There is on the horizon hurtling towards us as breakneck speed , the World Cup.
Now we’re a football loving family here . As Hull City fans living in Manchester this doesn’t always bode well for us but we like a big football event. There’s not much more of a big event than the World Cup (well except that time Hull City got to the FA Final *weeps*)
One member of this family however is NOT a football fan. In fact safe to say she actively dislikes it. Small girl is not one to watch a football match . At the other end of the scale we have teen boy the younger . The lad is OBSESSED.Eats , drinks , breathes the game . I always say should they remake Fantasy Football he could replace Statto. He bloody loves obscure football statistics and random matches in the Danish league !!
So it appears we may have a problem. Teen boy the younger is going to watch most every match there is. Small girl will whine about this and make his life a misery, thoroughly spoiling his football watching. Our lad concocts ” a plan so cunning you could stick a tail on it and call it a weasel” – thanks Blackadder!!
He’s a real sweetie pie is teen boy the younger .You’d not think he was evil plotter and super manipulator .Seems when the beautiful game is at stake desperate times do indeed call for desperate measures.
His plan is basically to whip up a World Cup frenzy so crazed that our 10 year old heroine of the piece cannot resist getting involved.
The plan works 4 fold.
Firstly there is the production of a World Cup Wall Chart.
Our boys knows his audience here. There is nothing small girl loves more than being able to get out her coloured pens at put them to work.
I have to concede , it is a very pretty wall chart.
She’s not so much biting but he has her interest. She’s asking which countries are good? He involves me with her in a game of who can guess the top 20 countries in the FIFA rankings.
He then pulls the second part of his fiendish plan. (I have mentioned he studies psychology at GCSE right?)
He devises a family sweepstake.
Of course you rarely see the words corruption and football in the same sentence and I am not going to use the term match fixing ….but here’s her draw for the sweepstake (prize a huge bar of chocolate)
Seen that bottom 3???I got bloody England!
Ok now she’s in …the coloured pens are back and and we all receive a personalised timetable with dates and times ‘our ‘ teams are playing!
Like a master of timing he begins bigging up mum’s football snacks.
Football snacks have been a thing in this house a very long time.
It’s basically nachos , chicken wings and pizza accompanied by the usual crisps, nuts and sweets. Sometimes I’ll sling in a few wedges ,bit of garlic bread, bit of salad ,corn on the cob.
Anyway the kids love it , make a real big deal out of it.
By now small girl is pretty much in. She’s there ready to be reeled in , she’s even chatting excitedly about it. The boy has done a good job here.
So he pulls his finest move .
Step 4. World Cup themed dinners!
He’d run this plan by me the day before and as we’re all a bit daft in this house I LOVED the idea.
The plan being choose a country playing that day and make a traditional dish from that country.
If you’ve read much of this blog you’ll know small girl is a cooking enthusiast. She is a mini Masterchef. Cookery programmes are her thing. Recipe books are her oxygen!!
The thought of doing research , finding recipes and then cooking them is the most exciting thing she’s ever heard. Stroganoff is researched for the opening day!!
Now this post was going to be a tale of how scarily manipulative teen boy the younger is and how I was going to sell him to the circus before our house turned into a weird cult .
However, what it actually has been is a really lovely bonding experience between them. They’ve spent hours together working on wall charts and the like , she’s a touch of hero worship at his vast knowledge of all things football . They’re hanging out together now playing a computer game , completely unrelated to football !!
I was her age when I first watched my first World Cup . Italia 90 anyone ?I fell for football during that. Maybe she’ll decide she does like football too . Maybe she’ll decide it’s not worth her time and she’d rather be off creating arty masterpieces and that’s fine.
I think this sibling relationship has certainly benefitted from making pretty wall charts though!
That is an amazing plan. Your boy is super genius. I liked your ending, where you described the bonding between siblings. They will always want different things but will come up with something that makes both happy.
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What a clever young man you have! Xx
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Wow! He is really into it. My boys are not interested in anything to that extent.
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When he loves he loves hard!!
