Let’s face it – making small talk at parties or gatherings is uncomfortable for many people, not just the shy ones! Icebreakers and games are still the perfect way to give guests a reason to interact and get over the initial awkwardness. As a host, you not only want your guests to get to know each other better, but show them a good time too, right?
Get the party started with these 5 games that will be enjoyed by kids and adults alike:
- Two Truths & a Lie
This game gets guests to share an interesting tidbit about themselves in a more creative way. Give guests a couple of minutes to think of 2 facts and 1 lie about themselves. Then, have guests take turns sharing the truths and the lie, not revealing which is which. The remaining guests will need to guess which of the three statements is a lie.
For added fun, you can divide the groups into teams, and the team that gets to guess the most number of lies wins a prize.
- Partner to Partner
This one is for parties and events where you have some room to move around. One leader will shout “Partner to Partner”, and everyone must go across the room to find someone to stand next to and introduce themselves. The leader will then shout a series of different matching commands such as “knee to knee”, “back to back”, “thumb to thumb” and so on, and the partners must take the positions accordingly. When the leader shouts “Partner to Partner” again, then the guests must find a new partner.
- The Lucky Penny
Prepare a set of pennies with different years on them. Get guests to form a circle and pass around a fishbowl or container with the pennies. The guests will take turns getting pennies from the bowl, introduce themselves, and have to share something lucky that happened on the year indicated on the penny. For variety, you can have them share something funny that happened on that year, too!
Don’t have pennies? Improvise with handwritten dates on paper and fold to hide the date.
- Find the Man
Got lots of space and a big group of people that you want to intermingle? Prepare full name tags for everyone and jumble them. Give a random name tag to each guest and have them find the other person that the name tag belongs to. Once they’ve found the person, they have to introduce and say a little something about themselves, such as what they do for work, what they enjoy doing on weekends, and so on.
- Beachball
Get physical with this outdoor party game. Write interesting icebreaker questions all over a beach ball. Have guests form a circle, and pass the ball around to anyone they please. The person who catches the ball must answer any question written on the ball, and pass it on to another guest, until the circle is completed.
(Image Credit: Conversation Ball)
