Happy Holidays, everyone!

How to use the Buncolator app

We hope Buncolator is user-friendly, and we've worked hard to make it that way! Just in case, here are some good, ol' fashioned, step-by-step directions for utilizing your favorite new app!

1. Once you have downloaded Buncolator from Itunes, you will see an icon that opens the app from your Iphone home screen. This icon is a small yellowish box with a pink "B."

2. Once you open the app by tapping the Buncolator icon, you will be greeted with Buncolator's introductory screens while the app loads. This will only take a few short seconds.

3. After the app loads, you will see a three-part screen with retro images and the options "Start," "Share," and "Free." You will also be greeted by the audio clip of "Buncolator!" Tapping the "Start" box will launch Buncolator and allow you to start keeping score! "Share" and "Free" will give you options including sharing this app with friends (and we thank you in advance!) and connecting straight to our blog.

4. Once you have tapped the "Start" box to begin keeping score, you will be presented with a two-column screen containing one column with pink accents and one column with blue accents. Each column will be titled with a team name - we hope that you enjoy the 1950's-centered team name pairings that we came up! To begin keeping score, simply touch the column of the team who rolls first. When a player on that team gains points, just tap the corresponding button, either 1, 2, 5 (baby bunco!) or 21 (bunco!). Continue adding to that player's team score as that player's luck continues. Once that player's turn is completed, just tap the other column to begin keeping score for the other team. It's that simple!

Helpful hints and other fun facts:

- When a team achieves the 21 points needed for Bunco, either by rolling Bunco or by cumulatively attaining 21 points, the app won't let this slip by you - you will hear the audio clip "Bunco!"
- If you inadvertently tap the wrong scoring button, let's say, 5 instead of 2, no problem! Immediately tapping the gray "Oops" button will delete the most-recent point(s) entered, and you can then tap the button that correctly matches the point or point combination rolled. You will hear the sound of an eraser scritch-scratching when you employ this handy button!
- If your Bunco game takes a pause - let's say for a talk or snack break - and you don't use your Buncolator for a few minutes, you will hear the faint noise of snoring coming from your app. Just a little something we thought was fun!
- To easily remember who's on which team, i.e. the pink team or the blue team, we recommend that the player keeping score picks their favorite color of the two and consistently remains on that color's team. For example, Lindsay's favorite color is pink, so she and her partner are always on the pink team if Lindsay is keeping score. This way, recalling which player is on which team is never an issue!

We hope these tips and hints prove helpful! Happy playing!

Calling All Bunco Fanatics!

Do you love playing Bunco but dread when it’s your turn to keep score? (C'mon, be honest!)  

Yeah, us too! 

Hi, our names are Catherine and Lindsay and we love Bunco! We love the game, the competition, the fun finger foods, but most of all we love our time with friends! The one and only thing that we do NOT love is keeping score. Bunco is a fast-paced game and it’s difficult to avoid scoring errors when there’s so much going on… if the sipping and the snacking doesn’t slow you down, then the competitive banter may provide just enough distraction, and oops! You’ve given the wrong team an extra point or two. So we got to thinking... why not create an app that reduces the chance of error by doing the addition for you!? We give you the Buncolator! Our app will put an end to your calculating woes by keeping score for you!  This app is designed exclusively for the game of Bunco. With a simple tap of the screen, the scores of 1, 2, 5 and 21 can be quickly added to one of the two team’s running tallies. The design is flirty and feminine with a retro vibe since the game's roots sprouted in the ‘50s and ‘60s. And of course, here on our blog, you’ll find all things Bunco-related…we'll even post popular recipes and party ideas for your game nights!

With our Buncolator app and our blog tips, you'll be playing with style and with ease - what's not to love? So get on out there ladies, and get back to the game!