Graduation Party Idea: Interactive Photo Album

Place a large photo album or two on a decorated table. Add double-sided tape and plenty of pens near the book. Allow your guests to tape in their instant photos and write in a wish for the honorees. It's like creating a yearbook for this one special moment.
Guests will be thrilled to share their favorite stories from their years in school together and the grads will have a keepsake to last a lifetime.

Red Devil

This game works best when played around a house or building. Determine a starting line or a home base that you can touch. Players all begin in front of the house. Red Devil is the player who is "it." The Red Devil faces the other players and declares, "I'm thinking of a type of (shoe, car, candy bar, etc.)." The other players then try to guess (in no particular order) what the Red Devil is thinking of (for example if the category is candy bars, they would say things like Butterfinger, Mars, Milky Way etc.). The Red Devil calls out the name of the player who eventually guesses the correct item. Then, the Red Devil and the player who guessed correctly take off running around the house in opposite directions. The first person to make it back to the starting line becomes the Red Devil. (After players get tired, the rules can change to: the first person to get back to the starting line is NOT the Red Devil.)

Flour Tag

This is a fun outdoor kid game where you get tagged with flour-filled nylon sacks. Things you'll need are dark shirts and flour nylon stockings (also choose a person to be the referee and determine a jail area). Each player must have a dark T-shirt on (black or navy blue works as well). Give each player a nylon that is filled with flour. Tie the nylon at the end to make it into a ball shape. The group plays tag as normal but players are knocked out by throwing the flour torpedoes at each other. You'll be able to know exactly who has been hit by the flour mark on their shirts. The referee must keep their eye on the players and call out those who are hit to the jail area. Keep a damp rag handy to clean up the shirts between rounds. A variation of this game is "capture the flag" with the two teams posessing a flag at each end of the playing field. Have the teams try to get their opponents flag without being tagged.

Blob Tag

The kids avoid being tagged by the ever-growing and dividing "blob". First, define boundaries. A player is chosen to be 'it' or 'the blob' and the others run. When tagged by 'the blob', the player joins hands with 'the blob' forming a larger blob, and together they continue chasing the others. Once 'the blob' is made of four people, it splits into two blobs (two pairs) and each blob continues chasing the others. The last person caught will then become 'the blob' and the game starts all over again.

Minefield

This is a communication game (that can be quite educational) where you try to talk your blindfolded teammate through a series of obstacles.

What you'll need are blindfolds and a number of moveable obstacles such as balls, chairs, jackets, shoes etc.

Define boundaries. Have the team create a list of things that are detrimental to functioning as a group such as poor communication, anger, jealousy, wrong tools, not listening etc.

For each characteristic/action, throw an object into the playing space, the "minefield."

Have the kids within a group choose partners. One partner is blindfolded at one end of the field. The non-blindfolded partners stand at the opposite end of the field and try to talk their partners through the minefield without them running into any of the obstacles. If the blindfolded partner touches an object they're out and another partner must try. However, once they are blindfolded the other team can move the objects around if they choose. The team with the highest number of successful crossings wins. After the game is over (if you want it to be more educational) ask the players what they learned from the activity? Did the blindfolded people trust their team? Why or why not? Why is good communication important? etc.

War Balloons Game

You will need two different color balloons (i.e. green and red). Blow up the balloons and tie a string to each of them.

Divide into two teams. Then tie the string around the ankles of the players. (For example, Team 1 gets green balloons tied around their ankles while Team 2 gets red).

The object of the game is for each team to try to burst every balloon on the other team first. The first team whose balloons are all popped loses.

Scavenger Hunt List #2

straw
package of Raman noodles
clothespin
staple
paper cup
paper towel roll
nail
sock
froot loop (cereal)
napkin
ball
pencil
piece of candy
picture of a dog
paper sack
gift wrap bag
gumball
piece of jewelry
Suduku puzzle
business card
empty water bottle
marble
yarn
sticker
birthday present - best present gets a special prize!

Scavenger Hunt List #1

1999 penny
Target bag
paper clip
band-aid
sweet-n-low packet
Christmas plate
Post-it note
old shoe
.25 coupon
blue balloon
sucker
plastic spoon
birthday candle
pink crayon
Ziploc bag
envelope
toilet paper roll
comic strip
artificial flower
dryer sheet
string
ketsup packet
ribbon or bow
noisemaker
birthday present - best present gets a special prize!

BURPEE

Objective: A baseball game that can be played with as few as two people.
Game Type: Active. A lot of movement may be required.
Players: 2 or more players
Needed: Whiffle ball Bat Gloves (optional) A wall
Setup: Burpee is a baseball game which requires a wall and does not require a catcher. You can play at your local playground or whereever there is a large open space with a wall. You'll need to determine locations for 4 bases (including home plate) and decide the out-of-bounds lines for foul balls. The home plate should be a few feet in front of the wall. Each team should have an equal number of players. You'll also have to determine a strike zone. This is done by drawing a retangle or square on the wall with some chalk to determine whether a pitch is a strike or a ball. Each team needs a pitcher. You'll also need to determine the distances a ball must travel in the air to constitute a singe, double, triple or home run. For example, a ball which travels only 5 to 15 feet might be a single, 15-25 feet a double, 25-35 feet a triple and 35+ a home run.

Rules: Burpee is played like regular baseball. If a pitch is inside the strike zone on the wall, its a strike. Otherwise it's a ball. Three strikes is an out and four balls is a walk. Three outs on both sides constitutes an inning. A caught ball is an out (regardless of whether you use a glove or not) and distance of the ball determines a single, double, triple or home run.
Winning: As in baseball, the most runs wins. Play as many innings as you like.

TURTLE TAG

Objective: A game of touch tag where you can't tag someone while on their back like an upside down turtle!
Game Type: Active. A lot of movement may be required.
Players: 6 or more players
Needed: None
Rules: Choose a tag area such as a front yard and determine boundaries etc. and a jail area. Then choose a 'tagger'. The tagger attempts to tag players while they run or stand within the defined area. If a player is tagged they go to the jail. During the game players can lay down on their backs like a stranded turtle forming a safety area. While in this position a player cannot be tagged. Players can only stay in the turtle position for a limited amount of time, usually 5 or 10 seconds. This should be determined prior to playing.

Winning: The game ends when the tagger has captured all players.
Variations: In another version, there is no jail and any player who is tagged instantly becomes the next tagger. There are no tag backs in this version.

TOILET TAG

Objective: A game of touch tag where you can't tag someone squatting in a toilet position!
Game Type: Active. A lot of movement may be required.
Players: 6 or more players
Needed: None
Rules: Choose a tag area such as a front yard and determine boundaries etc. and a jail area. Then choose a 'tagger'. The tagger attempts to tag players while they run or stand within the defined area. If a player is tagged they go to the jail. During the game players can squat down like a toilet forming a safety area. While in this position a player cannot be tagged. Players can only stay in the toilet position for a limited amount of time, usually 5 or 10 seconds. This should be determined prior to playing.

Winning: The game ends when the tagger has captured all players.
Variations: In another version, there is no jail and any player who is tagged instantly becomes the next tagger. There are no tag backs in this version.

NATURE HUNT

Objective: An outdoor game where the players pretend they are animals, trying to hide from man along a trail.
Game Type: Active. A lot of movement may be required.
Players: 2 or more players
Needed: A nature trail or forest area
Rules: The group walks a given distance down a nature trail. Each player is given time to hide along the trail. They may travel no more than 15 feet from either side of the trail, and may use anything in the natural environment to provide camouflage. The leader waits about five minutes until all players are hidden. He walks the distance of the trail once only, and tries to find as many players as possible. After his walk, he calls out, and watches to see where all the successful animals hid

This game can be repeated many times with different players taking the role of the searcher. It is fun to talk about the hiding places that were the most successful.

SPONGE RUN

Objective: Two teams compete to fill a bucket with water by handing off a sponge.
Game Type: Active. A lot of movement may be required.
Players: 6 or more players
Needed: Four buckets, two sponges and some water
Rules: Divide into two teams. Give each team an empty bucket and a bucket filled half way with water. The buckets should be off equal size and filled the same amount. Place one member of each team a distance of 20 feet from the rest of the team with the empty bucket on the ground at their feet. The rest of each team should line up facing their team mate 20 feet away with the filled bucket at their feet. The object is to move as much water as possible in a pre-determined amount of time (usually 90 second or 2 minutes). When you say "go", one member of each team (let's call them #1) fills the sponge and races to the empty bucket and empties it. #1 then hands the sponge to the team member standing there (#2) who then runs back to the waiting team. #2 then hands the sponge to #3 who them dips the sponge and runs to the other bucket and empties it. They then hand the sponge to #1 who runs to the team and hands it to #4 etc. etc. The team who accumulates the most water wins.

