New Years Eve Party Planning And Games
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In their New Years Eve party planning, many people spend a lot of time thinking about the food and drink but do not give much consideration to entertainment or games. This can make for a bland and forgettable party, especially if your guests do not know each other very well, because they will waste most of the evening on tedious small talk.
Remember that New Years Eve parties are longer than many other types of party that we are likely to go to as we get older, because it has to continue for a respectable time after midnight and so there is a risk of the party becoming a little boring. It can bring some extra spice to the evening and make for a much more memorable party if you organize at least a few games.
A good ice-breaker game is the Winter Box game. Prepare by placing a small wrapped gift (for example a CD) inside a box, sealing it with duct tape etc, then put that into another box, and continue with several boxes. Do not tell your guests that there is more than one box! You will also need a pair of dice, and a coat, mitts or gloves, scarf and a hat (men's sizes so they will fit all guests).
Guests must roll the dice in turn until one of them gets a certain number - 10 is a good one to start. The guest who rolled a 10 must then put on the coat, mitts, hat and scarf and try to open the box. They get to continue until someone else rolls a 10, then that guest has a try. When you are getting closer to the real gift, to make it harder, you can switch to the number 7. This is the commonest number to roll so guests will not have much time before they have to pass the box along. You will be surprised how much fun this is!
Another way to get guests mingling and talking about something outside of their usual conversation topics is 'Say The Word'. You have to prepare stickers, enough for one for each guest, with a word that could come up in conversation. You can make the words New Years related, or something a little bizarre or even sexy if your guests are likely to be okay with that.
Each guest has a sticker placed on their back, so they cannot see it. They look at each other's stickers, then try to make people say their own word. So if Carol had the word "ipod" on her back, Michael might come along and start a conversation that he hoped would lead to her saying the word "ipod". When she says it she must remove her sticker, but she can go on challenging other guests. The last one left with a sticker is the winner.
You can prolong this game by having guests wear their sticker on the front where they can see them. So then Carol would know her word, and it would be harder for Michael to make her say it. The game can then last most of the evening, through all of the normal party chat and can take people into some interesting conversations - until they realize they have been led into saying their word, when they had completely forgotten it!
A casino night is also very popular. This is really a party theme rather than a game. Of course you would not play with real money, and you can easily buy plastic casino chips from any party supplies store.
You can set up tables for card games such as blackjack, Texas hold'em, keno, etc. Some guests who understand the games can be enlisted as dealers. You will need to prepare the rules ahead of time. You could have prizes at the end of the evening for those who have the most chips, or enough small prizes that everybody gets one, but those with the most chips get to pick first.
These games can make your New Years Eve party the most fun and memorable party of the year!
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