Evenings Before Electricity – How Families Passed the Time

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Hello everyone, Winnie Griggs here. I hope everyone had as lovely a Mother’s Day weekend as I had.

My family has always been big on board games – really any kind of family game, including more than a few versions of card games and dominoes. But over the past several years, life has gotten in the way, and we haven’t been able to play together as a group.

That changed a couple of weeks ago when we decided to revive our monthly game night, and it was sooooo much fun. Eight of us gathered around the dining room table, and there were plenty of challenges, strategy, a fair bit of shifting alliances, and most of all, laughter.

Of course, families have been finding ways to gather and pass the time together for generations. Back in the late nineteenth century, before the internet, before television, before electricity, before all the distractions we take for granted today, those evenings looked a little different.

As daylight faded and the lamps were lit, families drew together, filling the evening with shared tasks, conversation, and quiet entertainment.

For most families, evenings began to settle in right after supper. Once the day’s work was done and the dishes cleared, the household would gather in whatever room offered the best light and warmth – often the kitchen or main living area. Illumination came from candles, oil lamps, or maybe a fireplace, which meant light was limited and precious.

But that didn’t mean evenings were dull – far from it.

Conversation was a central part of daily life. Families talked. They shared news, discussed the events of the day, and caught up on what neighbors might be doing. In small towns, where everyone’s lives were more closely intertwined, this kind of exchange helped keep the community connected.

There were also quiet tasks that filled the hours. Mending clothes, shelling peas, whittling, or other small handwork often took place in the evenings. These weren’t seen as chores so much as part of the natural rhythm of the day, something to be done while visiting and passing the time together.

And of course, there was entertainment.

Games have been around for centuries, and many of them would feel familiar even today. Card games, checkers, dominoes, and simple parlor games were popular ways to pass the time. Storytelling was another favorite – sometimes recounting family history, sometimes sharing humorous tales, and sometimes retelling stories that had been handed down through generations.

Reading aloud was also common, especially in households where books or newspapers were available. One person might read while the others listened, turning it into a shared experience rather than a solitary one.

Music often found its place in the evening as well. A fiddle, a harmonica, or a piano if one was available could turn an ordinary night into something special. Even singing together – be it hymns, folk songs, or favorite tunes – was a way of winding down the day.

 

What stands out to me is how intentional these evenings must have been. With limited light and no outside distractions, people turned naturally toward one another. Time wasn’t something to fill so much as something to share.

It makes our modern “game night” feel a little less like a novelty and a little more like a return to something that’s always been important – simply spending time together.

What about you – do you have a regular game night or another simple tradition that helps you slow down and connect with family or friends? Share here for a chance to be entered in the drawing for an autographed copy of one of my books.

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Winnie Griggs is the author of Historical (and occasionally Contemporary) romances that focus on Small Towns, Big Hearts, Amazing Grace. She is also a list maker, a lover of dragonflies and holds an advanced degree in the art of procrastination.
Three of Winnie’s books have been nominated for the Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award, and one of those nominations resulted in a win.
Winnie loves to hear from readers. You can connect with her on facebook at www.facebook.com/WinnieGriggs.Author or email her at winnie@winniegriggs.com.

44 thoughts on “Evenings Before Electricity – How Families Passed the Time”

  1. Growing up, we always played board games after church and lunch on Sundays.

    My kids are grown and flown, except the college kid does come home on breaks and for the summer, but we haven’t had a regular game time since the kids were younger. We do play them some on holidays.

    • I grew up on board games too. Some of my fondest childhood memories are of us gathered at the kitchen table playing games like Clue, Life and Monopoly.

  2. No we don’t. I wind down watching “television”” on my desktop so I can see it better. I do braid yarn into doll blankets and throw rugs while watching.

  3. Husband and I are in an empty nest so most nights, we do watch TV–British crime dramas and police procedurals or a movie. Some nights, though, we keep the TV off and read or if the weather is warm, spend the evening on our deck listening to the birds or having a glass of wine with the neighbors. At the lake, we don’t have a TV, so we definitely read at night. He isn’t a big game player, but every often, he’ll go a few rounds of Skipbo with me. 😉

  4. We occasionally have a game night, but few and far between and then only one daughter and her daughters usually. The reason only occasionally is because of work schedules.

