How to Plan an 'American Idol' Style Karaoke Family Game Night

Family fun night is a great way to bring the family together for good times. Done on a regular basis, this gives the entire family something to look forward to. There are tons of things to do on these nights and playing games like an 'American Idol' style family game night is one that is trendy and fun. It's also a great way to get teenagers to be more inclined to be involved in family activities.

To plan a family game night like this you will need a karaoke machine, music to play in the machine, rules for the game and judges for the game. After all, you want this to be as much like 'American Idol' as you can make it!

Create categories. Not everyone can be a rock star. Some performers like country music, rap, hip hop or some other type of music. You might want to base your winning categories on the type of music, like "Best Country Singer" or you might want to base categories on something else. For instance, you might create a "Most Energetic" category that can apply to any type of music. Once you create the categories, you need to decide on the number of rounds you're going to use for elimination purposes. To keep this a family event, you don't want to actually eliminate anyone, but you can keep score, giving points for each category.

Dress the part. Encourage the whole family to go all out and actually dress for their parts. This makes the game much more fun as girls get to "doll up", guys get to get in their "cool clothes" and small children get to feel like grown ups as they dress up.

Set the stage. Give the performers and open area to perform in. Make sure that the furniture is out of the way and that they have to room to do their act. You might even want to hang a sheet in the background to make it seem more like a curtained stage. Colored lights and other decorations won't hurt either!

Judge fairly. If you're one of the judges, you need to be fair about it. Your 16 year old might do a great Brittany Spears impersonation while your 4 year old may not even be able to sing the Alphabet Song without making you wince. But, since it is family game night, you want to make sure that all skills sets are rewarded. Make sure to give out prizes as rewards too. There are lots of free prizes you can give out for family game night.

Have fun with this activity. If you're the judge, have fun with that. You can model your style after one of the judges on 'American Idol' or you can create your own style. Whichever method you choose, just make sure you have fun with it and that everyone gets plenty of entertainment and laughter. After all, the competitors on 'American Idol' aren't the only ones who are there to entertain the people!