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!

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