Mail Call game.

Posted on September 8, 2013 by Susan

This game is a fantastic “ice breaker” for your festive get together. It will have your guests (and you) smiling, laughing and having a great time…Let your guests know that there will be 2 winners at the end of this game , thus 2 door prizes. (It makes it more competitive. ) 🙂 Believe me, you will see a lot more people competing when they know there is a prize to be won.) 🙂 You can change the rules a little and have the end of the game being when there are two people left in the chairs and the ‘mail caller,’ thus having 3 prizes? Its all up to you ….This is your party night! 🙂

Create a circle of chairs in your living room…. have all of your guest take a seat…you can use all kinds of seats, chairs from your patio, bar stools, foldable chairs, etc… Pick one person to be your “mail caller”….They do not have a seat, as they will stand in the middle of the circle with a list of ideas written down by you, your spouse or they can use their creative imagination, (just make sure it is CLEAN 🙂

After everyone is settled, explain to them the game you are playing and the rules. Choose your ‘mail caller’ and make sure there is no seat for them in the circle. (This game is a lot like Musical chairs but a lot more fun.) 🙂

The game begins…The ‘mail caller’ will call out something like, “Everyone who has graduated College.” With that being said, everyone sitting down, (who has graduated college) has to quickly move to another seat, (and it can’t be a quick sit, by taking the persons chair next to you, if they get up.) The ‘mail caller tries to find a chair as well. The person left standing without a chair is out of the game. The hostess then chooses a new ‘mail caller’ for the next turn. (As they come froward, remove their chair from the circle.) The game repeats itself over an over until you have your winners.This happens when there is only one person sitting in a chair and the ‘mail caller’ that is standing. If by chance, (but most unlikely,) after the ‘mail caller’ has made a call, and no one gets up, (as no one did that event within their life,) the ‘mail caller’ tries again. Again, because this is your festive gala, you can change the winners to be more, by letting the end of the game be where there are two or three left in the chairs and one ‘mail caller.’ (It depends on how many guests you h ave.) 🙂

Some great ideas for door prizes, as you just want your gift to be something fun and enjoyable, nothing to fancy, are DVDs, (there is a fabulous $5.00 selection at Wal*Mart,) CD’s, a nice bottle of wine, gourmet popcorn, decorative containers of candy, (Dove Chocolates, Hershey kisses, skittles, Tootsie roll pops, books, frames, scarves for winter, etc…

Here are some creative ideas for the mail caller to “call out’ for each turn.

Everyone who ….

has ever lifted over 150 pounds

has danced in the rain

has eaten pizza for breakfast

has cried when they watched “The Way we were”

likes scary movies

loves chocolate

likes to take long, hot bubble baths

is a coffee lover

a cat lover

has burped or passed gas in public

has 10 siblings

is a connoisseur of dogs

has 5 siblings

works out five days a week

who is an avid Yoga lover

has no siblings

is a movie marathon person

has called a person they had a crush on and hung up on them when they heard their voice.:)

has been to the Eiffel Tower

has traveled to China

has been operated on more that five times

has seen a dead person

loves picnics in the park

loves the way their feet look

has ever wet their pants in public

is wearing the color red, somewhere on their body

is wearing the color purple as jewelry

whose favorite color is black

adores pasta dishes

has received a ticket for not wearing a seat belt

loves Mexican food

has ever been a waitress or waiter

loves to take photographs.

loves thunderstorms

has spied on someone they had a crush on

(I am sure you can think of a hundred more…these are just some starters.) 🙂

Be creative, laugh, have fun and just ENJOY! By the end of this game you will all feel like best friends. 🙂

All you need is chairs, and some guests who are imaginative and creative and a few door prizes.

PHOTOGRAPHS: in placing your computer mouse on top of any of the photos or graphics, it will display where the picture originated from.

LINKS: If you would like to learn more about the newly added links to Living Winsomely, please check out the blog, “WE NOW HAVE LINKS.” 🙂

Additional Links:
Victoria Magazine
Country Living magazine

The “You can’t make me smile” game.

Posted on September 3, 2013 by Susan

This game is called ” You can’t make me smile.” It is a great ice breaker for any special gathering or festivity you are hosting at your home.

