Cindy’s Christmas Party Tips
Post
#3:
Okay .
. . you’ve got the house decorated for Christmas (part 1 at Seasons
of Humility) and you’ve got the food prepared, including your wonderfully
decorated sugar cookies (part 2 at My Favorite Pastime). The lights are dimmed, and the Christmas
lights are all plugged in. The place
looks and smells festive. At long last,
your guests begin to arrive.
Now
what?
If
you’re hosting a party where everyone knows each other or everyone is part of
an already established group, you can probably just serve the drinks, point
people to the food, and let nature take its course. But if you’ve got people who have never met,
or several “guests” or spouses who don’t know the rest of the group, it might
be a good idea to provide a little more “structure” for your party. After all, as a host or hostess, it’s your
job to create an environment where your guests feel comfortable and have fun. And without a little intervention, your
guests might feel forced to spend the evening making small talk with a group of
strangers. For many people, this is right
up there with having a root canal.
That’s
when you, as the hostess, step in and save the day.
How? First, never underestimate the importance of
name tags. This takes away the stress of
having to remember someone’s name all evening long, especially when you may
have just been introduced to a whole bunch of other people. You can provide those simple stick-on name tags,
or you might even create some Christmassy name tags yourself.
Then,
as they say, it’s time to break the ice.
Below, you’ll find my favorite, simple game for doing just that. It will require a little bit of work on your
part in the days before the party starts.
But it’s well worth it. Here’s
what you do:
1. Ask for RSVPs and emails.
2. Send out a mass email asking everyone to send
you just a couple of interesting tidbits about themselves, something that most
people might not know about them. To
give you a better idea, here’s a copy of the email that I sent out the last
time I hosted this game at a party:
“Hello, everyone! I’m in the process of writing up an
entertaining little icebreaker game for my Christmas party. But to do so,
I need some information from everyone. And
by information, I mean that I need some cute, unique and little-known tidbits
about each of you. Things like, I was
the queen of the Fall Festival at my high school. Or, I won the Spelling
Bee in the 5th grade, or I was on Jeopardy. Or, I got rescued off a
mountain in Wyoming by Harrison Ford in his helicopter. You know, fun facts about you that very few
people know about. Please send me two
items each. And please remember, this is not your great moment to confess
all. Meaning, the information you give
me will become known to the group, so please, don’t send me anything you don’t
want someone else to know. No “most embarrassing moments,” thank you.
Then once you send your information, mum’s the word. Don’t tell a soul
what you sent. Please send your info ASAP, to: (Insert your email address
here).”
3. Comprise your game. List the items one-by-one, mixed up so that
each person’s items are not listed together, and leave a blank at the end of
each one. You should come up with enough
things to fill the front and back of one page.
Here’s a sample of a few items from a game I hosted at one of my recent
parties. (In fact, to create your own
game, you can simply replace the items that I’ve written down with items that
are provided by your own guests.):
1. Find someone who once ate 12 pizzas at one
setting just to win a bet. __________
2. Find someone who is a U.S. Patent Holder. ___________
3. Find someone who loves roller coasters and
Elvis. ______________
4.
Find someone who was born outside the
US. _________
5. Find someone who kept their high school
mascot, “Sam the Ram,” at their house. _______
6.
Find someone who was the Valedictorian of their high school class. __________
7.
Find someone who saw the movie Patton
with a French waiter who could not speak English. __________
And
on and on.
4. Once everyone has arrived, pass out your icebreaker
game, along with pens or pencils. Okay,
yes, honestly, you will have a few people who moan and groan. But don’t let them deter you! Simply plaster a smile on your face and tell
them to do it anyway! Rules of the house.
Here’s
the write-up that I always use at the top on the first page of my icebreaker:
“Find the answers to the following by asking the
people around you if they happen to meet the criteria for each item below. Then write that person's name in the blank
for that particular item. You need only
find one person for each item, and you must actually ask the person the question, even if you already know someone who
meets the criteria on certain items.
Also, you can only ask one person one question at a time, and if they
don’t happen to meet the criteria of the question you asked them, you must move
on to question another person, either with the same question or a different
question. You do not need to ask the questions in order. You can use your own name to fill in a blank
if you fit the criteria. The first
person to complete the form will win a prize.
You may not work in teams or get your answers from anyone else’s sheet. Have fun!”
Here’s
the beauty of the game—everyone gets to talk to everyone else at the
party. And since you’re given a specific
“task” as well as the exact questions to ask, even the shyest person can be
made to feel comfortable. The game is
over when someone fills out the form with the right names. (Yes, you should check it against an answer
sheet that you’ve kept hidden in a drawer nearby.) And of course, you as the hostess should then
read through the entire list of items, announcing the person’s name at the end
of each one. It’s a chance to let your
guests “shine” for a moment, thus making the party even more fun for them. It’s also a good idea to award some kind of
really goofy prize to the winner. After
that, you can let the conversation just flow, since you’ve already given
everyone plenty of conversation starters!
Another
good game to play is the White Elephant gift exchange. Prior to the party, ask everyone to bring a
Christmas ornament in the $12-$18 range.
And here are the instructions to play this fun, holiday favorite.
https://www.whiteelephantrules.com/
Keep
in mind, these games work well for small to mid-sized groups. They’re probably not a good option if you’re
hosting a gigantic party. But either
way, they’re a great way to get a party rolling, help people meet each other,
and have a lot of fun. I hope you get a
chance to try out both of these. Happy
entertaining, and a very Merry Christmas to you!
