We’ve previously recapped our favorite games in each of our playstyle categories, and now are ready to unveil our top 15 Favorite Family-Friendly Videogames for Holiday 2010.  We think these games are family-friendly for a number of reasons. Some are educational, some are awesome to play together, and others are easy-to-play for all ages.  We’ve sorted the list into alphabetical order, and we welcome any feedback you may have, feel free to leave a comment or contact us directly at info@familyfriendlyvideogames.com.

BABYSITTING MAMA – Nintendo Wii

Babysitting Mama utilizes the most creative Wii-control system we’ve ever seen, a real-life baby doll.  And while the novelty of controlling the game with a baby was something we definitely enjoyed, the gameplay is actually a very fun mix of using the baby and the nunchuk in some creative mini-games.  In short, we really enjoy BabySitting Mama and it's unique baby-controller, and think is a great game for families with new babies on the way.  We think it's a fun and even educational game that’s appropriate from toddler to teen that will mostly be appreciated by young girls.

DISNEY GUILTY PARTY – Nintendo Wii

With an emphasis on creative thinking and problem solving, Guilty Party is a title that can be enjoyed by a broad range of ages.  For those that view video games as a guilty pleasure, Guilty Party proves that video games can be much more than that.  By asking players to solve mysteries - and to prove why they think what they do - Guilty Party ensures that players will use a variety of creative critical thinking skills as they play.  The game features a hilarious selection of characters will appeal to kids, but also provide a nice grown-up sense of humor.

DORA’S COOKING CLUB – Nintendo DS

Dora’s Cooking Club for Nintendo DS combines cooking techniques and cooking techniques to deliver an educational title that will challenge your toddlers to expand their math skills, and potentially learn a little about healthy cooking in the process.  We love the educational content in Dora’s Cooking Club, and the great variety of easy to play math-themed cooking games.  But there’s a real question to us as to whether most young kids who are ready for the math concepts are still into Dora.  If your kid is around kindergarten age and is still into the show, then by all means this game is for your family, because we think Dora’s Cooking Club is one of the best educational DS titles we’ve played.

JUST DANCE 2 – Nintendo Wii

Just Dance 2 is a great game for families to let loose and have a good time, and is the perfect Wii title to have playing at any get together, whether it’s a party, dinner at grandma’s house or even just a regular Tuesday night.  It’s about as easy-to-play of a dance game as you’ll ever find, but the songs and fun dance moves make it the perfect title for families to play together both cooperatively and competitively.  We love Just Dance 2, and would recommend it to just about anyone who enjoys playing Wii, and consider this one of our favorite family-friendly video games of all time.

KINECT- Microsoft Xbox 360 Kinect

Microsoft is really trying to break down barriers with Kinect and remove some of the negative stigma that many non-gameplaying familes have attached to video games.  The controller –free Kinect camera system promises to provide a way for families to come together in a fun, wholesome and even active manner.  Nearly all games are designed to be easy-to-play, which means Kinect makes videogaming accessible to families with kids (and parents) of all ages and skill-levels.  We highly recommend Kinect as the perfect option for families that want to play videogames together.

KIRBY’S EPIC YARN – Nintendo Wii

Although previous Kirby games have seen the main character as a soft, loveable and even sometimes bouncy, ball, in this one Kirby is made of a piece of yarn, and the overall theme of the game has to do with fabric and other clothing materials.  Many enemies and objects are made of yarn or fabric, and many puzzles and backgrounds include objects such as zippers.  Although the game can be enjoyed as a single-player experience, it’s even more fun playing cooperatively together, and is very accessible game for kids of all ages. 

NICKELODEON FIT – Nintendo Wii

Nickelodeon Fit is the perfect choice for families with toddlers and a Wii looking for an active video game to play together.  The simple and basic mini-games put an emphasis on moving around, and most utilize the Wii Balance Board.  Although this is a single-player game that can get very repetitive, we highly recommend Nickelodeon Fit as a great example of a game that can be enjoyed with toddlers while providing active play and exercise.

