Category: Bunco Dice

Bunco Dice

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February Bunco Ideas

February is such a fun month for Bunco themes!  Of course the most popular theme is typically Valentine’s Day.  This is our fourth February as a group and our first time having a Valentine’s Day theme.  Red and pink hearts are fun but I prefer more creative themes for February.  Don’t worry we will still talk about Valentine’s Day Bunco:)

One of my favorite themes for February was Souper Bowl Bunco.  I hosted this fun event!  I love making soup, so I made some of my favorites, chicken noodle, fire roasted tomato and a pot of chili.  The rest of the group brought things that go with soup, such as cornbread, crackers, rolls, salad and sandwiches.  As usual there was an abundance of delicious food.  A football game was playing on the television and football themed decorations and table cloths made it even more festive. People wore football jerseys and t-shirts of their favorite team.

Another out of the box February theme is Chinese New Year.  This year it falls on January 31st, so you could do this theme for January or February. Fun decor can be found at party stores.  Using red and black dice at each table is really festive.  We did potluck for this theme and people brought Asian specialties such as fried rice, lo mein and egg rolls.  Of course there were fortune cookies at each table.  We had fun reading our fortunes.   You can package fortune cookies for each person to take home as a party favor.  I found cute takeout containers with Asian designs to put the prizes in.  I think the gals liked the containers better than the prizes!

Last but not least, Valentine’s Day Bunco. Red and pink dice at the tables would be perfect for this theme, along with some pink and red chocolate covered candies.  These red dice inflatables would be perfect to replace your fuzzy dice with that night for snake eyes or travelling.  They could even be used as prizes.  You could  have a dessert theme along with Valentine’s Day, or a chocolate theme.  A chocolate fountain or fondue would liven up the party as well.

What is your favorite February Bunco theme?  Let me know on the Bunco Game Shop Facebook page.  Also, enter our monthly giveaway!

Keep Calm and Play Bunco,

Bunco Betty

 

 

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My Favorite Things Bunco Theme

Brown paper packages tied up in string these are a few of my favorite things!  We all know that beloved song which is an inspiration for my My Favorite Things Bunco theme.  I am planning a My Favorite Things Party for my 40th birthday.  I am finding out how hard it is to know exactly what my favorite things are.  There are so many times when I compromise because I am sharing food with someone or because I am a mom and I put others needs before my own.  Well, this party is for ME and I am having fun planning it!  Of course we are going to be eating my favorite appetizers, main dishes and deserts.  We usually have Bunco potlucks but I will be providing the food since it is based around things that  I like.  Also, my mom will be visiting and she will be making some of my favorites for the party (baked ziti and cabbage rolls, yum!).

A My Favorite Things Party is more than just having the guest of honor’s favorite foods, colors, etc.  When you invite your friend’s to your Bunco party, you will ask them to each bring a wrapped item that is one of their favorite things.  You can set a price limit ($5, $10, $15) which works best for your guests.  Before you play Bunco, write each guests name on a slip of paper, fold it over and put into a bowl. These pens would be perfect to use for your Bunco game! After you are done playing Bunco, or whatever time works for you, gather your fellow Bunco players and start the gift exchange.  The way it works is that each person will choose a name from the bowl.  Whichever name the person chooses is the gift she gets to take home.  It is so fun to see what everyone’s favorite things are!  You can have each guests bring more than one gift if you like.  You would just add each person’s name according to the amount of gifts that were brought.  If each person brought three gifts, their names would be put into the drawing three times and everyone would leave with three items, fun!

At my party, I will be sending everyone home with one of my favorite things.  M&M Cookie Mix in a Jar.  One of my favorite childhood sweets was the sugar butter cookie with M&M’s.  You know, the giant one’s sold at the mall. I used to go to the mall a lot as a tween!  Here is an awesome recipe to make your own cookie mix in a jar from the blog Organized Christmas.  My favorite colors are green, pink and orange, so I incorporated them into the jar packaging.

Have you ever been to a my Favorite Thing Party Bunco?  If so, tell me about it in the comments.  If not, what would you bring if you were invited to a My Favorite Things Bunco Party?

