Every host hits the same wall. The party’s in two days, you need a game, and you really don’t want to buy a box that ends up in the garage. That’s where printable games come in. Print a few sheets, grab a cup of pencils, and you’ve got a game for a baby shower, a…
Last year at 11:15 p.m., half my guests were scrolling their phones and the other half were dozing in a recliner. I’d crammed every game into the first hour. By the time the ball dropped, the party had already left the building. Here’s what I’ve learned since. The order of the games matters as much…
My son’s 7th birthday had a piñata, a bounce house, and a game plan that fell apart in 12 minutes. Turns out, fifteen 7-year-olds can tear through a “45-minute activity” faster than you can light the candles. The best birthday party games fit the guests in front of you. Age matters, sure. But so does…
Last spring, I hid 12 clever clues around the house for my 4-year-old niece. She couldn’t read a single one. Ten minutes in, I was solving my own hunt while she ate the prize. That’s when it clicked. Pick the hunt based on where you’ll play, how old the kids are, and whether they can…
Every Thanksgiving at my aunt’s house followed the same script. The kids ran laps around the couch, the grown-ups hovered in the kitchen, and Grandpa was asleep before the pie came out. Everyone was in the same house, but nobody was actually together. The fix wasn’t a fancier menu. It was a few simple games:…
The first time I hosted a Minute-to-Win-It night, I bought $60 worth of supplies for 20 games. We played four. Everyone had a blast, and I had a garage full of red Solo cups for a year. Here’s how it works. Each game gives a player 60 seconds to pull off one silly task with…
Some years, the best Valentine’s plans don’t involve a date at all. They involve sweatpants, a cheese board, and the friends who’ve seen you through every bad haircut and worse ex. That’s why I host a girls’ night every February. And the secret to making it more than a night of scrolling on the couch…
Some kids won’t sit still for charades, and some grown-ups would rather eat cold stuffing than draw in front of people. Emoji puzzles fix both problems. Everybody gets a sheet, a pencil, and a few quiet minutes to crack the code. Thanksgiving emoji Pictionary strings little pictures together, like a turkey and a running shoe,…
Last Thanksgiving, I tried to run Pictionary off a list on my phone. Somebody kept peeking at the screen, the phone kept locking, and my brother-in-law accused me of rigging the prompts. This year, I’m printing real cards. A printable Thanksgiving Pictionary deck takes about 20 minutes to make, and it keeps the game fair,…
Not everybody at Thanksgiving wants to stand up and act. But hand them a marker and a paper plate, and suddenly Uncle Ray is the most competitive person in the room. That’s the magic of Thanksgiving Pictionary. All you need is paper, a few markers, and a stack of prompts, and stick figures totally count….