I’m planning on having a picnic/barbecue party in a couple months and want it to not be super boring.
At kid parties, there are tons of games and stuff, but that ends up being really lame nowadays. People aren’t really down for pin the tail on the donkey.
But I’m afraid if all I have is food, it will be boring. I’ve been to parties like that and was bored stiff. Also,when most of my friends have parties, everyone just gets drunk and acts drunk and that’s not my idea of a good time.
So what else is there? I am hoping to have a piñata because some of my friends have young kids who will also be invited and I love piñatas. We also have a little fire pit thing that I’ll bring along with s’more makings and skewers. Also music of some variety (though I haven’t figured out exactly what. My taste in music is a bit… different. And not in a cool indie way.)
What else? Frisbees? a soccer ball? Should I bring some kind of active board game (like Taboo or Charades, not Monopoly)? I’m leaning more toward stuff that I can just have around than “hey everybody, we’re going to divide into teams and do an activity” type games, but it’s probably good to have some of those on standby too.
I might have some alcohol available, but not as the main attraction. Just enough that people don’t feel like they’re at some kind of church party.
So, dopers, help me out. What can I do to make my party a success?
Everyone assumes a character and dresses the part,the main characters are given a script and clues are given out and everyone tries to solve the crime "Agatha Christie"style.
I’ve never been to one myself (But one day !) but those I know who have,have become addicted to them,they say that they have a great time.
I love the fire pit idea - getting people involved in making/cooking their own food is a great way to keep people busy and also get conversations going.
Depending on how much space you have, a frisbee/ball would be a good idea, but if you’re confined to a small area, don’t offer any ‘toys’ that could potentially cause damage. The other thing that can be quite fun, and I don’t know what it’s called, but where you have the ball attached to a string attached to a pole you stick in the ground, and you have bats to bat it around. Swingball? I can’t remember.
Board games are fairly low energy, and can work if they’re brought out at the end of the evening, when everyone’s feeling a bit chilled out. If you bring them out at the beginning of the party, it could actually dull down the atmosphere more than you really want.
I’d buy a book of body painting crayons (it’s a Klutz item) and maybe a balloon animal book too (if no balloon eating small children), and leave them lying about for people to play with.
If there’s room, definitely have out a horseshoe set, or cornhole, or something active like that. They can be played with teams, and then people tend to watch as well. Every outdoor party I’ve been to, there’s a crowd at these types of games.
I absolutely loathe forced icebreaker/party games. They feel too much like grade school and I’m the type who is much happier just drinking and socializing. So I would encourage you to stick with the idea of having games available, but not forced upon your guests. Horsehoes is a good one. So is ladder golf.
Good music is key to a fun party. Stick to upbeat songs that everyone tends to like. Motown is a very good choice. Also 70s music like Earth, Wind & Fire, Stevie Wonder, etc. Throw in some fun 80s tunes and you’re golden. If you have iTunes, check out some of their ready-made playlists like Summer BBQ.
Yes yes a thousand times yes. If there are things to do and there are people doing them by choice, I might join in. I might not. But please don’t “assign me” or try to force me to participate in something.
Note that this is a different situation than my accepting an invitation to a party that is explicitly about an activity. If you invite me to a “murder mystery party” or a “gin rummy tournament party” then I know that accepting means agreeing to participate. But to show up at a random party and then be expected to do xyz … no.
I don’t know if it’s just an Ohio thing, but every party of any type that I’ve been to in the past 2 years has a cornhole game set up and in constant use. It’s similar to horseshoes but IMHO way easier. Not exactly for tiny little kids but I’d say anyone 12 and up could enjoy it. And, like horseshoes, you can play with a drink in one hand
If you have room, a little badminton/volleyball set is nice. All ages and skill levels can mix up and play that. We used to do that a lot more before cornhole became the norm.
Seconded. My family has had great fun playing charades. It needs nothing but a few scaps of paper. And of course some willing participants. But soon, it just takes off.
Learn how to make good introductions, and perhaps even plan your introductions in advance. “Everyone this is Jim, Jim this is everyone” leaves all but the most extroverted Jims sitting by themselves or with their own little cliques feeling awkward. “Jim this is Bob. I thought you two might have a some things in common because Jim likes building model trains, and Bob collects model cars” helps people to get to know each other and start mingling.
I went to a party on Saturday night and it went something like this… Arrived at 10:30 and there were lots of people there in various stages of intoxication so we had some beers and socialized for about an hour, talked, told dirtty jokes and laughed like fools. around 11:45 we headed into the man cave,hit the stage, fired up the sound gear, complete with mics, guitars and my electronic drum kit (comes in handy so you can control the volume). We played tunes with everyone singing and dancing till about 4:30 in the morning ( I was almost at the point of having to be duct taped to my drum throne), followed by a naked swim in the pool and home in bed by 6:00 AM. I can guarantee that it does not get any better than that! A great time was had by all.