  6. We played a lot of variety of games in my younger years but now as caregivers for his 94 year old father we are limited except for him watching wheel of fortune and jeopardy

  9. We used to play outside while it was light. Then we played inside – cards, dominos, and other such games.

  10. I’ve been trying to get my family together for a regular monthly game night forever, but everyone is too busy! We did get together for Mother’s Day for dinner and played a card game afterwards.

  11. There are just the two of us now, our children and grandchildren don’t live near. Growing up our family always played games, there were seven of us children and Mama usually played with us, Daddy not so much. I remember we played monopoly a lot and Chinese checkers. Then when my brother returned from Germany where he was stationed in the Army, he taught us how to play Rook. We played a lot outside also. When our children are home with our grandchildren we sometimes play Trivial Pursuit or Jenga. We love to do puzzles together also.

  12. Unfortunately we don’t have a regular game night, but are able to play games with my family on special occasions like birthdays or Mother’s Day. For instance, we played Mexican Train Dominoes yesterday until midnight because we all lost track of time. 🙂

  14. Since it is just my hubby and I, I color or read while he plays games on his phone and watch reruns of Walker, Texas Ranger or a baseball game.

  15. Hi Winnie, when we have family over we play board games, which we love, we also play cards. Other days it is just my husband our pup and I , we are retired but my husband is a musician and he has gigs so every evening when he is home he practices and our pup and I go outside and do some gardening, come back in and my husband is practicing either on his saxophone, clarinet and flute, I really enjoy listening to him playing all the songs he plays and our 12 year old half schnauzer sometimes howls to some of the songs. I enjoyed reading your post. Have a great day and a great week.

  16. Unfortunately I live far from any family member so I mostly spend evenings watching tv or sewing as I make quilt tops for donations to various groups. I do remember my grandpa playing the violin as grandma would crochet in the evenings. Fond memories.

    • Oh wow, quilting is such a wonderful skill. I’ve only ever made one quilt and that was 20 years ago. But My mom was a quilter and she made dozens of beautiful beautiful quilts.

  17. I am a widow so I usually read but sometimes I go to my sons and we play games with him and the grandkids.

  18. When I was a kid we played all kinds of games as a family now that it is just Mom, Dad and I in the house we watch reruns of TV programs on TV like Murder She Wrote, NCIS, Tracker, sometimes FBI and any program we deem good.

  19. Our daughter started a game. night last year, but life got in the way and we weren’t able to keep it going. When our oldest daughter visits, we usually play Scrabble or a game she brings with her. We usually play board games when we visit her.
    Thinking back to my childhood, things were different. We lived out in the country and there was no such thing as outside yard or security lights. We loved playing Hide and Seek at night when cousins visited. It is so much harder. The aunts and uncles and grandparents came to play cards. Usually Canasta and Pinochle. I never did figure out Pinochle but enjoyed canasta. I didn’t play in games with my grandfathers. They took it much too seriously.
    Good memories. Thanks.

    • No thank you. Your response brought back such fun memories for me as well, playing in the yard till all hours, games like hide and seek, cops and robbers, tag, dodgeball – all the things

  20. Years ago we used to play card games and also board games. Now we don’t do that anymore. Now we watch reruns of some older TV shows.

  21. It was with my birth family that we used to do more of this. My favorite games were Scrabble and Yahtzee. I recall my rowdy brothers being really enthusiastic players of Slap Jack… And on a Saturday night, my parents sometimes went to friends’ houses where they played cards.

    With the advent of computers, our family doesn’t do this so much now. It’s something we should resume…

  22. We don’t have a regular game night right now. It’s senior year and my daughter is very active with different activities. We do have dinner together and talk and there may be “horseplay” going on too, usually started by grandpa. We can be a fun household.

  23. No game night now that the kids are older. I do enjoy the occasional Bingo night. We do try to eat dinner together so we can keep up to date on each other’s lives.

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