Keep Calm and Play Bunco,

Bunco Betty

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Bunco Theme Favorite: Birthday Bash Bunco

A Bunco Game Shop Facebook follower threw an amazing surprise 91st Birthday Bunco Bash and it got me thinking of one of my favorite Bunco themes: Birthday Bunco!  In February a friend of mine in my Bunco group turned 40.  So, we held a Gold Lamé Soirée Bunco which was a fun 1970s theme.  We took it seriously!  The ladies in my group all wore sparkly gold shirts and of course there was Disco music in the background.  I bought  everyone  a disco ball necklace and we rocked them!

Usually we have a potluck but I decided to make the food since the theme was so fun! I immediately thought of the quintessential 1970s food: fondue. But after talking with the birthday girl, came up with doing a salad bar and soup.  I found an inflatable salad bar online and filled it with ice so that it kept all of the salad fixings cold.  I had everyone’s favorite toppings, lettuce, pasta salad and a variety of dressings.  I also made one of my favorite soups, Fire Roasted Tomato (see recipe below).  It is easy to make the day before and then warm in the slow cooker a few hours before the party starts.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon  olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 cans (14.5 oz each) fire roasted diced tomatoes, undrained

1 can can (14 oz) reduced-sodium chicken broth

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves

1 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

1/2 cup whipping cream

In saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; cook 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, broth, 1 tablespoon of the basil, the sugar and pepper flakes. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 15 minutes.  I use an immersion blender and blend the soup directly in the pot. If you are using a regular blender, let soup cool before blending, about 15 minutes.  After blending, add soup back to pot, stir in cream and remaining 1 tablespoon basil.  It tastes great with a sprinkle of grated Parmesan cheese on top!

After playing two rounds of Bunco in which the birthday girl wore this cute tiara, we took a dessert break. We had the birthday girl’s favorite cupcake, homemade German Chocolate.  One of our players brought some gourmet ice cream to go with it.  Delicious!  As a nod to our 70s theme we had punch, both spiked and not, with sherbet floating on top.  Classic!

My 40th is coming up in a few weeks and I am throwing myself (with some help from friends) a Bunco Birthday Bash!  It is a fun Neon Tea Party theme.  I am having fun planning this event!  I found some cute neon pink, orange and yellow water bottles.  I will be tying neon balloons on some and making flower arrangements in the others.  I also plan on using these dice for some extra fun! I am really looking forward to it.  I will post pictures and let you know how it went!

A Bunco Game Shop Facebook follower, Charlyn, sent me some awesome food pictures from one of her bunco parties.  I am posting them here.  I am sure they will provide inspiration for many.  I think I may make the cupcakes for my Bunco Birthday (using carrot cake–my fave!).  The cream cheese appetizer with adorable spreaders looks amazing too!

What is your favorite Bunco theme?  Do you have any ideas for a Birthday Bunco Bash?  If so, I’d love to hear from you.  Leave a comment below.

Keep Calm and Play Bunco,

Bunco Betty

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Favorite Bunco Themes–Dirty Dancing Bunco

I was thinking about the (many) Bunco games I have played in the last eight years.  One of my most favorite Bunco games that I planned was Dirty Dancing Bunco.  It was the 25th anniversary of the beloved movie and I thought it would be fun to throw a Bunco party with a  Dirty Dancing theme.

Of course we had, you guessed it, the Dirty Dancing DVD on in the background.  We had the sound turned down and the movie soundtrack CD playing.  Everyone loved it and sang along!  I also gave Dirty Dancing DVDs and CDs away as prizes for Snake Eyes as well as  first and last Bunco.  Our group gives the first person to get a Bunco her $5 back as well as a prize.  They get to wear a fun themed necklace until we hand out prizes at the end.  If you roll triple ones when you aren’t rolling for ones, it is called Snake Eyes.  Whoever rolled it loses all of  her points in that round and must yell Snake Eyes. Whoever rolled the last Snake Eyes throws the plush fuzzy die (like this awesome one from Bunco Game Shop) to her and the person who has the die at the end wins a prize.