As the host or hostess, choose the time within the course of your party, to announce that you are all going to play a new game. Bring a circle of chairs together in your living room, inviting everyone to have a seat. Choose one person to be your first “instigator.” This person stands in the middle of the circle and does not have a seat. Take this time to tell your guest the rules of this game, how it is played and that there will be two winners and prizes when the game is over…(Competition is so much more fun when there is a gift at the end.) 🙂 Everyone loves a prize!

This person, (the instigator,) will choose someone in the circle and go up to them and say; “Honey , I love you, can I make you smile?” The ‘instigator’ can do whatever they need to, to try and make that person SMILE, except have any kind of physical touch or contact with them. Within two minutes, if they have not been able to make them smile, they need to sit down and allow that person to become the ‘instigator.’ The ‘instigator’ gets to stay the instigator as long as they are successful at making each guest smile.If they do get them to smile, the person who smiled is out of the game. If they fail at causing someone to smile, they are still in the game, they just have to take a chair within the circle. (You can start having your guests move their chairs to another part of the room when they are out of the game. ) The game continues the same way with each turn. The game is over when you have one person in the chair and one instigator standing…these are your two winners and will receive prizes. You can change the rules depending on how long you want this game to last, as well as how many people are playing the game. An Example would be; if you have 20 guests and the game is going on to long for your evening plans, the end of the game could be where you have three people left sitting and the instigator standing… thus you have four door prizes.

This really is a great game, brings plenty of laughs and helps your guests get to know each other. I know if I were playing, I would be “out” in one attempt as I can’t help but smile when someone is trying to make me smile or laugh… 🙂

All you need is chairs, guests and lots of energy and personality. 🙂 For chairs you can use bar stools, foldable chairs, patio furniture, foot stools, etc…

Here are some ideas for great party prizes…nothing extravagant, just fun and engaging. Wal*Mart has a $5.00 DVD bin that has a wondrous selection of DVDs, a favorite CD’s, books, decorative jars of candy, (M&M’s, Skittles, jelly belly’s etc…,) nice lotions, gift cards, gourmet coffee beans, assorted Teas, picture frames, Yankee candles, etc. Keep it light! Everybody loves getting a gift and loves being a winner. Its a fortuitous and competitive game. ENJOY

PHOTOGRAPHS: In placing your computer mouse upon any of the photos or graphics, it will display where the picture originated from .

LINKS: If you would like to learn more about the newly added links within Living Winsomely, please read the blog “WE NOW HAVE LINKS.” 🙂

Additional Links:
Victoria Magazine
Country Living magazine

The Guess Who, Did What? Game.

Posted on September 3, 2013 by Susan

This is a funny, delightful and a fabulous “break the ice,” game for your special gathering.

This game is not only creative and fun but your guests can make it as wild and crazy as they’d like. Have everyone come into your living room and form a circle… Explain to them the game and its rules first. With your guests comfortably sitting down, have everyone write down at least three things they have done in their life time. Have them be creative, sharing things that are phenomenal or unbelievable, only telling the truth. After they have written these three things down, (only give them 5 minutes tops,) have them place them all in a hat, box or bag… Shuffle up all the papers within the hat, mixing them all up. As the host or hostess, choose one person and have them pick a piece of paper out of the hat. They will read the paper and it’s up to your guests to raise their hand, be called upon and say who they think the person is who wrote that. If they are wrong, then they do not get a point…if they are right, they get a point. Repeat the same action, choose a new person to pick a piece of paper and read the three things this person has done…your guests will raise their hand and if they guess correctly they get a point. Make sure the person reading the paper picks a new person who is raising their hand each time….giving everyone a chance. (Meaning, don’t allow the same person to answer all the time, gaining points.) The first person who gets to three points wins first wins the game.

As your explaining the game, perhaps tell them a few examples…Some ideas to put down on your paper would be;

I have been a brunette, blonde, red head as well as a black haired woman. I have eaten chocolate covered ants and I when I was a little girl, I had a horrible-locker room mouth on me.

I have been a student at the Arts Institute in Paris, I was once blind, but now I can see, I only dream in black and white.

Each guest should be creative in what they choose to write about themselves and what they have done in their life…Have them try to choose things that do not seem like who they are at the present time, so that it will be hard for others to make a correct guess. If you have done wild and crazy things, write it down…

Truly, I know one person who has streaked at a football game and their mom was in the bleachers, has shaved half of their mustache off to take a survey on which of his profiles was handsomer as he went out on the town one evening, and he always loved to cause a scene in all the stores he’d go into, making everyone laugh and shake their head at the same time. 🙂 He was a wild and crazy guy. (I am sure in your crowd, there will be plenty of great experiences to share.) 🙂

Once you begin playing, and the game gets going, you will all be guessing, having a great time and become more and more competitive… You could change the rules a little and have three winners…(if you have a large amount of people playing,) by having the first three people to get two points are the winners…its up to you…It really depends on how long you want this game to go on.

