Friday, November 13, 2009

5 Great Ice Breaker Games for your upcoming Holiday Party!


Having a holiday party in the coming weeks? Need a few ice breaker games to play?

These are all great ways to get to know your guests and for them to get to know you! For all ages, here are 5 games I have gathered from friends and hope that you can play them too!

1. Two Truths and A Lie
Tell everyone to think of 3 things (or stories) about themselves. However, make 2 of them truths and 1 of them a lie. You start first (the leader). Stand up and say your 3 things. Your guests have to guess which one is the lie. Who guesses correctly goes next and so on, unless they have already gone, then get volunteers!

Some people have done or experienced some AMAZING things! (So much that people think it is a lie!!) This is a great way to find out some amazing things about ordinary people.. :)

2. M and M Game
Buy a large bag of MMs and put in a bowl. Have everyone take 1-5 M&M's, any color combo they like. Once everyone has their MMs, announce what each color stands for and what they have to say for it. (You can make these up based on your party theme, age group, etc!) You start first (the leader). Stand up and tell your answers to your M&Ms! Go around the room and have everyone tell about their M&Ms too! Make sure the group members do not eat their M&M’s until their turn has passed.

EXAMPLE:
Blue - Tell us a dream or future plan
Yellow - Tell us something that makes you laugh
Green - Tell us something you could not live without
Red - Tell us about a romantic memory, etc.

*For the holidays, you can use: What do you want for Christmas, Your ideal Christmas morning, Your favorite Christmas food/drink, The best Christmas gift you have ever received, etc..

3. Penny Game
Gather enough pennies for each guest at your party and put in a large bowl. Have everyone take one penny from the bowl. Once everyone has their penny, announce that they have to tell everyone what was going on in their lives from the year on the penny. (Make sure your dates are within years of your guests, or have a few extra for people to re-pull if necessary!) You start first (the leader).

*For the holidays, you can use: What was your fondest Holiday Memory from this year?

4. Toilet Paper Game
Get a roll of toilet paper and explain to your group that they are going camping and need to take as much toilet paper as they think they may need for a three day trip. Once everyone has an ample supply, explain to the group that for every square in their possession, they must share something about themselves.

*For the holidays, you can have the group incorporate what makes their holiday traditions unique when sharing about themselves.

5. Lollipop Game
Pass out dum-dum lollipops to the group. For every letter that appears in the flavor, the participant has to share something about him/her with the group.

*For the holiday's, you can have the group incorporate what makes their holiday traditions unique when sharing about themselves.

**EXTRA**

I liked this game, even though it is not an ice-breaker game, I think it would be fun to play, especially in an office setting!

Numbers Game
Everyone sits in a circle and is assigned a number beginning with you (the leader). Number to your right. First person (leader) calls out a random number, that person follows suite. If someone makes a mistake, that person goes to the end of the circle (to leader's left) and takes the last number. Everyone has to move up one number! As the game continues, it becomes more important for each person to respond quickly. The game also works well for latecomers. When new participants join the circle, they must take their position at the end of the sequence and again, everyone must move up a number. The object is to become number one since they are the one who starts the round. The lower your number is then, the greater the challenge because your number gets called more often. The game stops being fun if nobody makes a mistake.

To make harder: begin by decreasing the delay tolerance or remove the number from the game that was mistake. For example, in a game with ten players, number six makes a mistake and now becomes number eleven. So there’s no longer a number six and everyone must remember this!

and a version of Numbers, Thumper: It’s very much like Numbers. Instead of using numbers, each player has a unique gesture. Go around the circle and give participants the opportunity to create a physical gesture such as batting their eyes, sticking out their tongues, shrugging their shoulders or pointing their fingers. Have everyone repeat each player's gesture in a genuine, but futile attempt to memorize them all. The game proceeds the same as in Numbers.

Image from:http://artfromtheoutskirts.today.com

2 comments:

  1. I'm planning a small holiday party, and these ice-breaker games seem perfect! Thank you for sharing.

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  2. Thank you for sharing. This information was very helpful :)

    Kela Orduna

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