Festive entertaining: Games, gifts, and good times

The menu is fixed, the table is laid, the lights are set: now you can focus on how to make your gathering a truly fun one by giving everyone something to talk about—and do.

Food and drink aside, group entertainment and presents can take your lunch or dinner party from merry to memorable—and games are a great way to break the ice and get everyone to mingle, especially if it’s a large-ish crowd where not all the guests know each other.

We’ve rounded up some easy (and entertaining!) games that can work for groups of all sizes and ages.

Retro Games

While it may be tempting to bust out a mic for karaoke or play Guitar Hero, there is a charm to old-school games that require zero technology. Folks from the Mad Men era had plenty of fun with these retro games—and you can, too!

Pass the Orange (or grapefruit, or apple, or even pomegranate), is a game that requires some upper-body dexterity but is well worth the effort. Using only your neck and no hands, players line up and have to pass an orange down the line, neck to neck, without dropping it. Sure, we’ve all seen it and played it, but it makes an appearance on our list because it’s still as fun today as it was in 1960!

Who Am I, the “unbranded” version of Ellen’s Heads Up, is simple: the host writes down names of famous personalities/public figures on cards, and each guest has a card stuck to their forehead. Players must guess who their “person” is by asking other guests yes or no questions. Only 20 questions allowed!

Likes and Dislikes is an easy game, suitable for friends old and new. Guests are asked to write down a list of likes and dislikes on a piece of paper. Have one person (or the host) read the lists out loud. The aim of the game is to guess who wrote what!

Now, if you don’t mind throwing it wayyyy back—you could entertain your guests with Coffee Pot. One player is chosen as the guesser and leaves the room while the rest of the players select a word (usually a noun), which can be easily guessed. Once the word has been decided upon, the guesser returns—and must attempt to guess the word, by asking questions to each individual player. The guesser asks their question replacing the probable word with “coffee pot.” For example, if the group chooses the word “ice cream,” the conversation will sound something like this:

Guesser: Is coffee pot a person?
Player 1: No

Guesser: Can you eat coffee pot?
Player 2: Yes.

Guesser: Is coffee pot sweet or savoury?
Player 3: Sweet.

…and so on.

If the guesser identifies the word correctly, the player who last answered the question becomes the next guesser.

Something for Everyone

We all have friends with kids, or we may actually be those “friends with kids,” so it’s always good to extend the no-tech rule to the little leaguers and have a few games on hand that are uncomplicated, easy to follow, and suitable for all ages.

Classic board games like Pictionary and Trivial Pursuit are fun, can accommodate any number of people, and are guaranteed to get everyone to loosen up! Plus, it’s a chance to discover one another’s knowledge and drawing skills—or lack thereof.

If your guests are okay with something a little more intense, then there’s nothing quite like Clue: The Classic Mystery Game. There's a weapon, there’s intrigue, there’s a stately British mansion—and yes, a murder that must be solved. If the original is too staid for your taste, you can try one of the newer editions, which includes a Star Wars-themed version of the game.