FRISBEE WAR

Objective: A sports game you can think of as frisbee dodge ball.
Game Type: Active. A lot of movement may be required.
Players: 6 or more players
Needed: Two to four frisbees
Rules: This game can be played indoors or outdoors. Determine a boundary in which all players should stay. Two or three frisbees are used for throwing. Anyone can throw a frisbee to anyone else. If a player catches the frisbee, the thrower is out and the catcher can throw it again to someone else. You play until only one person remains.

Variation: You can divide into two teams and play with one team in the middle, similar to regular dodge ball.

PETRIFIED BASEBALL

Objective: A sports game similar to baseball but you can't move your feet.
Game Type: Active. A lot of movement may be required.
Players: 6 or more players
Needed: Volleyball
Rules: Divide into two teams. The rules are similar to regular baseball except that a volleyball is used (no bats!) and the fielding team may not move their feet. It is best to keep your players in close without too much distance in between each other. The hitting team hits the volleyball with their hand, and crawls around the bases. To score a point, the batter must run around the bases on feet and hands (like a dog or horse) and back to home before the fielding team gets the ball to the catcher at home. If the fielding team gets the ball ahead of the batter, he is out. After three people are out, the teams trade places.

CLOTHESPIN TAG

Objective: Clamp as many clothespins as possible onto the clothes of your opponents.
Game Type: Active. A lot of movement may be required.
Players: 6 or more players
Needed: Clothespins with springs
Rules: Use four clothespins for this two-person confrontation. Each player begins with two. If you can get both pins securely attached to your opponent's clothes, you get one point. If you find yourself wearing both clothespins from your opponent, take two in hand and toss the other two to your opponent. Play begins again immediately. The game continues as long as the players can stand it. The player with the most points wins.

Variations: It can be played with virtually any number of players, as long as there are plenty of clothespins. Again, start with two clothespins for each player. The goal here is simply to clamp clothespins on other players indiscriminately. First player to clamp both wins. This game is ideal for breaking the ice or relieving tension in large groups.

Another variation is elimination. Each player begins with two pins. If you get pinned with two pins you are out and must stand aside while the rest carry on. Eventually it will be down to two players and one will be victorious.

DOCTOR

Objective: A tag game where balls 'kill' you out but a 'doctor' can heal you instantly.
Game Type: Active. A lot of movement may be required.
Players: 10 or more players
Needed: Two jackets or vest for the doctors Lots of playground balls (they should be soft enough not to injure someone when thrown)
Rules: Divide the group into two teams. Each team must choose a person to be the doctor. Both doctors must wear something to distinguish them as doctors such as a hunting vest or a bright jacket. There are no out of bounds in this game. There should be at least one ball for every 3 players. Someone says 'go' and each team tries to get the other teams players out by throwing the balls at them. If you are hit you must remain where you are. The doctors can move around the playing field and heal people by simply touching them. If you are healed you are back in the game and can continue moving. Doctors can be permanently removed from the game by being hit by a ball. Once a doctor is out he/she can't be healed. The game continues until all players are out and one team wins. .

Valid throws: 1. Outs cannot be made by deflection shots or shots which bounce off one person and hit another.
2. Outs cannot be made by grounders or balls which bounce off the ground and then hit a person.
3. Outs cannot be made by simply touching a ball to someone like in baseball. They must be thrown at least a one foot distance to be valid.
4. You cannot get your own team mate out.

BOWLING BASKETBALL

Objective: Compete against another team and acquire points by knocking over a bowling pin with a basketball and shooting hoops.
Game Type: Active. A lot of movement may be required.
Players: 8 or more players
Needed: A bowling pin (or a bottle or similar object which can be knocked down on impact) and two basketballs Basketball court with two hoops
Setup: Divide the group into two even teams. There also must be a leader who acts as judge and sets up the pin each time. Have each team line up at corners of the basketball court. Place the pin in the middle on the opposite site of the court.

Rounds: Each round consists of two matches - a bowling match and a shooting match. Both teams always start rounds at the same time. Play continues non-stop through both matches until someone has won the bowling match and someone has won the shooting match.
Bowling Round: The leader signals the start and the first two people in line bowl their basketballs across the floor at the pins with the intention of knocking it down. The first ball to touch the pin and knock it down wins the match and scores 2 points. Sometime the leader may have to make a judgment call as to who was first. The winner must retrieve their ball and bring it back to the next person on their team. This team immediately moves on to the shooting match (see below) while the loser has to chase down their ball (no matter how far it rolls) and run it back to the next person on their team and continue in the bowling match. If both teams miss, they both chase their balls and return them to the next people in line. However, keep in mind that once a match begins, teams do not have to wait for the other team to catch up before bowling or shooting again. They should only do this at the beginning of each new round. After a pin is knocked down, the leader should be nearby and set it up again quickly for the next bowlers.
Shooting Round: When one team advances to the shooting match the next person in line must shoot and make a basket from the free throw line on their end of the court. If they miss they must continue chasing the ball, returning to the line and shooting until they make it. This make shooting a bit harder than bowling. If they make a shot, they score 1 point for their team and the round ends. Teams then regroup and the balls are moved to the next people in line and the pin is set up again.
Winning: Rounds continue until one team reaches 20 points.
4 Team Variation: On larger courts with two full length courts side by side, four teams can play against each other by bowling from each respective corner and shooting at their assigned hoops. All the same rules apply.

KEEP AWAY BALL

Objective: A group game where you quickly pass a ball around a circle and try to keep it away from the person in the middle.
Game Type: Active. A lot of movement may be required.
Players: 6 or more players
Needed: Playground ball
Rules: Chose someone to be "it" and give them a ball. Everyone else is in a circle around "it". "It" starts the game by passing the ball to a player in the circle who throws it to anyone else in the circle. The object of the game is for "it" to either catch or touch the ball while it is being passed around the circle. When "it" intercepts the ball, the player who touched it last becomes "it".

KEEP AWAY BALL

Objective: A group game where you quickly pass a ball around a circle and try to keep it away from the person in the middle.
Game Type: Active. A lot of movement may be required.
Players: 6 or more players
Needed: Playground ball
Rules: Chose someone to be "it" and give them a ball. Everyone else is in a circle around "it". "It" starts the game by passing the ball to a player in the circle who throws it to anyone else in the circle. The object of the game is for "it" to either catch or touch the ball while it is being passed around the circle. When "it" intercepts the ball, the player who touched it last becomes "it".

LEMONADE

Objective: A combination of charades and red rover. This game is active and relys on fun improvisation!
Game Type: Active. A lot of movement may be required.
Players: 6 or more players
Needed: None
Rules: Divide the group into two teams. Determine a playing area in the shape of a rectangle. Decide on two safety lines, one on each end of the retangle. One is the safety line fo team A and the other for team B. Team A are the actors and team B are the guessers. The actors decide on a geographical location (a country) and a related occupation (painter, policeman, baker etc.). Dialogue between A and B goes like this and can be yelled:

A: Here we come.
B: Where from?
A: From another land
B: What's your name?
A: Lemonade.
B: What's your trade?
A: Goes like this.

At this point group A acts out their occupation. Group B is given 3 tries to guess. If the guess is correct, group A must run to their safety line without being touched by a group B player. If all 3 guesses are wrong group B must run to their safety line without being touched by a group A player. Any player touched must switch teams.

UM OR UH

Objective: Don't say um, uh or like or your team gets wet!
Game Type: Passive. Little or no movement is required.
Players: 6 or more players
Needed: Water balloons, pen, paper
Rules: In this game you can't use the word um, uh, or like. Divide the group into even teams. Choose a team to go first. Each team chooses a player to go first. When that player goes up in front of the entire group (both teams) they will receive a piece of paper and there will be an object written on it. The player has to tell as much as possible about the item with out saying like, uh, or um in 30 seconds. If the player does say um, uh, or like then that team gets a point. Also if the player pauses for more than 3 seconds the team gets a point. The game ends when everyone has gone once. The teams tallies up the points and how many points there
are means that many water balloons are thrown at them.

WATER BALLOON VOLLEYBALL

Objective: Throw and catch water balloons over a volley ball net using a big sheet or blanket.
Game Type: Active. A lot of movement may be required.
Players: 6 or more players
Needed: Bed Sheets, water balloons, volleyball net (optional)
Rules: Split teams up with at least 4 people per team. Using two large bed sheets or blankets (one per team), have the teammates hold the sheet on corners, etc. Starting with one water balloon, launch the balloon over to the other team. The team must catch it in the blanket and not let it burst. If they are successful they get a point. As the other team launches the balloon back over to your team, have your teammates loosen up their grip on the sheet so the balloon doesn't bounce off. As the game goes on, add more balloons for competition.

Variation: Divide teams into sub groups of two players and use beach towels instead of sheets. Teams can start with 10 points and each time a balloon breaks they get a point taken away.

BALLOON WAR

Objective: A game where teams rush to steal balloons.
Game Type: Active. A lot of movement may be required.
Players: 6 or more players
Needed: 10-15 balloons

Rules: Form a few groups. Give each group 5 balloons. Each team chooses someone to guard their balloons. Two or more people get to be the "snatcher". The remaining people in the teams form forts and guard the balloons . The "Snatchers" try to snatch ballons from the other snatchers and forts. The people that are the must protect their balloons. After a set amount of time the team with the most balloons from other teams is the winner.

