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

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

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