All you will need is a small piece of paper and pens or pencils for each guest, a bowl hat or bag for the papers to go into. After the paper has been read , and someone has guessed it correctly, give them back their paper so it does not get read again.

Your door prizes are a great motivation for people to get involved as “everyone” loves receiving a gift and adores being the ‘winner.’ Your gifts should be fun and simple… nicely wrapped or in a creative gift bag.

Some ideas are; DVDs, CD’s, Yankee Candles, gourmet nuts, specialty coffees or tea, nice bottle of Chardonnay, Chocolate mousse crunch from Harry and Davids, a decorative coffee mug or thermal travel mug etc…

Have fun and be daring!

PHOTOGRAPHS: In placing your computer mouse over any of the photos or graphics, it will display where the picture originated from,

LINKS: If you would like to learn more about the newly added links to Living Winsomely and their purpose, please read the blog “WE NOW HAVE LINKS.” 🙂

Additional Links:
Victoria Magazine
Country Living magazine

The Mystery “word” game.

Posted on July 15, 2013 by Susan

Welcome to the Mystery “Word” game. This is one of my favorite party games as it brings forth an abundance of competitive FUN! If you have never seen a loved one in a game that is competitive, be prepared to see a “new side”to their personality! 🙂 This game is so simple and filled with felicity in it’s making.

All you need, is a petite chalkboard, chalk, a lovely linen napkin and your creative juices ! 🙂

The word or words you choose, will be words associated with the theme of your party... It is entirely up to you. You can choose one word, or five… I usually choose just one word for a guest list of 8 ladies.

Before your guests arrive, write your “word” down on your chalkboard, cover it with a decorative cloth or linen napkin and place it somewhere on your dining room table . As you all sit down to eat, introduce the game to your guest. Tell them that you have chosen a word or words, that all have ‘something to do’ with the theme of your party….Explain to them that they must use the word they think may possibly be the “mystery word” in a sentence as they are conversing with others at the dining table. (They can’t just blurt out the word, announcing their guesses.) 🙂 The first person who actually says the word, (within their conversation with others,) is your winner. If you choose more than one word, (lets say you choose three,) then you will have three winners as well as three door prizes for them. The gifts should not be extravagant…just something thoughtful and creative… Again, your door prizes will be gifts you choose according to your party’s motif …If it is an afternoon Tea for ladies, choose thoughtful and creative gifts for ladies..If it is an intimate evening dinner party for couples, the door prizes should be gifts that could be for either a man or woman, such as: CD;s, a bottle of wine, picture frames, the game of scrabble, a best selling novel, a devotional, a DVD, flavored gourmet popcorn or specialty coffee, etc. Use some clever and bright gift bags or engaging and eye catching wrapping paper with festive bows to wrap your prizes. People love to win and they enjoy receiving gifts!

Here are some ideas of party motifs with imaginative words to choose from, but again, there are so many creative words in the human language, these are just a few examples. 🙂

For a Mad Hatter’s Afternoon Tea, a few words to choose from could be, “rabbit-hole,” ‘blissful,’ ‘magic,’ ‘Lewis,’ (the author of the novel Alice in Wonderland,) ‘adventure,’ ‘silent film,’ (Alice in Wonderland was first made into a silent film in the year 1910,) ‘lively,’ ‘eccentric,’ ‘imaginative’ or ‘character.’

For a Christmas dinner celebration for dear friends, your word(s) could be “yuletide,’ ‘carols,’ ‘wonder,’ ‘awe,’ ‘cheer,’ ‘chimney,’ ‘beard,’ ‘rejoicing,’ ‘silent-night,’ ‘eggnog,’ ‘Gingerbread-house,’ or ‘merry.’ (Remember the game begins when everyone is seated for dinner or lunch….so, if your are having a Christmas dinner and someone wishes you a “Merry Christmas,” as they arrive, that word would not count if you are using the word “merry” as one of your words. 🙂

For a romantic dinner party, perhaps the words, ‘amour,’ ‘champagne,’ ‘pampered,’ ‘bliss,’ ‘flowers,’ candlelight,’ ‘rapture,’ ‘sanguine,’ ‘intimate,’ or ‘charismatic’ would be ideal.

