Did Kristen Bell make Bananagrams cool, or did Bananagrams make Kristen Bell cool? THAT IS THE QUESTION. Well, the first question I had was ‘what is banana grams?’ Like any modern girl, I went straight to YouTube for my answer. Turns out it’s a really simple word game that is kind of like boggle. I heard about this game because Kristen Bell told OK Magazine, “…I did just play an intense game of Bananagrams with my sisters…till the wee, small hours of the morning.”

Mastermind Toys said they love it because it’s portable and you can play it at your home or at “the cottage”. Well, we don’t all have summer cottages on lakes, but if you’ll be visiting any family members this summer at THEIRS, this might be a lifesaver. Banangrams could actually be the answer to every awkward question.

Question: “So, are you seeing anyone right now? What happened to that boyfriend with the mohawk?”

Real answer: You can already hear the disdain in their voice, and the follow-up questions will be about marriage and freezing your eggs so you can give your mother grandchildren… and it doesn’t help that the boyfriend in question cheated on you with his (male) best friend and then they wrote a  song about you called “Stupid Girl with the Weird Freckles”.

Your revised answer: “Oh – hey, did you wanna play this really cool game I brought?” (Cue: Whip it out of your purse where you’ve had it concealed for just such an emergency. Too bad this emergency will undoubtedly occur within ten minutes of arriving.)

Bananagramas could be great for girls night in, cheap date nights, any family events, babysitting for friends…

• Bananagrams $11
• Pairs in Pears $13
• Appletters $13
• Qwirkle Board Game $18 (For the more visually-inclined)

She’s smart – she’s YOU. And our fashion under 100 blog is here for you.