As children’s shows go, I actually find Thomas & Friends to be fairly tolerable. Not only does it provide good teachable moments for little ones by having the engines botch and later correct virtually every task assigned to them, it’s not too terribly annoying to me as a parent – unlike that other show revolving around a certain bald four-year-old.
In fact, I think Thomas can even be downright entertaining. More than once, Hubs and I have found ourselves watching an episode after Lil’ Bit has lost interest because we genuinely want to know how it’s going to end. And then there’s my crush on Edward.
That said, I wouldn’t go so far as to add it to my list of must-see TV. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Lil’ Bit. So, in an effort to combat the tedium that is Thomas and suppress my invariable sigh when my daughter begs to watch “anuddah one,” I created The Official Thomas & Friends Drinking Game® - in a printable version, natch.
Just print off the card below, pour yourself a tall one, and enjoy your own Special while watching Thomas and his friends totally eff up theirs. Voila! Fun for the whole family.
Congratulations. You should now be hammered enough to tolerate even Caillou.
Editor’s Note: Based on reader suggestions and my own personal additions, I’ve replaced the original version of The Official Thomas & Friends Drinking Game® with the new and improved 2nd edition. Thanks to everyone for their feedback. Cheers!
For which children’s show would you create a drinking game?
Hello! I'm Kristin, a self-proclaimed city girl now living the rural life with my husband, daughter, and a black cat named Boo in eastern West Virginia – or as I like to spin it, the far western suburbs of D.C.
Welcome to What She Said, an irreverent blend of family, life, and humor. Because if I didn’t laugh, I’d cry.
I actually find Thomas more annoying than Calliou, for some reason. I’m not sure why. I even purposely hid the DVDs that we own so that I don’t have to watch it. Maybe the drinking game would make Thomas more tolerable?
If I had to make a drinking game for any show, it’d be Yo Gabba Gabba. Have you ever seen that one? I think drugs were involved in the creation of that show. The only thing is that you’d feel like you were drunk (or hallucinating) as soon as the show began. Nick likes to sing the songs in the car, and they are very weird. I try really hard not to let him watch it.
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Trust me when I say that the game really does make it more tolerable. Not that we’ve actually ever drank our way through an episode of Thomas, but it’s fun just to say, “Drink!” whenever one of the above happens. (Needless to say, I’ve been compiling those bullet points for a while.)
And no, I’ve actually not seen Yo Gabba Gabba… but I’ve heard plenty about it. All pretty much the same, too. Mommy Shorts actually recently made up a flowchart to help parents determine which children’s show they were destined to watch. She began by asking, “Have you ever participated in illegal drug use?” If the answer was, “Still do!” you were directed straight to Yo Gabba Gabba.
I love that the drinking game works for a distraction even if you’re not actually drinking. And I’m sure collecting the list was a good distraction, too! I am going to go find that flowchart.
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I think by #5, one would be rendered legless, yes?
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Oh, for sure. Today while Lil’ Bit was watching the latest Thomas episode and I was finishing up this post, Hubs quipped only a few minutes in, “Just think… if we were actually playing your drinking game, we’d already be hammered!”
One must already exist, but for a drinking game I’ve got to say Dora. Maybe everytime you see swiper? Swiper no swiping! Woo Hoo! Take a drink!
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I can honestly say I’ve never seen an episode of Dora. Lil’ Bit knows who she is and will point her out by name when she sees Dora toys and stuff, but doesn’t seem too interested in her (so far). She’s currently enthralled with Thomas and Curious George.
You forgot my favorite quote by Gordon (in his pompous voice): “Oh, the indignity!” Happens in every episode I’ve ever seen.
I didn’t! I actually had it on the list but took it off because I didn’t want to feature Gordon twice. And after consulting with Hubs (an unofficial contributor and editor of this post), it was determined that he says, “Out of my way!” more that, “Oh, the indignity!”
So, you can blame the omission on Hubs.
Well, since husbands are never wrong, that settles that.;)
By the way, I do a mean Gordon imitation. One of my talents.
Twitter: briconstable
While flipping through the kids stations this weekend, Bugs saw Calliou and yelled “CALU!”. My heart sank in fear. Apparently the sitter loves him. And I always wondered why her kids were so whiny..now I know.
Not really a fan of Thomas, but totally forsee the game as a stepping stone to acceptance.
