5 Fun Party Games Everyone Must Play at Family Gatherings (and How to Play Them)

Whether it is a birthday, an anniversary, a Diwali, a Christmas or a New Year party, games make people engaged and keep everyone entertained.

Gatherings are not only about food, singing, dancing, and talks. Surely, talks are not for children, for they need activities that captivate their attention all throughout the event. And what's a better idea than games, right?

Now, as the host of the event, one of your goals is to make sure that your guests leave the party with smiles painted on their faces and dream of the fun time they have had during the party. For this, ensure that everybody, kids and adults alike, get the chance to participate in the games.

So here are a few party game ideas for large groups that you can play to involve your guests:

1. Lemon Relay

Lemon relay, as the name suggests, requires lemons that need to be relayed or passed on to another member, and so on. It is a team game; the number of which depends on how many participants are there. Each team employs six to ten members, one of them stands as the pole with whom the rest of the members go round before they can relay the lemon to the member next in line. 

Things needed to play this game:

• one lemon for each team
• one spoon for each member except the pole member
• an empty room or a hall where all participants can freely move around

How to play lemon relay?

• In a 5-member team, for example, one member acts as a pole and must stand 8-10 feet away from the rest of the team.
• The rest of the team will have one spoon each.
• The first to go around the pole member takes the spoon with a lemon on it in his mouth. He will then walk or brisk-walk around the pole without dropping the lemon. When he reaches back to where the team awaits (home base), he will then transfer this lemon to the next member in line. This process is repeated until the last member successfully made a round around the pole member and back at the home base.

Rule of the game

• The team that finishes the quickest wins.
• No dropping of lemons! In case the lemon drops in the middle of the walk, the participant who carries this lemon picks up the lemon and must go back to the home base and begin again.

Prizes

• Cash or goods that can be divided among the team members

2. Give Me What I Want

Give Me What I Want is simply a game of whoever-gives-it-first wins, and it requires the participation of all guests so no one feels left out. It is basically a game of asking for an item and those who have it can give it to the host. As the host, you must be as creative and imaginative as possible and demand an item that is not common. For example, a red or floral handkerchief or a hanky that has a hole, a gel pen, somebody who wears a snowflake necklace or someone who is wearing two different socks together, etc.

Rule of the game

• Demand any item or a particular someone.
• The participants may have it or not. If not, they are allowed to find it from someone and show it to the host. If you demand people like someone whose birthday falls on August 15, this person must present themself to the host with proof.
• The host verifies the item and decides whether it qualifies.
• Give the prize.
• If no one possesses the demanded item, the host proceeds to ask for the next item.

3. Paper Dance

Paper dance is a pair game where two people, when the music stops, must stay inside the paper one fold at a time until it becomes the smallest. It is also a strategy game where the participants have to think of tricks on how to win the game.

Requirements of the game

• A team of two participants each. This game can be played by as many teams as possible.
• Participants are of a similar structure. If it is adult and adult, it must be that. If it is adult and child, it must be that. You get the gist.
• Sheets of the newspaper of the same size for every team
• Groovy music

How to play the game?

Simple! 

• Lay a sheet of newspaper between the two-member team.
• Play music and participants dance.
• Stop the music after 20-40 seconds. Once the music stops, participants must keep their foot/feet inside the newspaper and remain so for 5-10 seconds. They are allowed to carry each another.
• When the music starts again, participants are asked to fold the newspaper halfway. This continues until the newspaper is too small for the participants to stand on their toes or until only one team is left standing. 

 Prize

• Any gift for two

4. Sack Race

The sack race is a fun party game that involves hopping in a sack. It is a competitive game where each participant puts their legs inside the sack, holds it on the rim and hops forward from a starting point toward a finish line.

Requirements

• Sacks or gunny bags
• Teams of 5-10 members
• Chairs or any object as a marker to go about
• Prize that can be divided among the team members

How to Play?

• Only one member wears the sack at a time. The rim of the sack must be pulled up to the waist level.
• Whoever is in the sack hops towards the marker object, goes around it and heads back to the home base for another member to wear it.
• The next member wears the sack to himself and does the same until all the members perform the task.
• Whichever team finishes first wins.

This game is won by being fast without tripping.

5. Smash That Pot to Hit the Jackpot.

The name of this game is created by Rham Dhel, a Filipina content writer, based on the Filipino game called Pukpok Palayok (pukpok = stick/rod; palayok = pot). The name of the game may sound easy to play, but it is not.

Requirements

• a blindfold
• a clay pot filled with knickknacks (candies, biscuits, or coins)
• a stick or rod heavy enough to smash the pot
• string or rope to hang the pot
• a scaffold or platform to tie the rope on
• as many participants until someone breaks the pot
• prize for the smasher who hits the jackpot (any gift or cash)

How to Play?

• Pick a random participant or someone interested to give it a go first.
• Blindfold him and turn him around 3 to 4 times to confuse his sense of direction.
• The audience can lead him when it comes to the distance between him and the pot, but coaching him as to whether the aim is right in front of him or not is not allowed. 
• Once the pot is broken, the insides can be picked up by the audience. 
• Take the name of the winner and present the prize or gift during the awarding ceremony or right after the game is over.

These fun party games are enjoyed by guests of all ages and not only cheer them but also keep them away from boredom. Try these games the next time you host a party.

 

Cover image: 𝚆𝚎𝚕𝚔𝚒𝚗𝙻𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝙿𝚑𝚘𝚝𝚘𝚐𝚛𝚊𝚙𝚑𝚢