I brought watermelon cake pops for dessert (remember when Baby carried the watermelon into the dance hall?) They were so cute and a big hit.  Here is the (easy) recipe:

1 box white cake mix (or your favorite recipe)
Water, vegetable oil and egg whites called for on cake mix box
1/4 teaspoon pink paste food color
3/4 cup vanilla frosting (ready made or your favorite recipe)
3/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
32  Lollipop sticks
1 bag (16 oz) green candy melts or coating wafers, melted
1 bag (16oz) white candy melts, melted
block of foam or cakepop holder

  • Heat oven to 350°F.
  • Spray 13×9-inch pan with cooking spray.
  • Make and bake cake mix as directed on box for 13×9-inch pan, using water, oil and egg whites and adding pink paste food color.
  • Cool completely.
  • Line cookie sheet with waxed paper. I like to use two small cookie sheets from the dollar store. They fit nicely in my small freezer.
  • Crumble cake into large bowl.
  • Add frosting and mini chocolate chips; mix well.
  • Shape into 32 oblong balls to look like watermelon; place on cookie sheets.
  • Freeze until firm, at least an hour.
  • When cake balls are firm, transfer to refrigerator.
  • Remove several cake balls from refrigerator at a time.
  • Dip tip of 1 lollipop stick 1/2 inch into melted white candy and insert stick into 1 cake ball no more than halfway.
  • Dip each cake ball into melted candy to cover; tap off excess.
  • Poke opposite end of stick into foam block.
  • Let stand until set.
  • Dip each cake ball into melted green candy to cover; tap off excess.
  • Return sticks to foam block. Let stand until set.

What is your favorite Bunco theme? Do you use  Snake Eyes in your Bunco game?  What are some of your favorite Bunco rules? Let us know.  We would love to hear from you.
Keep Calm and Play Bunco,
Bunco Betty

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Birthday Bunco Bash Finger Food Ideas

One of our fans, Christina, is celebrating a fellow Bunco players 91st birthday with a Birthday Bunco Bash this month.  She would like to serve finger foods and needs some ideas.  Well, I have some tried and true favorites for you from the free download of the Bunko Junkie Appetizer cookbook available here.  There are 150 awesome appetizer recipes in this FREE download from Bunco Game Shop, so download your copy today!

This crunchy mix is a great addition at each Bunco table for snacking throughout the evening:

All-American Bunko Snack

3 cups thin pretzel sticks
4 cups Wheat Chex®
4 cups Cheerios®
13 ounces can salted peanuts
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon celery salt
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup melted butter

In large mixing bowl or slow-cooking pot, mix together pretzels, cereals, and peanuts. Sprinkle with garlic salt, celery salt, seasoned salt, and cheese. Pour melted butter over all; toss until well mixed. Cover and cook in slow-cooking pot on low 3 to 4 hours. Uncover the last 30 to 40 minutes. Serve as appetizer or snack

Baby Porcupine Appetizers are spicy bite sized meatballs that everyone loves.  They are easy to make and the perfect bite sized Bunco snack. These meatballs would look so festive with these adorable dice party picks from the Bunco Game Shop.

Baby Porcupine Appetizers

1/2 cup rice
1 pound ground beef
1 tablespoon onions — minced
2 tablespoons green bell peppers — finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
1 clove garlic
2 cups tomato juice
4 cloves
1/2 teaspoon oregano
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Combine rice, ground meat, onion, green pepper, salt, celery salt and garlic; form into balls about 1-1/2 inches in diameter.

Heat tomato juice, cloves, oregano and Worcestershire sauce in skillet. Add meatballs. Cover tightly and simmer for 50 minutes. Remove cloves before serving.

 
Another popular finger food is chicken wings.  These Parmesan Chicken Wings are easy to make, baked not fried and delicious!  Bunco guests will love them!

Parmesan Chicken Wings

1 cup Freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon Heaping — finely chopped fresh Parsley
1 tablespoon Fresh — oregano or marjoram
Chopped or 1 tsp. of either
1 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Fresh ground pepper
2 pounds Chicken wings cut up
1/2 cup Butter melted

Preheat oven to 375 deg. Mix cheese,parsley,oregano, salt and pepper together and place on a dry tray. Dip each piece of chicken into the butter,then roll in the cheese mixture,coating well.

Place on a greased baking sheet. Bake for 45 minutes,turning when brown. Wings will freeze well. Thaw in refrigerator,and heat in a 375 deg. oven. Makes 4 main course or 8 appetizer servings.

 

 

Please share if you try any of these recipes and let us know how they turned out.  If you have a finger food recipe that you love, please post the recipe and/or a picture.  I made all of these recipes today and they turned out wonderful! The kids loved the Bunko Snack mix after school today!  It was a fun surprise!

