How to Host a Great Bunco Night

How to Host a Great Bunco Night

April 14, 2025

I've played a dice game called Bunco for a few years and I'd love to share with you how to host a great Bunco night. I love hanging out with my friends, it’s getting it scheduled that seems impossible. Having a recurring event already on everyone’s calendar is one of my very favorite things. Bunco is an easy dice game that’s fun to play and gives us an excuse to get together.

How to Host a Great Bunco Night - Where to Start

First, find 11 friends that you want to hang out with once a month. It’s nice if you live within 30 minutes of each other. Then, pick a day and time that works for everyone. Ours meets on the second Tuesday of the month at 6 PM. We have dinner together, so 6 PM is a good starting time if we want to be done around 8 or 8:30, depending on how chatty we are.

Once I recruit all my friends, I send an email to make sure everyone understands the commitment. I always host first so everyone can get an idea of how it will work. Print out a spreadsheet with the months listed so people can sign up for when they would like to host. The email template and signup sheet are in my Bunco PDF that you can purchase.

Pay $10 via Venmo @jesgriffin and fill out the contact form with “bunco” in the subject line and I’ll send you the PDF.

How to Host a Great Bunco Night - When You Host

The host sends an email the week before, and everyone RSVPs to her. If someone can’t make it, she just asks another friend to be a sub. They don’t have to be an official member of the group, they can just show up for that week. It’s fun to meet some new friends too.

You’ll set up three tables: a high table (with a bell and a feather boa), a middle table, and a low table. Have an area for “binky gifts” and an area for the “cash.” The table signs, score sheets, and tally sheets are in my Bunco PDF that you can purchase.

Make dinner for 12 people with drinks and/or dessert. It’s always a good idea to ask if anyone has any dietary restrictions so the host can plan accordingly. It doesn’t have to be fancy, some people just order pizza. It’s not a cooking competition, I promise that everyone is just excited they don’t have to cook.

How to Host a Great Bunco Night - It's Time to Play

Everyone brings $5 towards the cash prizes, and an unwrapped gift worth $5. Part of the fun is taking home a gift at the end of the night and the chance of winning a cash prize. All the rules and how to distribute the cash prizes are in the Bunco PDF. I usually review the rules at the beginning of the night in case there are any subs that haven’t played before.

Pay $10 via Venmo @jesgriffin and fill out the contact form with “bunco” in the subject line and I’ll send you the PDF.

At the end of the night, we gather up the bell, dice, feather boa, signs, pens, rules, extra tally sheets, and score sheets. We put them all in a bag to give to whoever will be hosting next month. Some people don’t have a card table or enough chairs, so the group has some to share if needed.

It’s really fun to rotate houses every month and get to know people through food and a silly game. It’s a great bang for your buck because you cook dinner once and then someone else cooks dinner for you once a month for the rest of the year. You don’t have to start in January, find 11 friends, and start next month!

You could also just host it one time with any number of people, it just works best in multiples of 4. Once we had a party at church with 20 tables, that’s 80 women if you’re not good at math. It was so chaotic, but it was a blast! Whatever you decide, you’ll never regret getting together with your girlfriends.

My full-color Bunco PDF is only $10 and includes:

• Email templates for inviting friends and the monthly reminder
• Signup sheet
• Table signs
• How to host checklist
• Bunco rules
• How to distribute cash prizes
• Score sheets
• Table tally sheets

Pay $10 via Venmo @jesgriffin and fill out the contact form with “bunco” in the subject line and I’ll send you the PDF.

Let's Go To Lagoon, Cheap Tickets and Discounts

Let's Go To Lagoon, Cheap Tickets and Discounts

March 07, 2025

My kids are always enticed by the big amusement park they can see from the freeway. If I'm going to take my kids to Lagoon, cheap tickets and discounts are a must. For my family of five to go, we'd have to pay over $525, which is a big chunk of change for just one day of fun. It really is such a great time that I end up giving in and we go once a year. Don't worry, you know I've found some ways to get tickets for less.

Lagoon, Cheap Tickets for Homeschoolers

Homeschool families get one of the best deals and can save almost 50%. There's a Facebook Group specifically for discounted Lagoon tickets for homeschoolers, the downside is that it's only on certain days. This year you can go on May 9, 15, 20, 21, or 22.

Tickets are normally $99 at the gate, but if you go with the homeschool group they're only $55, including tax. The lady who runs the group has very detailed rules, so be sure to read through them if you'd like to go. Another nice thing is that parking is free, so you can save another $20. 

More Fun for Not Much More Money

If you don't homeschool or you can't go to Lagoon on May 15, the Get Out Pass is a pretty good deal. I love it because it's only $10 more than the price of a Lagoon ticket and you get to go to Lagoon and a bunch of other fun places. Splash Summit has become a family favorite for us, and we probably never would have discovered it or other cool venues if we didn’t have the pass. It activates when you use it for the first time and then you have a year to go to anything listed on their website. 

To get the most value from my pass, I planned out an activity to do every week or two. We ended up getting $2,150 worth of fun. If you use my coupon code Griffin2, you can get your tickets for $109.95 (regular price $169.95). Be sure to check "Lagoon Included" and I recommend using the "Gift Voucher" option because then you can decide when your 365 days of fun will start.

Free Season Passes to Lagoon

If you’d rather get season passes, there's a way to get them for free. Season passes are $229, so for my family of five, we’re talking about spending over $1,100. No thanks! Lagoon typically relies on teenagers to work for them, so they struggle to find people to work while school is still in session. 

To attract parents they offer 4 season passes or 16 single-day passes if you work 7 shifts and at least 45 hours. It’s not a bad deal. You can even earn 2 more season passes or 4 more single-day passes if you work 4 additional shifts. There are certain days that you have to work, so check out all the details at lagoonpark.com. I have a couple friends that have done it and they say it's actually pretty fun.

Other Lagoon Discounts

During the summer they usually offer a deal like "purchase 2 regular single-day passports for the price of 1 after 2pm." I like to plan ahead, so I've often already gone to Lagoon by the time I remember that they do this. They also offer big discounts for groups of 25 or more people, so if you get a group a friends together you'll get about 23% off, you can find details on lagoonparks.com. 

The website says that Bounce Back has been discontinued, but I think they just changed the name and you can still go a second time for $30, at least you could last year. If you want to go more than once or twice, the season pass is still probably the best deal.

Ideas to Save Money at Lagoon

You can bring your own food, and even alcohol into the park. So we like to pack some snacks, meals, and now that I know, I may have to literally BYOB. It's common practice leave coolers on one of the picnic tables under an awning and I've never had a problem with anyone messing with our stuff. 

Parking is $20-30, and a season parking pass will set you back $85. When we go, we like to park across the street at Station Park and ride the free shuttle that runs every 30 minutes. Just be sure to check to UTA website for when the last shuttle comes back, because sometimes its before the park closes. One time we missed the last shuttle and had to cram in with our friends to get back to our car. Always an adventure with the Griffins, it's all part of the fun! 

Leave a comment with your favorite ride, I really love the Cannibal even though I feel like I'm going to die every time I ride it.