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you have a boy genius on your hands …add to that a daughter who is in line for Masterchef… I hate football but even i was drawn in my the multicoloured chart xxx #globalblogging
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This boy would be wasted on something as banal as merely being prime minister, or CEO of a filthy-rich multi-national … he should be running FIFA. Start the campaign NOW! #triumphanttales
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Ha ha we can’t give him ideas!!! He finishes school on Fri with a whole summer to create masterplans !!!
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It’s really lovely he’s thought about ways to involve his sister rather than turning it into an opportunity for a sibling fight. Our household is super excited and can’t wait for it to start. Good luck to us all!
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everything about this is fantastic – his efforts and the creativity that was involved. Love it #familyfun
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I love it. He seems like the sweetest big brother and entirely genius in his cunningness – is that even a word?!
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If not it should be!!!
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When I was a kid I would always make a big chart and put it on our fridge. However I’m not too fond of it so much anymore. The husband is. And what a clever little man.
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Glad the chart thing has a bit of history!!!😂
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Fab and well thought out walk chart love the idea of themed dinners #triumphanttales
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I think I like the themed dinner idea!!!
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Haha love him, this is brilliant!
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Ooh you’ve got me all excited now. What cracking ideas your son has had there and it looks as though it’s worked. I do love a sweepstake and am totally with him on a lot of this. I have no clue when it comes to football, yet I shall no doubt roll up a chair and become an expert along with the rest of the world for a few weeks. And we will also go through the highs and lows of the England performance as though we all had a hand in picking the team!! Love it. Thanks for sharing with #tweensteensbeyond. I’m off to get my marker pens!
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Ha ha we are very very excited here!!!
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Fun and brilliant!! Good luck with England! 😂
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🙄🙄🙄
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That’s so lovely that he’s managed to gain his sister’s interest and involve her! I’m loving the wall chart and the food sounds amazing!
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I didn’t even realise the world cup was going to start this week until this week! Sounds like it’s going to be fun in your house #familyfunlinky
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That is fiendishly cunning. I like this approach a lot. Does it only work with football or will it work with other events??? #thatfridaylinky
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Ooo interesting concept !! I’m pretty sure there’s only the football he cares about enough to put the work in , but maybe I could take note of his tactics and put them to work elsewhere!!
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What a great idea, I am not a football fan but will sit and watch England games x
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Ahh how wonderful, as I type this we just finished watching the game between Portugal and Spain and wht a lovely game that was. Hope you all all enjoying the football season as well.
http://www.yeahlifestyle.com
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This game has captured all our interest!!!!
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Ha ha, love it. He’s one clever lad, and I love the Blackadder reference too. Good luck with the sweepstakes, we did one at work and I got Peru!!!
Thank you for joining the #FamilyFunLinky x
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What a brilliant plan to celebrate the World Cup! I love that you cooked the different foods, I always love a plan that has food. #GlobalBlogging
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All the best plans do!!
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Oh Kelly I love this and sadly I have to admit to remembering a world cup pre 1990! I got hooked on football as a PR for a Euro ’96! In a house full of football fans and I am listening to the noise from downstairs even now, it is difficult to avoid but it is so wonderful that your son has found a way (multiple ways) to involve the whole family. Fingers crossed for England next week! #TweensTeensBeyond
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This is such a cunning plan, but it would work on me too! I love creating spreadsheets and organising so I’d also love writing out all the matches for everyone! I also LOVE the idea of themed dinners – that’s a great plan that I’ve said to Hubby that I want to do when the kids are older!
Thank you for sharing this with us at #TriumphantTales. I hope to see you back next week!
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Ha it’s a brilliant plan!!!
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Haha, I love it! I think your boy is going to go far in life! It is great that they have bonded over this too x
#FamilyFun
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This is absolute gold dust. Your lad is the king of cunning. You could patent this and sell it to families all over the world. I absolutely loved this post – brilliant. Thanks so much for sharing with us at #TweensTeensBeyond
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Ha ha it’s turned up a gear ahead of the England game. Good job his enthusiasm is infectious!!!
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sounds a wonderful plan with the whole family involved, enjoy the matches #tweensteensbeyond
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I’m sure we will!!Thank you!!
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Wow, he’s brilliant, even I might get interested in football if he drew a plan like that and espeically as it involves chocolate 😀 Hope you enjoy the series, what a lovely way to bond with your son. #tweensteensbeyond
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It is such a great plan!!!!!
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