If you are hosting an afternoon, spring Tea for your friends, or formal , intimate spring dinner party, the words ‘blooming,’ ‘kaleidoscopic,’ ‘rabbits,’ ‘gardens,’ ‘elegance,’ ‘bouquet,’ ‘stirring,’ ‘riveting,’ and ‘gracious’ would be some great choices.

A Thanksgiving gathering for dear friends and family makes me think of the words,’harvest,’ ‘golden,’ ‘thankfulness,’ ‘gratitude,’ ‘blessings,’ ‘stuffed,’ ‘congenial,’ and ‘pumpkins.’ 🙂

A Wintry themed Afternoon Tea for your guests brings the words,’snowfall,’ ‘snowmen,’ ‘crisp,’ ‘wonderland,’ ‘fireplace,’ ‘icy,’ ‘fetching,’ ‘jolly,’ and ‘cheer’ to my mind.

‘Hearts,’ ‘candy,’ ‘flowers,’ ‘candle-glow,’ ‘ romantic,’ ‘love,’ ‘bliss,’ ‘adore,’ ‘sweetheart,’ and ‘passion’ are some perfect ideas of ‘mystery words’ for a Valentines Day luncheon.

For a college or high school graduation party as well as a ‘much deserved promotion’ dinner celebration, some more ideal ‘word’ suggestions’ to choose from would be ‘diploma,’ ‘speech,’ ‘awards,’ ‘celebration,’ ‘future,’ ‘honor,’ ‘studious,’ ‘exceeding,’ ‘dorm,’ ‘profound’ and ‘sorority,’ would be fitting.

Lastly, a wondrous and gleeful summer luncheon … How about the words, ‘umbrella,’ ‘seagulls,’ ‘fishing,’ ‘sailboats,’ ‘novellas,’ ‘suntan,’ ‘dolphins,’ ‘whales,’ fireflies,’ ‘sea shells,’ ‘thunderstorms,’ ‘sunblock,’ ‘coolers’ and ‘clamming?’

It won’t matter if your get together is small and intimate or an informal larger group of friends gathered around your table, this game will be a wonderful icebreaker and bring forth an abundance of mirth and the “funny-competitive side” of people! Being the hostess, it’s one of my favorite parts of the party as I simply adore watching my friends or family (knowing their personalities so well,) nonchalantly try to create sentences with the word that are hoping will make them the ‘winner.‘ 🙂

***Another thought to keep in mind… Lets say your playing with only 1 word…and it happens to be “merry Christmas.” Tell your guests, that the word you have chosen is a saying or petite phrase, but only counts as 1 word… same thing for “Gingerbread-house”, or “Silent-night.” These do not count as two words… If you are playing with 3 words and 3 winners, write them separately on your chalkboard… an example would be for a Valentines party…your 3 words are “hearts,” “adore,” and “passion.” Do not mix them together in anyway. Have fun!

PHOTOGRAPHS: In placing your computer mouse upon any of the photos or graphics, it will display where the picture originated from.

LINKS: To learn more about the newly added links within Living Winsomely, please read the blog, “WE NOW HAVE LINKS,” in the category file. 🙂

The Famous People Game.

Posted on June 4, 2013 by Susan

Did you know that besides ‘HAVING FUN,’ there are many wonderful benefits of playing games? Next time you play a game, think about these assets and see if you agree.

Game playing increases your social skills, it’s physical activity that your body needs, enhances your hand – eye coordination, increases your learning ability, teaches sportsmanship and being fair, makes people HAPPY, helps patients with chronic pain to overcome their discomfort and actually Reduces stress. (Yeah, I like that benefit!) 🙂

Whether you are up for Crazy Eights, Video games, Monopoly, an adventuresome game of hide and seek with your kids, Twister, (gosh does that bring back nostalgic memories and the first four words that come to my mind are ‘awkward, boy- girl – party,’) 🙂 or a ‘Murder Mystery’ dinner party, playing games is not only fun and challenging but a great way to let loose and get to know one another.

THE FAMOUS PEOPLE GAME.…Maybe some of you already know this game but if not, I think you will really enjoy it. 🙂

This is one of my favorite party games of all times. (Whether at one of my ladies luncheons, an Afternoon Tea, an intimate night with friends over a scrumptious meal or a family gathering, it has always proven to be a winner!)