POWER A PRO-PACK MINI WII CONTROLLER – Nintendo Wii

It’s impossible for families to play video games together without picking up some additional controllers.  While you can often get additional Wii-motes bundled with games like Wii Play, if you do end up needing to buy some extra Wii-motes, the Pro-Pack Mini from Power A is a highly recommended option due to its high-quality and well-thought out design.  The smaller size is not only helpful for younger kids with smaller hands, but also makes storing them a lot easier, too

SCRIPPS SPELLING BEE – Nintendo DS

Scripps Spelling Bee is a great example of a DS game that makes an educational subject matter fun.  Kids will obviously need to be somewhat inclined to want to successfully spell words, but if they are, this game is a great way to build vocabulary while having fun.  We definitely recommend Scripps Spelling Bee as one of our favorite educational DS titles of the year, and especially love the mini-games and customization options that make it possible for kids to convince their parents to let them play their DS for homework.

SESAME STREET COOKIE’S COUNTING CARNIVAL / SESAME STREET ELMO’S A TO ZOO ADVENTURE– Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS

In Sesame Street: Cookie's Counting Carnival, kids join Cookie Monster and Big Bird at a fun-filled carnival, through gameplay steeped in math skills that include number identification, counting, shapes and pattern recognition.  It’s designed with young kids and mind, and is a great example of how videogames can be fun and educational at the same time.

In Sesame Street: Elmo's A-to-Zoo Adventure, kids head to the Zoo with Elmo, Zoe and their animal friends, as they explore fun games including letter identification, rhyming, classification, and color and shape identification. It’s another Sesame Street game aimed at young kids, and we wish more companies would make games like this.

SONIC COLORS DS – Nintendo DS

What we love about Sonic Colors for the Nintendo DS is the way that even new players will be able to have success, since all you need to do is have at least one ring so an enemy won’t damage you.  We also love how there’s so many different ways to go through each level, so whether you go on the top screen, the bottom screen, or even in between, you’ll definitely want to play through each level again and again.  While it’s hard to recommend a way to play any DS game together (unless you have more than one DS), we think that Sonic Colors for DS is accessible enough that gamers of nearly all ages and skill levels can enjoy it.

SUPER SCRIBBLENAUTS – Nintendo DS

Super Scribblenauts might be the coolest DS game we’ve ever played. Due to the creative nature and surprising humor of conjuring up nearly any object you could think of to help solve a problem, Super Scribblenauts is a great educational game.   It encourages creative thinking and multiple approaches to problem-solving, and can be enjoyed as a shared, cooperative experience.  In addition to thinking about nouns, the game also places an emphasis on adjectives, and offers innovative, fun and creative gameplay that can be enjoyed by multiple family members, even though it’s a DS game.  .We highly recommend this one for kids with DSes, and even think parents would be okay playing this game with younger kids, despite the game’s E10+ rating.

TAP & TEACH: THE STORY OF NOAH’S ARK – Nintendo DS

Tap & Teach: The Story of Noah’s Ark is a really cool concept for a DS game, in that it is a interactive storybook that also features some basic learning activities.  You’ll need to hold the DS sideways, almost like it’s an open book.  As the story is told on one screen, you can interact with illustrations on the touch screen. The interactive story itself proceeds at a nice pace, and the additional learning activities are perfect for youngsters who are just learning to read.  We’d love to see more games like Tap N’ Teach Noah’s Ark.  It’s a perfect DS game for young kids, and can even be enjoyed together with a young one on your lap.

TONY HAWK SHRED – Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox 360, Sony PlayStation 3

Tony Hawk Shred is a very fun game that uses a skateboard shaped controller, which you set on the ground, and is perfect for allowing non-skaters and even toddlers the chance to feel like they can pull off some cool moves.  We can’t speak to the authenticity of any moves because we’re not skaters and we didn’t test it with real, skilled skaters, but we can tell you that our family had a blast with it.  Tony Hawk Shred makes it really easy for any gamer that can step onto the skateboard controller to feel like they are skating like a pro.

YOUR SHAPE: FITNESS EVOLVED – Microsoft Xbox 360 Kinect

Your Shape Fitness Evolved is an all-new videogame experience unlike anything our family has ever played before.  The Personal Trainer and Fitness Class modes are a revolutionary new way to interact and participate with a virtual workout that places you on the screen alongside the trainer.  The game also contains some fun fitness mini-games that even young kids can enjoy.  Your Shape Fitness Evolved for Kinect is a game that will appeal to many different family members, especially those in pursuit of a healthy lifestyle.