Are you playing Bunco soon?  If so, let us know about it!  There are so many fun products here at BuncoGameShop.com. My group loves the foam dice for roll offs when there is a tie for Most Buncos, Most Wins, etc.  We are having a South Beach themed Bunco this weekend.  The funny thing is that we live in the desert!  I will post pictures next week.

Keep Calm and Play Bunco,

Bunco Betty

 

 

 

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Bunco gifts galore!

Ok, so I’m going to do a “My favorite bunco things” post!

First, I shall share with you some of the great sales we are having currently and I promise you will love them!  All under $10.00!!

Regular price: $12.99
Sale price: $5.99
Crystal Dice Wine Bottle Stopper - Gift Boxed

Regular price: $12.99
Sale price: $6.99
Bunco Center Piece Dice Candle - 5" x 5"

Regular price: $9.99
Sale price: $8.99
Large Acrylic Dice Keychains 1 Dozen

Regular price: $12.99
Sale price: $6.99
I could keep going, but I will fill up the entire page with just sales!  Check it out at Bunco Game Shop!
Things have been going pretty well.  My daughter loves her Gymnastics class and I love watching her!  When I was a little girl that’s all I ever dreamed of but my parents couldn’t afford it.
Work has been going good too!  And guess what?? My dear friend won an all expense paid trip to Wendover Nevada for 3 nights on a radio station and she’s taking me!  WhooHoo!  Mommies weekend getaway here we come!  The trip included the round trip flights for 2 and 3 nights at a casino.  It’s going to be so much fun!  3 nights without kids!  Sounds like a great getaway!  It’s the first weekend of March, so I’m saving my money!  Anyone been there?  I haven’t been to Wendover Nevada…I guess it’s on the border of Nevada and Utah.
Until next time my bunco divas!
Bunco Betty
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Big fuzzy dice & Red beans and rice!

Hey there all my loyal readers!!!

I had to share a couple of things with you that I thought was a good idea for your bunco night.  I’m wondering if everyone has the big fuzzy dice?  Of course every bunco group must have the big fuzzy dice and if not, you should look into it here. 

We use it when someone gets a bunco then the fuzzy dice is tossed to that person and then it goes to the next person and so on.  This is a funny little story a fan told me on our Facebook page.

“Just out of curiosity… does anyone else’s Bunco group THROW the big fuzzy die when someone else yells BUNCO!? LOL I’m not talking about a friendly toss… let’s just say it’s a good thing the fuzzy die is soft! 😉 “

We have our January bunco this Saturday the 28th and I can’t wait!  It’s always super fun!  Maybe I’ll win…something.  🙂

I came across this *healthy* Red Beans and Rice soup recipe and wanted to share it too.  With this cold weather, I am ALWAYS wanting soup!  MMMM….plus, it could be good for a Mardi Gras bunco theme too.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups dried 365 Everyday Value® Organic Red Kidney Beans, picked through
3 quarts low-sodium vegetable broth, divided
1 yellow, white or red onion, chopped
1/2 cup dry red or white wine
3 bay leaves
1 (15-ounce) can no-salt-added chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup red rice
1 tablespoon no-salt Cajun seasoning
1 (16-ounce) package frozen 365 Everyday Value® Collard Greens or Blue Curled Kale
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped

Method

Soak beans overnight in a large bowl of water; rinse and drain well. Heat 1/2 cup of the broth in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook until deep golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Add wine and cook, scraping up the browned bits, until almost absorbed, 1 or 2 minutes. Add beans, remaining broth and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer until almost tender, about 2 hours. (Skim off and discard any foam that shows up on the surface.) Stir in tomatoes, rice and Cajun seasoning, bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until rice and beans are tender, about 20 minutes. Add greens and cook until hot throughout, about 10 minutes more. Stir in parsley and serve in bowls, topped with bell pepper.

If any of you would like to share some of your favorite recipes from your bunco night, please email me or leave a comment on the blog.  buncobetty@buncogameshop.com  I would love to share anything on the Facebook page!  🙂

Happy Monday!  🙂

Bunco Betty

 

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All about Bunco & my Monday :)

Today has been fabulous!  I had my workout this morning and LOVED it!  Day 1 of Burn it Up with Debbie Siebers.  The one who burns your booty like you wouldn’t believe with her crazy leg lifts!  Then the kids went off to school which had me enjoying the quiet house…ahhhhhhh (that’s my sigh).