It’s easy, challenges everyone’s creativity, brings forth an abundance of laughter and can become quite competitive!

It is also a great Ice-breaker for guests who don’t know one another very well, as it helps to lower inhibitions as well as bring forth joy, creative thinking and good ‘old fashion fun.’ It’s hysterical to watch our friends and family members that we know ‘oh so well’ show an entirely ‘new side’ of themselves as the COMPETITION begins. 🙂 (I don’t even know myself sometimes when I am playing on a team and we are one point away from winning! 🙂 I go crazy! (Competition will do that you know?) 🙂

Are you ready? All you will need is your imagination, white peel off labels from Staples or peel off name tag’s, a Sharpie pen and a few door prizes.

If you have eight guests arriving to your party, choose a variety of eight famous people. (If you would like to play, ask one of your friends to think up a character for you and make you a name tag as well.) You can pick Hollywood stars, Entrepreneurs, Chefs, renowned authors, singers, musicians, Talk Show hosts,(anyone who is prominent and well known…) Also fictitious characters such as ; The famous Pillsbury dough boy, Superman, Spider man, Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings or Aslan the Lion from the wondrous C.S. Lewis movie, Chronicles of Narnia. It’s entirely up to you and your creative juices as you are the host or hostess of this entertaining fete.

Here are a few examples…. There are so many wonderful ideas out there depending on the guest list you have.

Once you have chosen your celebrated and notorious people you would like to use for your game, write their names down on your labels, large enough for everyone to read.

When you decide to start the Famous People Game, share with your guests the RULES and the game you will be playing. After you feel everyone understands, (there may be a few questions,) you can go around the room and peel off the label and place the name on the back of the person you have chosen to be that famous celebrity. Make sure they do not see “who” they are. 🙂 (I usually play this game after all of my guests have arrived and have gotten something to drink and have had a chance to mingle for awhile. (Before our meal.)

THE RULES!

Let everyone know that they can only ask YES or NO questions to the others at the party in order to get clues of “Who they are.” They can ask questions like, “Am I an author of best sellers?” “Am I a fictitious character?” “Am I dead?” “Am I a singer?” “Am I pretty?” “Am I handsome?” “Do most people like me?” etc… It is important that everyone who is participating only answers with a YES or a NO… Explain that the first three people who correctly guess “who they are” will get a prize. (That always brings out the competitive sides of people.) (I never knew some of my friends were so fierce in their pursuit of winning to acquire the prize.) 🙂 It was fun to watch! Keep playing the game until you have at least three winners. It’s OK to laugh, react or smile when you are finding out who each person is as some of the characters fit the personalities perfectly, while others celeb is totally opposite of who they are as a person. It is a delightful and entertaining game and sure to be a hit! (Oh and another rule to remember….If your home has a lot of mirrors, impress upon your guests that there is no looking over the shoulder in the mirror to see who they are….) 🙂 Get a little suspicious if anyone has a sudden urge to go to the, amply mirrored, ladies room. 🙂

The gifts you have for the winners should be creative but moderate. It really does depend on the guests and theme of your get-together. For instance, for one of my ladies luncheons, (because I love to do crafts) I had so much fun making the gifts…petite topiary trees with roses, floral baskets, decorated teddy bears, etc…Other gatherings, (if they are all ladies,) scented hand lotions, journals, body sprays, candles and picture frames are ideal. If you have a mixture of both men and women for your festivity, some ideas might be DVD’s, (you can find them for $5.00 at Wal- Mart,) CD’s, a decorative potted plant, a bottle of wine if they are wine drinkers or a table game, such as; Scrabble or Uno. You know your friends and family the best, so pick out the prizes according to their likings.

I hope you enjoy this game at your next get-together and let me know how it turns out! 🙂 REMEMBER to HAVE FUN!

***One last thought, If you are playing multiple games at your get-together, and you would like to only have “one winner” in this game, that is fine too.

PHOTOGRAPHS: In placing your computer mouse upon any of the photos or graphics, it will display where the picture originated from.

Living Winsomely

A site to share home decorating ideas as well as ways to bring an abundance of beauty into your lives.

Category Archives: Fabulous party games for every entertaining event.

Mail Call game.

The “You can’t make me smile” game.

The Guess Who, Did What? Game.

The Mystery “word” game.

The Famous People Game.