Super Nachos

1 pound lean ground beef
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
Pinch of salt
1 small can refried beans or bean dip
1 10 or 12-ounce bag corn tortilla chips
1 1/4 pounds Monterey Jack or Mozzarella cheese, grated
1 large onion, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 6-ounce can black olives, chopped

Brown the ground beef in a medium skillet. Drain. Add the chili powder, cumin and salt. Set aside for a moment.
Spread a thin layer of refried beans or bean dip over the bottom of a platter or shallow, heat-proof bowl to anchor the first layer of chips.
Then spread a layer of chips over the beans, top with a layer of cheese, ground beef, onion, tomato and olives. Repeat until all the ingredients are used. Or, since this recipe usually makes about 4 layers, you can divide all the toppings into 4 portions for even layering.
Microwave on high until heated through, about 10 minutes, or bake at 375° for 20-30 minutes. Serve warm with sour cream and Guacamole Dip, if desired.

Cream Cheese Balls

8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup cooked ham, finely chopped
1 teaspoon prepared horseradish
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1/2 cup nuts, finely chopped
Thin pretzel sticks, for picks

This recipe is easy to prepare, but allow several hours for it to chill:
Combine the cream cheese, ham, horseradish, mustard and hot pepper sauce in a small bowl and mix well.
Shape the mixture into 3/4" balls (about 48) and roll them in the chopped nuts.
Cover and refrigerate for several hours.
Before serving, transfer them to a serving platter and insert the pretzel sticks. Serve chilled.

Makes about 48 appetizers.

Outdoor Party Games

Pass the Sand

Ingredients
Containers
Sand

To Play
Divide the group into two teams and line them up.
Have the person in each line grab a handful of sand from a container. They must pass the sand to the next player, who passes it to the next, and so on down the line.
When the sand reaches the last player, he/she pours what is left of it on a plate. The team with the most sand wins the game. (You may have to weigh the sand on a food scale if it's close.)

Tug of Water

Ingredients
Sprinkler
Garden Hose or rope

To Play
Set up the sprinkler in the middle of the lawn and turn it on.
Divide the group into two teams and have each team hold an end of the garden hose or a rope.
On the word "Go!" have the teams try to pull their opponents into the sprinkler.

Pop the Piranha

Ingredients
Balloons
Felt-Tip Permanent Markers
Kiddy Pools

To Play
Inflate balloons and tie them off.
Using black felt-tip permanent markers, draw fish faces on the balloons.
Toss balloons into the kiddy pool, one for each child.
On the word "Go!" have the kids jump into the pool and try to grab/pop a wet and slippery balloon.

Go Fishing

Ingredients

Plastic toys
Magnetic Tape
Kiddy Pool

Sticks and String

To Play
Buy some plastic toys and attach a piece of magnetic tape to each one.
Make fishing poles out of sticks and string with magnets tied to the bottom of the string.
Drop the toys into the bottom of the pool. Give the kids the fishing poles.
Let the kids fish for their "prize" in the kiddy pool.

Toss n' Soak

Ingredients
Plastic Pool
Water
Rubber Ball

To Play
Fill up a plastic pool with water and have kids stand around the outside of the pool.
They must toss the ball back and forth to one another and try to catch it.
If the ball hits the water, the child who failed to catch the ball is "out." Whomever is left standing last wins.

Poison
This is a game where there is one lucky person who is "it."

Ingredients
2 Bases
Dodge Ball

To Play
Someone stands between two bases. In our backyard we made the "bases" a fence at one end of the yard and a brick wall at the other end of the yard. The player is allowed to move anywhere between those 2 bases.
He is given a ball, and his goal is to try to hit at least one of the people while they are running from base to base.
Obviously, once people are on the base they are "safe." Once he hits someone else with the ball, that person becomes "it." There is no actual winner of this game, but it is action packed and it can go on for hours until the players get tired.

What Time is it Mr. Fox?

Ingredients
Base

To Play
There is one person who is "Mr. Fox", and everyone else is trying to stay away from him or her. We used to play this from the top to the bottom of a driveway, but it can be played anywhere as long as there is enough room to run. Mr. Fox usually stands at the part of the driveway closest to the house.
Everyone else stands on the designated base and asks in unison, "What time is it Mr. Fox?" As Mr. Fox responds with the time, it can be any time that Mr. Fox would like it to be.
Each person needs to take the number of steps that correspond with the time toward Mr. Fox. For example, if Mr. Fox says it's 4 o'clock, everyone takes 4 steps toward him. It is up to the individual how large they make each step.
The group continues to ask the same question, while Mr. Fox replies with different answers as to "what time it is." Before the players reach Mr. Fox he or she answers the question "What time is it Mr. Fox," he turns around and answers, "It's time to eat you!"
He chases everyone until he catches someone, or everyone makes it back to the base safely. If anyone is caught, then they become "Mr. Fox." (There is no winner to this game either.)

Scavenger Hunt
This is a game that is usually relatively inexpensive and time-consuming, good for both kids and parents.

Ingredients
Index Cards

To Play
Write out clues on index cards.
Give the partygoers clues that take them from place to place. Perhaps this game could begin at the house of the party host/hostess, and the final clue could lead to the party destination.
The team that arrives at the final destination first wins! Or instead of a Scavenger Hunt have kids solve a Detective's Case. Set out clues all over the yard and have kids collect them. Then the kids have to figure out what the clues mean. You might have them find clues to making a pizza, building a scarecrow, or solving a puzzle.

Keep it Dry
A fun swimming pool game!

Ingredients

Stone
Cotton Ball
Marshmallow
Pool

To Play
Give each player a small object that changes when it gets wet, such as a stone, cotton ball, or a marshmallow.
Players must try to swim from one end of the pool to the other without getting their object wet. The swimmer with the driest object wins.

Butterfingers Ball

Ingredients
Ball
Pool

To Play
As one player jumps off the diving board or platform, another player stands in the shallow end (or on the side) and throws the ball to the jumper, who tries to catch the ball and hold it until he/she hits the water.

Prizes
Inflatable Pool Toys
Water Guns
Summer Fun Gift Basket: Sunscreen, Sunglasses, Beach Towel
Gold Fish

Grilled Shrimp

One way to get your guests in a party mood is to serve shrimp. When prepared properly, shrimp are succulent and tasty and usually the first thing you will run out of at a party. Since you will have the grill going for your burgers, dogs and wings you might as well toss a few shrimp on the grill and get the party started. When buying your shrimp look for U/10 or U/12 sized shrimp. The “U” part means that there are less than (under) 10 or 12 shrimp per pound. So two pounds of U/12 shrimp would give you about 24 hearty shrimp.

Ingredients

2 pounds of the largest shrimp you can find, cleaned and de-veined.
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
1 tablespoon of crushed garlic
¼ teaspoon of salt
¼ teaspoon of fresh ground pepper
Dipping Sauce

1 bottle (12 ounces) of your favorite hot sauce
2 tablespoons of fresh mayonnaise
2 teaspoons of horseradish
1 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce
Pinch of salt
Instructions

Mix the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper in a bowl.
Add the shrimp and toss to coat.
Let the shrimp marinate in the mixture for at least one hour.
While the shrimp are marinating, mix together the hot sauce, mayonnaise, horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, and the salt.
Cover the sauce with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed.
Once the shrimp have marinated, grill them on the hottest part of your grill about two minutes per side until done. Don’t overcook the shrimp or they will be rubbery rather than tender.

Deviled Eggs

Appetizers that can be made ahead of time and served cold can be a relief to both the guests and the host. Your guests will naturally appreciate a cool snack on a hot day and as a host anything that can be made the day before is just one less thing to worry about on the day of the party. This is where the good-old picnic and barbeque stand-by deviled eggs comes into play. These tasty treats can be made by the dozens and since the recipe mainly consists of mixing the yolks and filling the whites you can even get the kids to help out.

Ingredients

12 hard boiled eggs
½ cup of crème fraiche or sour cream
½ teaspoon of salt
¼ teaspoon of freshly ground pepper
2 teaspoons of parsley flakes
4 strips of bacon, fried crisp and chopped
Paprika to garnish
Instructions

Chill the eggs and then peel them.
Slice the eggs in half lengthwise.
Remove the yolks and save the whites.
Mix the yolks with the crème fraiche or sour cream, salt, pepper, parsley flakes, and bacon.
Carefully spoon or pipe the yolk mixture back into the egg whites.
Dust the yolk mixture with a pinch of paprika.
Refrigerate until time to serve.

Hiring a Party Planning Professional

If the party you are planning is very large or you are just lacking the time to plan a party at this point in your life, you might want to consider hiring a professional party planning business for help. These skilled experts know how to handle all facets of your upcoming party and can take the burden off your shoulders.