Then I did some Christmas/grocery shopping.  It is so easy to spend a bundle at Christmas time…sheesh!  Then the sexy man put most of the Christmas lights up until it got dark and then we were off to Mom’s house for dinner.  She made Turkey and Dumplings….SO YUMMY! (that’s me yelling…in a happy way)

Ok, so this next part isn’t so good…my son was saying he had a tummy ache and as soon as he got out of the car when we pulled into the garage he threw up all over the garage floor and it splattered all over his shoes and pants and my shoes and pants.  Poor baby!  The funny thing is he was excited to sleep on the floor in the kitchen.  Ok, sounds weird but after one special Valentine’s dinner out with the family, both my kids ended up throwing up at the same time!  Not just once, it was about every 20 minutes and they were taking turns!  After awhile of shampooing carpets in each of their rooms and going through tons of blankets, I decided that it was easier to clean up chunks (sorry to be gross) if they camped out in the kitchen on the hardwood floors.  That was probably the best idea I have ever had!  So we ended up doing just that and about 7am they both stopped throwing up.  I didn’t sleep a wink, but the clean up was way easier!  Even though this was a few years ago, they both still remember and think it’s cool to be sick and sleep in the kitchen.  Glad to be a fun mom! 🙂

So right now my son is sleeping on the kitchen floor.  He hasn’t thrown up again, so I will put him in his bed when I go to sleep and I will cross my fingers to make it through the night.

So I leave you with that and then below you will find some kick-ass bunco information you might need to get started with your bunco game.  🙂

Getting started ideas

  • Invite 12 friends to join your new bunco group
  • Pick a date and time for your first party (each of the 12 players will take turns hosting a bunco party throughout the year).
  • Type up a roster with all of the player’s names, contact information, and the month and date each individual will host a party.
  • Plan your menu and beverages. Our group does potluck, that way not only one person is in charge of feeding 12 women. 🙂
  • Set up 3 tables with 4 seats each
  • Explain the bunco game rules when everyone arrives on the first night and enjoy!

I’m picking the winner tomorrow (Tuesday) so keep your eyes open!!

Bunco Betty

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Pink Ribbon Bunco Dice

Since your bunko night is for the girls (usually anyway, but there are no rules against men), it is also important to take note of issues that affect you and your friends.

One great way to be aware is to make one of your bunco dice nights a breast cancer awareness night or Pink Ribbon Bunco Night. Sure, there are many other issues that can affect women, such as cervical cancer, ovarian cancer, etc., so you could also make each of those a special bunco theme for a month too. This time, however, were focusing on your twins.

The Pink Ribbon Dice is a cool way to play up the Breast Cancer Awareness theme. This dice is specially made and you hardly ever see dice like this! Instead of the boring old round pips on each dice, there are pink ribbons that signify the pips. There are still spots for 1 – 6 on each side of the dice, they are just marked out with various numbers of ribbons.

The bunco dice measures ¾” square. It is white with the pink ribbons on it for pips. The dice are sold individually, so if you are using them at your tables, you will need to order 12.

The dice are slightly larger than regular dice, but they still roll well for any number you are hoping to get. Play off your Breast Cancer Awareness theme and include pink napkins, pink cups, pink balloons and even pink feather boas for all of the gals. Pink is it so do it up right and make everyone wear pink for the night as well. Make a costume prize for the gal that comes doled out in the most pink clothing for the night. Heck, you could buy the pink ribbon bunco dice to simply hand out as a door prize at the end of the night. The Pink Ribbon Dice can also be used for other games that need dice to roll.

Order the pink ribbon dice for your next breast cancer bunko party and show you support the cause!
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Bunko Chocolate Dice

What is every woman’s best friend? OK, for some it might be diamonds, but think about what might run a close second in a woman’s mind. Are you thinking about…chocolate? Good! How about a cute little gift set that includes bunko chocolate dice in an Organza gift bag?

You are the hostess for the upcoming Bunko night and you are stumped at what to hand the women as they exit your door. You’ve already done the dice cell phone charms, you’ve had dice hats, but you’d really like something yummy and unique.

The