New Year’s Eve parties can be so much fun if you have something to keep you occupied until the ball drops ushering in the New Year. Why not plan party games for an all grown-up party?
Charades
Almost everyone played “Charades” when they were children. This fun game has you act out titles to books, movies, or songs, events, or people. You can make this game pertinent to the year that is closing out.
Count off 1, 2 until everyone is on a team. Have both teams write down things that the other team has to act out onto a piece of paper. The first player takes a piece of paper from the other team’s bowl and has to act that item out. You can’t talk, only act out, each clue. Set a timer and watch the fun begin.
If the clue isn’t guessed, no point is awarded. If the clue is guessed, the team gets a point. The other team now gets to try. Keep alternating between teams until all of the clues have been played. The team that has the most guessed correctly wins.
Clue
It’s amazing how many people have played the game “Clue” when they were younger. You may have seen the movie, as well. Why not play a live party version of the game? It’s time for a New Year’s Eve Mystery Party. If you plan on using this idea for your party, you may want to begin looking around as early as possible to find a Mystery Kit (either a toy store will have them or you should be able to find them online). The price for these games can be quite high, anywhere from $25 to $100 each, but they are reusable and so much fun.
Plan to invite twice the number of people as are in the cast. Inside the kit you’ll get instructions for the host and the guests, character descriptions and motives, game clues, guest invitations, name tags, pre-game clues, suggested party recipes, and scripts. Well ahead of the party ask everyone, cast and guests, to dress in the theme of the mystery.
As the host, you begin the production and ask the guests to pay attention to try to rout out the person guilty of murder. The cast acts out the script (hopefully with exacting detail to timing) and the guests may ask any question during the production except for one, “Did you kill X?” The game can take a good amount of time, so you may want to start early so you’re ready to ring in the New Year at midnight.
The Cherry Game
The Cherry Game is much simpler and decidedly messier than the other ideas. You, as the host, ask your guests who likes cherries. Anyone who raises their hand is allowed to play the game. Explain to them that they have to remove and eat the maraschino cherry that has been placed into each bowl that is in front of your contestants. You may hear a few people say, “Oh, that’s easy.” At this point you fill each bowl with whipped cream. Make sure you have a camera ready for this one because the pictures will be priceless!
It’s not hard to think of party games for an all grown-up New Year’s Eve party. There are a myriad of card and board games available, or that you may have already. You may want to try something different and any of these games would fit that bill!