Here are some tips for hiring a party planning professional:

Ask for referrals from friends, colleagues, caterers and local businesses. Set up appointments for consultations.
Scope out the Better Business Bureau before hiring a party planning business to see if any complaints have been made against that business.
Interview prospects. Ask how many events like yours the planner has done in the past. Ask for her creative ideas. Ask how she troubleshoots and handles mishaps.
Consider his or her track record. Every event planner worth his or her weight has a portfolio.
List the tasks you want taken off your shoulders.
Discuss whether you will be billed by the event, by the hour or as a percentage of the total cost of the party. Talk about how willing you are to go over budget.
If it would make you more comfortable, call references or drop by an event the professional you are considering is conducting in the near future to scope out the scene.
Jot down your ideas, theme, color considerations, entertainment preferences, and anything you feel you want personalized for your professional.
Once you hire someone, let go. If you micromanage that person, you might as well have saved the money and done it all yourself. Keep in mind that the purpose of your hired professional is to ease the burden on yourself.

Easter Party

Celebrate Easter with an egg hunt in your yard or nearby park, Easter crafts, and special treats.

Younger children will enjoy a Peter Rabbit themed tea party.

Fun Invitation ideas for an Easter Party include:
paper egg shape decorated with markers and glitter
in shape of easter bunny
note folded inside a plastic egg with some jelly beans
written on the outside of real hardboiled egg

Fun Decorations for an Easter Party include:
plastic eggs or real dyed hard boiled eggs
stuffed toy bunnies
pastel colored balloons

Fun Games & Activities for an Easter Party include:
guess how many jelly beans in jar
egg hunt (plastic filled with small favors) or decorated hard boiled eggs
pin the tail on the bunny
relay races with easter eggs
More Games & Activities!

Fun Arts & Crafts for an Easter Party include:
easter egg decorating
easter basket decorating
modeling clay or pipe cleaner bunnies
spring collage (construction paper, magazine photos, old cards, etc.)
bunny masks or hats

Fun Foods for an Easter Party include:
bunny shaped mac & cheese (Annie's brand available in health food stores)
baby carrots with dip and black olives
fruit salad
easter basket cupcakes (green shredded coconut and jelly beans)
Easter Bunny cake
Easter Basket cake

Fun Party Favors for an Easter Party include:
coloring books
stickers
blowing bubbles
sidewalk chalk
fruit leathers
jump rope

4th of July Party for Pennies

Forth of July is right around the corner and it’s a great time to celebrate our freedom. A celebration for this holiday does not need to cost a lot.

Invitations- Call your friends, use Evite to send electronic invitations, or purchase some inexpensive flags and tie a homemade invitation to the flag. Then place the flag in the recipients yard. Keep in mind that some people may have vacation plans. So don’t take it personally if there are not as many people able to attend as you expected.

Food- Ask everyone to bring a dish or beverage. Don’t forget about drinks, condiments, dessert, and plates.

Activities- Watch the fireworks, have relay races with balloons between the legs, eggs on a spoon, and wheel barrel races. Consider card games or a game that you have sitting in the garage such as boccie ball, bad mitten, basketball, etc.

Decorations- Of course you’ll want to decorate in red, white, and blue. Purchase red, white, and blue balloons, streamers, plates, napkins, and straws.

I hope you have fun!

Cost- (Ten People)
Invitations- $0-$1.50 per invite
Activities- $0 or include a prize
Food- $30
Decorations- $20

Total- $50

*This party idea is part of a series called Party for Pennies which started since talk of a recession. BestPartyEver.com’s goal is to bring people together through celebration.

Pool Party

Just had a lovely pool installed in your backyard? The best way to celebrate this new feature of your house – and to brag about the new pool to friends, family and neighbors – is to host a pool party.
Pool parties are often held during the summer, which is not surprising because most people are looking for excuses to cool down from the heat on that season. Since your guests will be looking for something to drive the heat away, you have to make sure that your pool party will be a cool place to be, at least for that designated time. You do not have to worry, though. With a little preparation, your pool party can become the talk of the neighborhood for the next few weeks.

Pool Party Invitations
No one is going to show up at your party if you do not invite people. Calling people or sending them emails to invite them may not be enough and your invites may forget. Thus, you have to be creative about your invitations – make them so your potential guests will not forget about your party.
One idea would be to print out your invitations on small blue sheets of paper. Do not forget to include the time and date of your party in your invitation, and always ask for an RSVP. Roll these sheets of paper and then insert them in small bottles. For an added measure of fun, put in some confetti or sand inside the bottle as well.

Decor and Props
While the main attraction that your party shall have is none other than your pool, doing a little decorating helps too. You can set up a few tiki lamps around the pool, especially when your party is going to last through the night. You can also arrange small tables covered each with a tablecloth with a summery pattern and topped with a flower arrangement of sunflowers, yellow daisies or yellow roses.
Make sure that there are enough chairs for your guests to sit in. You may have to designate a specific room in your house to be used as a changing room. Floats, beach balls and water guns may also be handy to have around during the party.

Music
Parties must have music. You do not have to hire a DJ for your pool party. You can just burn two or three CDs with summery tracks, like the songs of the Beach Boys. If you think the Beach Boys is a little overused already, you can go for reggae or any other current dance hits. Be careful to match your music with the average age of your guests, though. Your music should be something that everyone will enjoy listening to and put them in a partying mood.

Food and Drinks
What is a party without food and drinks? The worst thing that can happen to a party is for guests to go hungry and thirsty. Since your party is going to be a pool party, it would not require a sit-down meal. So, finger foods and cocktail dishes would do. Kebabs, tortillas with salsa, small sandwiches, salads, shrimp cocktails, chicken and beef wraps, and fruit tarts would do well for your menu.
As for drinks, you would not go wrong with serving daiquiris, piña coladas, margaritas and beer. Keep some sodas and fruit juices as well for those who do not want to drink alcohol.

Party Favors
So your guests would remember your party for weeks to come, you have to give out party favors as parting gifts. Your party favors can be anything that can fit with a beach theme, such as little bottles of cologne or sunscreen lotion, shell paperweights, shell jewelry or accessories for women, and other such items.

Games

81. MYRSHIM. ( Joking.)
10-12 players are invited to take part in this game. Then they are explained the rules: One of the players moves away and turns his/her back to all the rest players. In this time one of players is given a candy. But the player mustn't eat it, he/she just puts it in the mouth. Then all the players including the player with the candy, begin to pronounce one and the same word "myrshim" (in Kazakh it means "to chew"). The task of the 1st player (the player who stands with his back to all the rest players) is to guess who of the players has a candy in his/her mouth. If the player guesses he receives the prize and chooses the leader, if he doesn't guess all the players say to him "oh-oh-oh!" So the game begins. The leader moves away, turns his back to all the rest players and the instructor gives a wrapped up candy to one of the players. When the player unwraps the candy and puts it into the mouth the game begins: all the players begin to say "myrshim, myrshim, myrshim" and the instructor calls out the leader.

82. THE GREAT MOGUL. ( Joking.)
According to the lot, one of the players stands on a chair or a stool and takes on a majestic air. He/she is the Great Mogul. All the rest players come to him/her one at a time, bow to him/her, kneel before him/her, look in his/her face and say: "The Great Mogul! Bow down before you without tears and laughter!" The players must pronounce this phrase solemnly and seriously. At the same time the Great Mogul tries to make the players who come to him laugh: he/she pulls faces, wriggles etc. The player who laughs while speaking to the Great Mogul becomes the Great Mogul in the next round.

83. MATCH AS A SPEAR. ( Joking.)
Draw a line on the floor. The player must throw a usual match as a spear not overstepping the line. Choose the winner judging by 3 throws.

84. THREE PHRASES. ( Joking.)
The leader declares that no one of the present people can repeat three short phrases after him/her. Of course, the present people don't agree with him/her. Then the leader pronounces the phrase c.f. "Today the weather is good." All the players confidently repeat it. After that the leader as though in confusion trying to find a phrase, pronounces the second phrase. It's again repeated by the players. Then the leader quickly and confidently pronounces: "Here you're wrong!" The players are in confusion. And the leader explains that the third phrase the players had to repeat was "Here you're wrong!"

85. THERE'S MANY A SLIP BETWEEN A CUP AND LIP. ( Joking.)
The leader says: "Put a chair on its fore legs on the floor. The back and the hind legs are parallel to the ground. Put a slice of bread on the top of the back, kneel in the cross-beam between the hind legs, take the back with your hands and try to bend your head to the slice of bread and grab it with the mouth. For this you need much skill. While bending the head you must move your body back, otherwise your body's center of gravity will be before the seat of the chair, the chair will tip over and the slice of bread will fall down.

86. WAVE YOUR HANDS. ( Joking.)
The leader suggests the players to put their right hands to their heads and to extend the left hands with the thumbs up, saying "Well!" Then the players clap their hands and do the same with the opposite hands.

