Every year around this time, millions of people fill out brackets predicting which college basketball team will take the championship. Most of those brackets are busted by the end of the first weekend. And yet, people love it. There is something genuinely fun about setting up a tournament, picking your favorites, and watching the whole thing unfold.

Here is the thing: you don’t need to care about basketball to use the bracket format. The structure works for just about anything, and it turns out to be a great activity for families with middle graders who have Very Strong Opinions.

So this week, we are suggesting you run your own family bracket. Maybe it’s centered around sports, perhaps books. Make it something that actually matters to your household.

How It Works

Pick a category. You want something with at least eight options to ensure enough rounds to keep it interesting. Sixteen options are even better, but eight work well for families who do not want to spend all of Saturday on this.

Write down your options, set them up head-to-head, and let everyone vote on each matchup. The winner of each round moves on until you have a champion. Simple.

Bracket Ideas to Get You Started

The categories that tend to generate the most heated debate are those in which everyone thinks their answer is obviously correct. A few that work especially well:

  • Best pizza topping. Pepperoni is always the frontrunner, but do not sleep on the faction that will go to the mat for mushrooms. And there is always one person in the family willing to defend pineapple to the very end.
  • Best road trip snack. Chips versus gummies versus something salty and crunchy that nobody can agree on the name of. This one can get surprisingly intense.
  • Best weekend activity. Movies versus hiking versus just staying home in pajamas. Let the people decide and then do that activity all together.
  • Best board game or card game. If your family plays games regularly, this one practically runs itself, and the bracket is how you decide which game to play on the next game night.
  • Best fictional character. Pull from books, movies, TV shows, or video games. Mix them all and see what happens. For Night Buddies fans, we would love to see where Crosley lands in this bracket. Our guess? He talks his way into the finals. Yerk! Yerk!
A Few Tips for Running It Well

Make it official. Write the bracket on a whiteboard, or print a free blank bracket template you can find online. Something about seeing it on paper makes everyone take it more seriously.

Give everyone a vote. This is not a dictatorship. Middle graders especially will be more invested if they feel like their opinion actually counts, which it does.

Accept that it will get a little silly. Someone will lobby hard for a deeply questionable choice. Let them. That is part of it.

Why It Works for Middle Graders

Kids this age are at a point where they have real preferences, and they want those preferences to be taken seriously. A family bracket gives them a low-stakes way to argue their case, practice some light persuasion, and feel like their taste actually matters. It is also a good reminder that even when your pick loses, you survive, which is a valuable lesson at any age.

Basketball madness only lasts a few weeks. Your family bracket can happen any time the mood strikes.