See? I really do like to think I’m providing a service to humanity here.
Awesome! I now have easy entertainment!
I think that this can easily be adjusted for Dinosaur Train.
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Yes, definitely adjustable since all children’s shows seem to share one common thread: Redundancy.
Twitter: Juliasmath
My husband’s name is Thomas so maybe I should develop a drinking game for him?! My daughter isn’t into Thomas yet, and here’s a great reason to start. That and I hate Max and Ruby.
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You had me at “Then drink whenever.”
Done.
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Er… well, that’s not really what I sa-
You know what? On second thought, it works. Just go with it. Cheers!
I think you should just sit yourself down with a bottle if you happen to land an episode narrated by Alec Baldwin. I mean, hands down- that’s just winning.
Jack Donaghy narrates Thomas? I had no idea! Yes, that would have been pure gold for The Official Thomas & Friends Drinking Game®. Although I may do a 2nd edition at some point in the future as I’m already remembering things I forgot – such as, “Drink every time an engine has an idea fly into their funnel,” and “Drink if you think Sir Topham Hatt is one confusion and delay away from a coronary.”
BTW, I see how that Alec Baldwin narrated the 5th and 6th seasons. Guess where I learned that? Thomas Wikia. Yes, there really is such a thing.
Also, I just recently learned that William H. Macy narrates Curious George. Increased my appreciation of that show tenfold!
This blog is the last thing I needed. Couple this with the naturally hallucinogenic properties of “In The Night garden” and I’m going to be lucky to see lunch.
This is why we have a “No Thomas Before Noon” rule.
(No we don’t.)
(It’s 5:00 somewhere.)
Twitter: twitter
too, too funny.
i despise Caillou.
Caillou is the devil in cartoon animated form.
I love this. It’s been awhile since I’ve watched Thomas — but they did use the word “useful” a heck of a lot.
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Thanks! Yeah, “useful” is used at least three times every episode – plus once more in the song (which is then repeated three times). Meaning you could get a pretty good buzz off that one alone.
i’m suddenly so grateful thomas is not in rotation at our house. we usually watch arthur, not so bad as far as kids shows go.
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You’re not grateful for a legitimate excuse to kick back with an ice cold beer or glass of wine?
(And it totally is a legitimate excuse. It is!)
Twitter: MayorGia
Bahhaha genius idea!
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That right there is high praise. Thank you, Mayor.
Good idea? Or best idea ever?
I’m thinking it’s probably one of my better ones.
How hilarious. I think I would make one for Wow Wow Wubzy that’s the latest in our house and I cannot figure it out for anything. Maybe after a few drinks it would make sense?
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I’ve never even heard of that one. But yeah, I’m thinking any show called “Wow Wow Wubzy” is just screaming for its own drinking game.
Ha! We would be hammered two minutes into the show!
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Exactly what my husband said.
Twitter: triingathlete
I knew you were talking about Caillou without even having to click through
This is such a great idea…it could sell on Amazon, you know how when you look at a produce they have recommendations? So, when you click on any Thomas movies, your game could be one of those “People who bought this product also purchased this” items!
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Ha! You sound like my mom. She was all, “You could actually market this!” I was like, “I don’t think the Thomas franchise is gonna go for that, Mom.”
Twitter: KristenPGIP
We never watched Thomas but I could totally get into a drinking game for Max & Ruby. Just drinking for everytime Ruby says, “oh, Max” you would be wasted!
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I’ve heard things about these Max & Ruby characters. I do not desire to meet them. I’d like to say Lil’ Bit is far too obsessed with Thomas and Curious George to take on another show, but you never know – Angelina Ballerina did just pop up on her radar, after all.
Twitter: snapsandbits
I almost spit my drink out! I sure wish I’d known about this when my kids were watching those shows. My youngest is 8 now, out the other end (sort of–have you ever watched Sponge Bob?…)
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I will rue the day Sponge Bob becomes regular TV viewing in our house. Not gonna happen…
(And Godspeed to you.)
Twitter: LarksNotesThis
OMG, THIS IS BRILLIANT!
Wow, thank you! Please feel free to share far and wide. Think of it as a service to humanity.
Twitter: elainea
Oh man, you brought back some memories here! We used to “bust our buffers” a lot around here, back in the day when I my oldest was ALL about Thomas!
You could also do this with Dora. And tequila.
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