87. LISTEN, BELIEVE, AND CHECK YOURSELF. ( Joking.)
The leader suggests the players to do the following: to put the hands on the knees, to clap the hands, to touch the nose with the right hand and the ear with the left one. Then to clap once again and to change the hands.

88. BY WORD OF MOUTH. ( Joking.)
Sitting at the holiday table the both sides of the guests (they are divided into 2 teams) have an opportunity to transmit the congratulation or a piece of good news to the person whose birthday it is by word of mouth. To begin with hang a congratulation card, a photo or a letter on the stick or a pencil. The task of the guests is to pass this "piece of news" with the help of lips (without touching it with the hands). The team which transmits the piece of news "by word of mouth" the first wins.

89. JUMP OVER A NEEDLE. ( Joking.)
Suggest the players jumping over the needle (instead of a needle you may take a pencil). The needle lies on the floor. The only term is to touch the toes with the fingers while jumping.

90. MODELLER. ( Joking.)
The players who wish to take part in the competition "The best style" are invited to come behind the scenes or into the other room. With the help of different attributes of fashion (clothes, accessories, ties, hats, ribbons etc.) they must construct something original, bright and stylish. It's so called "freak style". Each modeller chooses "a model" among the spectators. "The models" represent the works of "the modellers". With the help of applause the spectators choose "the best modeller". "The best modeller" is given a costly present (perfume, perfumed water etc.)

91. SWEET TOOTH. ( Joking.)
This game is enjoyed by the grown-ups as well as by the children. On the table there are some plates with the little pies and cakes (it's desirable that they should be with chocolate and cream). Around the table there must be enough space for the participants to move. The number of the participants depends on the size of the table and the amount of sweet things. The number of plates is equal to the number of the participants. The participants have their hands tied together behind the backs. As the music plays the participants come to the nearest to them plate and start eating the cakes. As the hands are tied together it's very difficult to eat the cakes - they slide off the plates. That's why the instructor should let the participants know about all the details of the game beforehand. The first round finishes when one of the participants has eaten the whole piece of cake or a pie. The participant on whose plate there remains the largest piece of cake is out of the game. In the next round there are less by one participants. On the plates there are new pieces of cake or pies. They are larger than the pieces in the previous round. The game repeats anew. The game goes on until the participants refuse to eat sweet things (because they have eaten an enormous amount of them) or until there is only one participant in the game. He/she is the winner. He/she is given a ribbon with the inscription "Invincible glutton" and a sweet prize (a large cake). The matter is that the winner feels sick at seeing sweet things. The instructor may suggest playing one more round. But this suggestion usually causes impetuous protest of the participants. The more chocolate and cream is there on the cakes - the brighter is the game. The participants usually make themselves dirty with it. The game may be funnier if the participants are blindfolded, but have their hands free. After this game you may serve cakes and pies for other guests. The participants of this game don't want to eat sweet things. They want only to drink tea.

92. ZOO. ( Joking.)
All the players get into a circle. The players take each other by the arms. The leader explains the rules of the game: "To each player I say the name of the animal. Then I say one of the names aloud. The player to whom this name was said at the beginning of the game tries to jump up and break the chain of the arms. The task of the players next to him/her is to prevent his/her jumping up". In fact the leader says one and the same name of the animal to all the players. When this name is pronounced aloud all the players fall down.

93. NUMBER ON THE BELT. ( Joking.)
You take your belt off and address all the present: "On this belt is written the number. The figure is rather big. Even the short - sighted person is able to see it. But it's not easy to find this number. For this you need not only your attention, but also sharpness. Who wants to find the number on the belt?" The spectators would examine the belt carefully. But the number will be seen only if somebody guesses what's the secret of your trick. The secret is rather simple. Get ready this trick beforehand: roll up the belt so that the buckle of it is inside the first coil. On the spiral write a simple or a two-digit number with the light yellow pencil. Unroll the belt - the number is disappeared. The number may be found if you roll up the belt again.

94. HEAVY BUCKET. ( Joking.)
Put a bucket full of water at the wall. Say that only a very strong man can lift it. One who wishes to lift the bucket stands at the distance of half a step from it. Ask this person to take the handle of the bucket with the hands and lean the head against the wall. Then ask him to lift the bucket and, holding it with the hands, draw himself up. Despite all the attempts this person will not be able to do any of these tasks. He will remain as though clued to the wall.

95. BELIEVE OR NOT. ( Joking.)
Say to all the present that you can make any person to stand in such a way that he/she can't raise his/her foot. One who wants to disprove it should stand near the wall touching it by the heels. It'd be better if there were no plinth on the wall. If there are no wall without the plinth in the room you may use a door. Mind that the person mustn't swing. Under this condition all the attempts to raise the foot will fail. In this position nobody can raise the foot without transfer of the weight of the body to the other foot.

96. BEWITCHED NUMBER. ( Joking.)
"I need a mathematician to be my assistant", - says the instructor, - "his/her task is very simple: I shall enumerate different numbers. My assistant's task is to name the numbers more by one than the numbers I name. c.f. If I say "eight", the assistant must say "nine". If I say "thirty - two" the assistant must say "thirty three" etc. Who can "cope with this task?" The instructor names the increasing numbers. The numbers increase by tens and hundreds. Every time the assistant confidently names the numbers more by one. The counting continues until the instructor names number "4099". At this number the assistant will make a mistake. Instead of "4100" he/she will say "5000".

97. TRY TO FULFIL. ( Joking.)
Put your hands to the chest - one is higher than the other. Try to make circular motions with the both hands simultaneously: one hand is moving forwards, the other is moving backwards.
Sit on a chair, holding your back straight. Put your legs at an angle. Try to stand up with your back erect (do not move it forwards).
"I'll ask you a very easy riddle, - says the instructor, - you must answer it at once and precisely. If you give a correct answer you'll get a prize.
It has four paws, a tail,
It mews and catches mice.
It's a cat!
It sounds like this. But you're not quite right. It's a pussy-cat (a tom-cat)
Can you see a little piece of thread on my lapel? Asks the instructor. How much time do you need to take this thread away?
Not more than 2-3 seconds.
If you succeed in it you'll get the prize.
Nobody expected that the thread would stretch and stretch. In the inside pocket of the jacket there was a whole bobbin of thread. The end of which was put on the lapel.

98. GAME-JOKE. ( Joking.)
Suggest 2 players doing the following thing. At first they kneel down and take their right legs with right hands (to raise them lightly from the floor). In their left hands they hold mugs. Fill one of the mugs with water. The task is to pour water from one mug to another, trying not to spill it. Then the players change their roles.

99. FRECKLES. ( Joking.)
The player bows down the plate with the cooked semolina. The instructor strikes with the spoon against the plate. The player who has the greatest number of "freckles" is the winner.

100. PALE FACE. ( Joking.)
There are some candies in the basin with flour. The players must take them with the mouth (without using the hands).

101. IMPROVISED CONGRATULATION. ( Joking.)
How can you imagine the birthday party without the funny and witty congratulations? Bring some happiness to one whose birthday it is - compose an improvised congratulation. The guests may compose it without difficulty. Ask every guest to say an adjective. Write down all these adjectives. Then take a text of the telegram of congratulation, which needs colourful additions. Say to the guests that you're not responsible for the high artistic merit of this "work of art" and fill in the blanks in this telegram with the adjectives suggested by the guests.
Sample text of the telegram:
… John! All of us - your … friends - are very glad that you (so…) were born on this … day! Taking a … opportunity we want to make a declaration of … love and … devotion. There are no very many people so … like you. Let's hope that our … life will not separate us and every ... year on this … day we'll gather together around this … table. We wish you … health, … happiness, … years of life! Your … friends.

102. GLUTTON. ( Joking.)
Put different items of kitchen utensils (different kinds of spoons, forks, ludles) into a large box. Put some mashed potato or macaroni on the saucer for each player. The players blindly take the items from the box. At the command they begin to eat their helpings with the help of the items they've taken. The fastest eater gets the prize.

103. MATERNITY HOME. ( Joking.)
The youths act as "Fathers", the girls act as "mothers". The situation is rather simple. "The young father" is walking under the windows of the maternity home. He wants to know who is born - a boy or a girl, what's the weight of baby, what's its name, what to bring for "the mother". "The mothers" let "the fathers" know about it with the help of gestures and facial expression from the height of the 9th floor. It's windy outdoors, it's too noisy because of the plenty of the passing-by cars.
"The fathers" are given the cards with the questions:
1. Who is born?
2. What's the baby's name?
3. What's its weight?
4. What to bring next time?
"The mothers" are given the cards with the answers:
1. Boy. George. 3kilos. Book. Mirror.
2. Girl. Mary. 4.100 kg. Oranges. Nuts.
3. Boy. Girl. Twins. Peter. Maggy. 2.700 kg, 2.800 kg, Envelopes, pen.
"The mothers" must answer only with the help of the gestures and facial expression.

