When you are hosting a party, it can sometimes be a challenge to get people to mix, mingle and meet each other. I normally resort to giving my friends a sticker detailing their name plus a fact about themselves; their hobby, the name of their pet, a favorite film. It makes it very easy for a conversation to spark as they reach across to take another vol au vent.
Rebecca of the ace Shiny Pigeon blog recently hosted one of the biggest parties she will ever throw, namely, her wedding. She and her husband came up with a novel way of getting people talking. I’ll leave it to her to explain.
Hi all,
My name is Shinypigeon, and I blog about thrifty things, DIY’s, my dog and my make do, mend and don’t spend too much lifestyle, over at Musings from the Pigeon’s Nest.
I got married in August, and we decided that an ice-breaker was important. I have been to too many parties and gatherings where people just stick to the people they know and don’t get to know anyone else…this saddens me…especially when it is two friend groups I am bringing together! Many people are just shy or feel awkward going and striking up conversation with someone they don’t know, so an ice-breaker is vital in my opinion!
We did it through the medium of bingo…
We first decided on 24 things that our guests could say ‘I can’ or ‘That’s me’ to and popped them into a grid, with a heart in the middle.
The aim of the game was to be the first to fill their card with initials of other guests. They could only use a guest once…no multiple box initialling was permitted!
For inspiration, here are a few ideas of what our grid contained;
Can name an AC/DC song
Went to school with P
Is wearing a hat
Has the same number of siblings as you
Has traveled further than you to be here
Is drinking a G&T
Our prize was £20 behind the evening bar, but it could have easily been a box of chocs or a bottle of wine.
Our guests truly got on board…to the stage that someone left our reception and went to the pub across the road to buy me a Gin & Tonic before our evening bar opened! They have commented after how great it was to have an ‘easy in’ to go up and speak to strangers and others they didn’t know so well.
We created our bingo on my laptop, using Publisher and clipart. You could even draw it and then photocopy it onto card. You could of course make the grid smaller, or allow multiple initialling and it would fit in with smaller parties, as well as big gatherings of folks.
Have you used an icebreaker at a party? If so what have you used?
Read the other guest posts for our First Birthday Party on Pinterest.
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