Many of us grew up playing board games with our families at the holidays. Claire Schmitt, 13, went a step further – she created a game of her own.
It’s called Delivering Presents, and the Holy Redeemer Catholic School eighth-grader explains that brainstorming the game seemed a natural thing to do.
“I like Christmas, I like playing games, and I enjoy doing crafts, so I just put those things together and made a Christmas-themed game,” says Claire, the daughter of Matt and Stacy Schmitt.
With the goal of being the first to reach the North Pole — “The ultimate holiday race! Will you take first place?” — players roll dice to move their character around the board. They must navigate four circular neighborhoods and successfully deliver presents to houses.
Claire concocted the game in 2021 and tested it, of course, with her family. She first used a cereal box decorated with crayons.
Her hard work paid off. At last year’s Young Inventor Challenge hosted at the Chicago (Illinois) Toy and Game Fair, an upgraded version of Delivering Presents won the Best Pitch Senior Award. The con- test strives to connect professionals in the toy and game industry with young innovators.
“Judges would walk around the room, ask questions about your game, and watch you play it,” Claire says. “I felt pretty good about my pitch.”
To Claire, the experience is proof positive that creativity knows no bounds – even if you’re young. “Anybody can create stuff,” she says. “You don’t have to be a certain age. You can do it if you try.”