104. THE BEST GENTLEMAN'S LEGS. ( Joking.)
Only gentlemen take part in this competition. But at first they mustn't know that the best gentleman's legs will be chosen. The ladies make a special medal with the picture of 3 crossed masculine legs on it for the winner. The instructor asks the gentlemen to take part in the competition of gathering the cosmetics, thrown about the room (lipsticks, make up sets, mascaras etc.) The gentlemen should gather the cosmetics with the help of the toes. The gentleman who manages to gather the greatest number of items in the shortest period of time wins the competition. To feel more comfortable while gathering the cosmetics the gentlemen must turn up their trouser-legs as high as possible. When all the cosmetics is gathered, the instructor announces that the gentlemen have taken part in the competition "the best gentleman's legs". The jury, which consists of the ladies, chooses the best gentleman's legs and hands in the medal.

105. SNAKES' DANCE. ( Joking.)
Say to all the present that you are going to act as a snake tamer and that you are going to show "the snakes' dance" to all the present. Fill the vessel with any mixture. Then begin to spill any liquid on this mixture. (While spilling pretend that you do it very carefully.) Ask all the present to go away from the vessel and wait when "the snake" appears. As a rule, in every company there are some sceptics, who don't believe in it and would say that they have seen such things at the chemistry lessons at school. On the pretext of that you need much noise for "the snake" to appear, ask 2-3 persons to come to you. Ask them to stand in front of all the other guests. Ask them to clap the hands, to stamp their feet, to cry etc. After all these things have been done the snake still doesn't appear. Then ask your guests pardon and say that instead of "snakes' dance" all of them have seen "the dance of tamed monkeys".

106. REVELATIONS. ( Joking.)
The players are to answer the leader's questions, not seeing the inscriptions on the cards, placed behind them. The inscriptions may be the following: for men-"Maternity home", "Bath-house", "Sobering-up station" etc. for women-"Black eye", "Torn stocking" etc.
The questions for men: "Do you often visit this place?" "What things do you take when going there?" "What do you usually do in this place?" "Why does this place attract you?" "Whom do you usually invite when going to this place?"
The questions for women: "Do you often find yourself in such situation?" "Do you often look in such way?" "Why does this state attract you?" "What happened?" "Why do you look like this?" etc. The lack of correspondence usually causes much fun and laughter.

107. MISS WORLD. ( Joking.)
The instructor names different items of cosmetics. The lady try to find these items in their purses. The ladies raise these items above the heads. The lady who has not the named item in her purse is out of the game. The ladies who has all the items named by the instructor is given a prize and a title of Miss World. Samples of the items: a lipstick, a mirror, mascara, eye-shadows, cheek-color, eye-liner etc.

108. COMPOSITION. ( Joking.)
Each player is given a pencil and a long stripe of paper, where he/she writes the name of any present person. Then the paper should be folded (so as the name cannot be seen) and passed to the player to his/her right. He/she describes anyone's appearance and passes the paper further. In the same way may be asked the following questions: - what kind of character? - What did he/she do? - When? - Where? - What were the consequences? Of course, nobody should know what is written before, while answering. As each paper passed around the circle, one person reads aloud what is written on these stripes of paper. Usually it causes much laughter, because there is a lot of absurdity.

109. TAKE A PRIZE. ( Joking.)
Put 3 plates on the table. Put a prize in the middle plate. Pour some water in the others. The player is blindfolded. He/she turns around for several times, makes some steps and takes the prize from the plate.

110. SKILLED HAND. ( Joking.)
Each gentleman takes a newspaper by its corner with the left hand. At the command the gentlemen must crumple the newspapers with one hand only. The gentleman who copes with the task the first is the winner.

111. WRITER. ( Joking.)
The players must compose a story of the newspapers headlines, suggested by the leader. The headlines are cut out of newspapers and pasted on the cards.

112. TALE-TELLER. ( Joking.)
The leader reminds the guests the plots of the well known tales and suggests their telling new versions of these tales (c.f. in style of a detective story, love story, tragedy, etc). The guests choose the winner with the help of applause.

113. FLIGHT OF FANCY. ( Joking.)
Each player pronounces any word he/she likes. The players pronounce the words in turn. The words mustn't be connected with each other.
C.f. the first player says - "eagle", the second - "boy", the third - "lace", the fourth - "snake", the fifth - "sky", the sixth - "head", the seventh - "trees", the eighth - "ground" etc.
Each player must write down all the words, pronounced by all the players. Then the players must compose a story, using these words.
The story may be as follows:
"Once an eagle was flying. Towards him was going a boy. His boot lace came untied. The eagle thought the lace to be a snake. He impetuously attacked the lace and lifted it together with the boy to the sky. The boy felt uncomfortable to fly head first. So when flying over the trees the boy slipped out of the boot and fell on a crown of a tree, slided it down and found himself on the ground. He felt sorry for his boot, but he was glad that he had a chance to fly with the eagle."
In 10 minutes each player reads his/her story aloud.

114. TELEGRAM. ( Joking.)
Write a short word on the sheet of paper. It may consist of 4, 5, 6 letters. Each player must make the text of the telegram. Each word in this telegram must begin with the next in turn letter of this word.
c.f. We make the text of the telegram out of the word FIRE.
The first word begins with the letter F - Frank
The second with I - identified
The third with R - Roger
The fourth with E - erroneously
Frank identified Roger erroneously.

115. ADJECTIVES. ( Joking.)
Several players sit in a row. The last player in the row thinks of a word (a noun) - c.f. a spade. All the rest players think of adjectives.
Then the 1st player says - glass
The 2nd - amazing
The 3rd - enigmatic etc.
And the last player pronounces his word - spade. So, altogether they say: "glass, amazing, enigmatic, beloved spade." The game is played at a rapid rate. The next word is thought of by the other player. The player who thought of the noun in the previous round, now begins to enumerate the adjectives. This game is played until all the players think of a noun.

116. PANTOMIME. ( Joking.)
There are 2 teams in this game. One team asks the riddle for the other one. The riddle is a pantomime. The team may give as many answers as there are the players in the team. The team which asks the riddle may offer only abstract notions, e.g. "youth" : all the players in the team are holding each other by the hands and looking in the sky smiling. The other team may give the following variants: happiness, inspiration, growth, childhood. About the last variant the first team may say that this variant is close to the right answer.

117. SING A SONG TO THE END. ( Joking.)
Usually 10 players participate in this game. Each of them is asked to recollect a song well-known to him/her. (The song consists of not less than 3 couplets). The task of each player is to sing his/her song to the end. While singing the player mustn't pay attention to the singing of other players, get out of time or laugh. After each player recollects the song which he/she will sing, the leader says: "Get ready! Begin!" The player who laughs or gets out of time pays the forfeit and drops out of the game. The player who manages to oversing all the others becomes the winner and gets the prize.

118. THE OLDEST COIN. ( Joking.)
You may play this game to occupy the little pause. This game is a kind of auction. Holding a souvenir in his/her hands the leader announces:
- This souvenir is for sale. It costs one coin of the least value. Have you got any? You're welcome!
The players give coins to the leader. The leader takes them, look at them attentively and says:
- I'm given a coin issued in the year of…
According to the rules, the player who has the coin issued in the earliest year gets the souvenir. Well, I'm waiting…
He/she is given another coin.
- Now I'm given a coin issued in the year of…
I return the first coin.
Our auction goes on. Who has the coin of the earliest issue?
Continue the auction until you're given the oldest coin. Every time the leader is given a coin, he/she counts - "one, two…" As the leader says "three" the auction stops. The souvenir is given to the player who has the oldest coin.

119. SONG COMPETITION. ( Joking.)
The instructor reads 3 lines of couplet or chorus of the well-known song to each pair. The task is to sing the 4-th line correctly. There are 2-3 variants of songs for each pair.

120. THE PORTRAIT OF ONE WHOSE BIRTHDAY IT IS. ( Joking.)
Divide up all the guests into 2 teams. Suggest their drawing a portrait of one whose birthday it is. The team which has drawn the most attractive portrait gets the prize.

Games

41. DRINK WITH HORS - D'OEUVRE. ( For adults only.)
The player must drink a tumbler of any alcohol beverage with any hors - d'oeuvre without using the hands.

42. PRESS-BACKS. ( For adults only.)
The male-participants of this competition put on the black fillets on the eyes. The task is to make as many press-backs as possible. As the players have tested the strength the leader suggests to put big stripes of paper on the floor, because it is not clean. ( The participants don't move the fillets away yet). On these big stripes of paper there drawn the naked women life-size. So the participants continue to do their press backs over "the naked women". Then the leader asks the participants to move the fillets away. The participants continue to do their press - backs over "the naked women" without the fillets. The supporters count the number of the press-backs, encourage the participants.

43. KISS. ( For adults only.)
The youths are given the cards with the figures. The girls are given the cards with the letters. All the players get into a circle. They choose the leader. The leader is not given a card. He is in the center of the circle. The leader names the figure and the letter. The girl whose letter was named must kiss the leader. But it's not easy! Because the youth whose figure was named tries to prevent the girl from kissing the leader. He tries to kiss the girl himself. If the youth manages to prevent the girl from kissing the leader, he gives the card to the leader and becomes the leader himself.

44. STREAMLET. ( For adults only.)
Put a long stripe of paper on the floor for "a streamlet". Ask ladies to walk along "the streamlet" with their legs apart: one leg is on the right side, another is on the left side of "the streamlet". After that ask the ladies to repeat it being blindfolded. All the ladies are in the neighboring room at the beginning. They are asked to go along "the streamlet" one by one. Having gone along "the streamlet" blindfolded, the lady takes a kerchief from her eyes and sees a gentleman lying on "the streamlet" with his face upwards. (The gentleman lies down on the paper "streamlet" after the lady's going along "the streamlet", but before she takes off the kerchief). The lady is confused. Then the following lady is asked to go along "the streamlet", then the third and the fourth… The game goes on in the presence of the Ladies who have already passed "the streamlet". They laugh at a joke. Everybody is having a good time.

45. ON A DESERT ISLAND. ( For adults only.)
Usually two or more couples play this game. Each couple is given a large sheet of paper and explained the rules. The leader asks them to imagine that there is water around and that they can save themselves only on the little island (standing on the paper). At first the couples stand on the sheet, then it is folded in two, then again in two and so on. The couple who is the first to "stumble" into the water (to touch the floor) looses the game.

46. APPLE OF DISCORD. ( For adults only.)
Each pair holds an apple between their foreheads. The leader gives the commands: "Three steps to the left!", "Three steps to the right!", "Squat!", "Jump!" etc. The pairs fulfill them. If the apple drops, the pair is out.

47. LET A BALLOON BURST. ( For adults only.)
Each gentleman sits with the balloon between his knees. The ladies have to sit themselves on the knees of their partners so that the balloon is burst.

48. RACE. ( For adults only.)
3-4 players take part in this game. The players put the hobby-horses between their legs and take the mugs of beer or any other beverage. The players are blindfolded. At the command the players race to the circles drawn on the floor. As they reach the circles they put their mugs in them. If they succeed in doing it they drink the content of the mugs themselves, otherwise they give the mugs to the spectators.

49. TO ROLL UP - TO UNWIND. ( For adults only.)
As the instructor pronounces "to roll up" he/she stretches the hands wide as though he/she wants to embrace the whole world. He/she asks everyone to do the same. As the instructor pronounces "to unwind" he/she embraces the player next to him/her. Everyone does the same. The tempo is raising gradually. This games is a good warming-up at discos or parties.

50. TIPPLER. ( For adults only.)
The object of the game is to fill the glasses with the help of the teaspoon. The player who manages to do it the fastest has an opportunity to propose a toast and drink the contents of the glass.

51. RUNNING WITH THE BALL. ( For adults only.)
Each pair holds a big ball between their foreheads. Their task is to run the distance as fast as possible and not to drop the ball. (One of the players in each pair runs with his back to front). The pairs may hold a ball between their shoulders, ears or backs.

52.ACQUAINTANCE. ( Icebreakers. )
All those who wish to learn the names of the new friends get into the circle. The players hold each other by the hands. The host (ess) names him/herself the first. Then all the players pronounce the names of the players who named themselves before and at the end say their own names. The last player names all the players in the circle one after another. As a rule the players learn the names of all the players during the game.

53. GATHER IN THE HARVEST. ( Icebreakers.)
On the sheet of paper there printed the following text: "You're given a sheet of paper with the 15 notes, with the names of cereals, vegetables, fruit printed on them. Exchange your 14 notes (tear them off the sheet) for the notes of other players, so as to have a complete set of notes with the following names: wheat, rye, oats, barley, millet, flax, corn, potato, cabbage, beetroot, carrot, pumpkin, cherries, apples, pears. The player who has the complete set of notes the first is given the prize. "On each sheet of paper there printed the same 15 names. One of the players is given, for example, the notes with the name of "flax", the other with the name of "corn" etc. The players are given many complete sets (the number of them must be a number divisible by 15): 15.30 and more (it depends on the number of players).

54. WITHOUT A PAIR. ( Icebreakers.)
The players make 2 circles: the inner one and the outer one. In the inner circle the number of the players is more by one than in the outer circle. As the music plays all the players walk to the right. As the music stops the players must make pairs. The player who hasn't pair fulfils any task. Then the game continues.

55. WHO IS HE (SHE)? ( Icebreakers.)
As the guests enter the hall, they are given the envelopes. The youths are given blue envelopes, the girls white ones. In all the envelopes there are halves of the cards and leaflets with the following text: "In the envelope there is a half of the card. The missing part of it has someone who is present here. Try to find him/her. The first 3 pairs get prizes. Good luck!" it's better to use cards with the pictures of flowers in this game. Cut the cards in zigzag line. Then put the halves - one into the white envelope and another into the blue one. You may manage without the envelopes. In this case put a poster with the rules of the game on the wall.

56. MAKING ACQUAINTANCE. ( Icebreakers.)
The instructor says: "Dear guests! We set out. Take your seats. We start up an engine - everybody claps the hands. Come along! We are stamping our feet, we are gradually gathering speed - 50km/h, faster - 60km/h, faster - 80km/h, 100km/h, 120km/h. Turn to the left - shake hands with the person next to you on the left. Go along! Our speed is 150km/h. Now we turn to the right - shake hands with the person next to you on the right. We continue going. Now we are breaking. We are rubbing against the nose of a person next to.
We are breaking … breaking …
At last we arrived.
How did you like our trip?"

57. ABSTRACTION. ( Icebreakers.)
The leader thinks of one of the present persons. All the rest players ask him/her the questions in turn: e.g.
1.What is the color?
2.What kind of character?
3.What kind of music instrument? etc.
The questions must be abstract. You must take into account that different people describe one and the same person in different ways. You may invent questions for ever and ever. The more interesting and various are the questions the more interesting is the game.

58. THE TRUTH. ( Icebreakers.)
The number of the players is more than 2. All the players put their both hands with the palms down on the table (the left hand goes first, the right one the second). The players make a pyramid of their hands in the center of the table. The player whose hand is on the top of the pyramid (the player who puts his right hand on the pyramid the last) names any number, e.g. 5. The players begin to count from the hand on the top of the pyramid: the player whose hand is on the top moves away his/her hand-1, then the next player-2 etc. till 5. The player whose hand is number 5 must answer the leader's question. The players must give true answers to the questions. If the answer is not true the leader doesn't accept it. This game is suitable for making acquaintance. If the answer is accepted the game begins a new. Everybody tries to put the hands in the middle of the pyramid so as not to be a leader.

59. WHO ARE YOU? ( Questionnaire. )
Get ready some sheets of paper, pens or pencils for your guests beforehand. While your guests are still at a table suggest their playing a very interesting and funny game. Each player writes down the list of 10 domestic animals in a column on his/her sheet of paper. Then the leader asks the first question and the players must read the answers which they wrote on their sheets of paper under the figure 1. The players read their answers in turn. Then the leader asks the 2nd question and the players must read the word which is written under the figure 2 etc.
The leader's questions may be as follows:
1. Who are you at home?
2. Who are you in private?
3. Who are you in public?
4. Who are you without clothes?
5. Who are you after dinner?
6. What do other people think of you?
7. Who are you at nights?
8. What do you think about yourself?
9. Who are you with your friends?
10. Who are you in fact?

60. QUESTION - ANSWER. ( Questionnaire. )
Get ready 60 cards (10cm long 4 cm high). On 30 of them write the questions on 30 others write the answers. Hold the cards with the questions like a fan in one hand and the cards with the answers in the other. Ask the first guest whom would he/she like to answer his/her question. The guest answers that he/she wants to ask, c.f., Anna, draws out a card with the question and reads it aloud. Anna draws out the card with the answer and also reads it aloud. Then Anna says whom would she like to ask the question. She draws the card out and reads out the question. The person who is asked, draws out the card with the answer and reads it out. The game goes on until all the questions are asked and answered.
Questions:
1. Would you like to be a millionaire?
2. Would you like to find yourself in a harem?
3. Do you often visit restaurants?
4. Do you go to work with pleasure?
5. Can you give birth to an athlete?
6. Do you wear a wig?
7. Have you any shortcomings?
8. Do you like music?
9. Are you always so polite as today?
10. Are you able to love?
11. Are you fond of the bottle?
12. Do you like to dance?
13. Would you like to sit next to me?
14. Do you love children?
15. Can you be faithful?
16. Do you often have appointments?
17. Do you love me?
18. Do you behave decently while drunk?
19. Are you jealous?
20. Do you always eat so much?
21. Do you believe in miracles?
22. Are you sorry that you are married?
23. Would you like to get drink today?
24. Do think of free love?
25. Are you modest?
26. Would you like to have many new friends?
27. Do you often tell lies?
28. Can you flatter?
29. Can I rely upon you?
30. Do you often smoke?
31. Can you be tender?
Answers:
1. No, once I tried, but nothing turned out.
2. This is my hobby.
3. Being on the verge of despair only.
4. We are not angels. Things happen.
5. Who is sinless?
6. Yes, rather!
7. I do it with the greatest pleasure.
8. Only in a weak moment.
9. I'm not capable of such a stupid thing.
10. This is my dream.
11. No, I'm well bred.
12. I'll answer you in private.
13. I'd better keep silence.
14. Only in the bathroom.
15. Every other day.
16. By no means!
17. While being sober only.
18. If it's cold outdoors.
19. Systematically.
20. In a pay-day.
21. It's quite necessary on Saturday.
22. To while away the time.
23. Only while having a rest in the health resort.
24. If you have much money.
25. People don't speak about it aloud.
26. In a lunch hour.
27. When it's advantageous.
28. I dream about it after dinner.
29. It would do no harm.
30. Towards evening.
31. While having a poetic mood.

61. INTERVIEW. ( For married couples. Questionnaire. )
Ask 3-4 gentlemen to take part in this game. Ask them the following question:
In what season did you meet your wife for the first time?
What color are the eyes of your wife?
What kind of flowers does your wife like?
What kind of perfume does your wife like?
What color suits your wife?
What is the favorite book of your wife?
After that ask the wives to confirm the answer of their husbands.

62. TELL ABOUT YOURSELF. ( For married couples. )
This is a joking test for married couples. At first the married gentlemen write on the sheets of paper 10 names of animals, insects or reptiles in a column (they do it in secret from their wives). Then their wives do the same. After that the leader asks the married couple to look at the column with 10 names of animals, insects or reptiles, written by the husband. So he is a husband…
tender like…
sociable like…
independent like…
neat like…
brave like…
strong like…
authoritative like…
smiling like…
amorous like…
beautiful like…
Then they read the names written by the wife. So, "Your wife when…"
in transport is like…
with the colleagues is like…
at home is like…
with the chief is like…
with the relatives is like…
in the shop is like…
in the cafe or restaurant is like…
in the company of friends is like…
in bed is like…
at the doctor's is like…

63. HAS IT THE PLAYER NEXT TO YOU? ( While dancing.)
This game is played at the dancing party. The participants get into 2 circles. The circles are moving clockwise. The instructor asks: "Have the players next to you shoulders?". The players answer: "The Have!". The instructor asks the players to put their hands on the shoulders of the players next to them and to continue moving. The questions of the leader: "Have the players next to you noses?", "Have the players next to you ears?", "Have the players next to you waists?", "Have the players next to you knees?", "heels" etc.

64. POST. ( While dancing. Icebreakers.)
At big parties and discos, in large halls it's very interesting to have "a postman". The guests ask him/her: "Give a note (a letter) to the girl in white dress". This girl writes her name on the sheet of paper and gives in to "the postman". All the guests communicate with the help of "the postman" until all of them learn each other. This game may continue for several days in camps, sanatoriums etc.

65. WITH THE CALENDAR'S PAGE. ( While dancing. Icebreakers.)
As each player enters the hall he/she is given a calendar's page. The girls receive even, the boys - odd numbers. During the party the possessors of the pages are suggested different tasks:
1. To gather according to the months.
2. To gather according to the days of the weeks.
3. To make up the number 1998.
4. To make up teams of Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays etc.
5. To find the yesterday (for example "the 25th of December" looks for "the 24th of December" etc.)
6. To choose the pair. The last game is played while dancing. Before every new dance the leader announces any number from 35 to 55. The players must form the pairs so that the sum of their numbers is equal to the announced number. For example the leader announced number 37. So, the pair may consist of the players with the numbers 30 and 7, or 18 and 19 on their pages. In all the tasks win the players who are the first to do them.

66. EXCUSE ME! ( While dancing. Icebreakers.)
Gentlemen ask ladies to a dance. 2-3 gentlemen are given special cards with the phrase "Excuse me!" written on them. With this card the gentleman may come to any of the pairs, give it to the gentleman and begin to dance with his lady..

67. DOMINOES. ( While dancing. Icebreakers.)
As the players (youths and girls)enter the hall, they are given dominoes cut out of cardboard. They pin it to their clothes. There are 2 complete sets of these cards (28 pieces in each set). The cards of one set are given to the girls, the cards of the other set are given to the youths. If there are more than 56 persons at the party you may take 2,4, 6, 8…more numbers of the complete sets. Before the dance begins the players at the leader's signal make pairs according to the principle of dominoes. C.f. the youth with the card 5-2 may ask to a dance a girl with the card 2-6; 2-4; 2-3; 2-0 or 5-6; 5-4; 5-3; 5-1; 5-0. Sometimes the leader may announce the change of the partners. (In this case the leader gives advance notice to the guests about his/her intentions while they are dancing). Then all the pairs change, make the pairs according to the same principle.

68. GAMES TO PLAY WHILE DANCING. ( While dancing. Icebreakers.)
Ladies ask gentlemen to a dance. The master of ceremonies announces that during the dance ladies may ask the gentlemen, who are dancing with their ladies, to a dance. On coming to a dancing pair, the ladies clap their hands. On having received this signal, the gentleman begins to dance with this lady. While his lady asks any other gentleman to a dance in the same way.

69. CHOOSE A PAIR! ( While dancing. Icebreakers.)
The youth or the girl is blindfolded and led to the center of the room (hall). He/she is a leader. Any player takes a little bell and pass by him/her with it. The leader's task is to choose a partner for dance at random. If the leader (girl) chooses a girl, the latter becomes the leader. If the leader (girl) chooses a youth, they both make a pair for a dance. The fillet is given to the other person, chosen with the help of the reckoning. This game continues until there are 10-12 pairs. After that the master of ceremonies announces the pair dance.

70. ENDLESS DANCE. ( While dancing. Icebreakers.)
All the players are dancing in pairs. The leader is in the center. He/she holds a stick in his/her hands. The leader throws the stick and all the dancers change their partners. The leader tries to take up somebody's place. The player who has no pair is a leader. He/she takes the stick and does the same as the previous leader.

71. FIND YOUR OWN PEOPLE. ( While dancing. Icebreakers.)
The cards with different pictures are cut into 4-5 parts. The teams must find their own people. There is one more variant: to cut the cards into 2-3 parts. One part is given to the girl, 2 other parts are given to the youths. The youth who finds the girl the first asks her for a dance.

72. PEOPLE DON'T DANCE WITH THE HAT ON. ( While dancing. Icebreakers.)
One of the participants is given a hat. As everyone is dancing, this participant comes to any of the pairs, puts the hat on the gentleman's head, saying "people don't dance with the hat on" and begins to dance with the partner of this gentleman. The gentleman with the hat on can come to any other pair and put the hat on the gentleman's head so as have a chance of dancing with his partner etc.

73. SNOW-SLIP. ( While dancing. Icebreakers. )
This game will help you "to warm-up" shy people. As the music plays, one pair begins to dance. At the instructor's signal this pair asks to a dance 2 more partners. At the next instructor's signal these 2 pairs ask to dance 4 more partners etc. The number of dancing pairs grows like a snow-slip.

74. AUTOGRAPH. ( Joking. Icebreakers.)
All the participants are given the sheets of paper and felt-tip-pens. They must sign their names, draw ( but very quickly) an imp, to print a finger-tip, a lip stick or a shoe-sole on the sheet of paper-so as "to leave their autograph" on it. Then all the sheets are gathered together. 2 of the players are "the detectives". Their task is to guess whose autographs these are. ("The detectives" must give their variants at once.) "The detective" who guesses the greatest number of the autographs wins.

75. BLUFF-CLUB. ( Joking. Icebreakers.)
All the players tell theirs stories in turn. (Before the telling the story The player puts a coin under the hat (all the rest players mustn't see in what way he/she puts it. Heads mean that the story is true, tails - that the story is fabricated)). As the tale-teller finishes his/her telling the story all the players express their opinion in turn: true or fabricated. After that the leader lifts the hat and all the players see - whether they were right or not. The player who is right gets a point. The player who is mistaken looses a point. The tale-tellers take their turns around the circle. As every player has told the story, the players count the points.

76. QUESTION TO A NEIGHBOUR. ( Joking. Icebreakers.)
All the players get into a circle, the leader is in the center. He/she comes to any of the players and asks the question (c.f. "What is your name?", "Where do you live?" etc.) But the questions must be answered by the neighbour on the left of the asked person. If answers the asked person, he/she must give a forfeit (a piece of clothes, watches etc.) to the leader. When the game finishes the forfeits are raffled. To get their forfeits back the players must fulfil any of the tasks.

78. THE BEST ONE. ( Joking. )
At the party You may suggest Your guests to find "the best" guest. The criteria may be different - the tallest, the heaviest, the longest plait, the greatest shoe-size etc. "The best one" gets the prize.

79. THE SADDEST. ( Joking. )
The object of the players is to keep from laughing. The players get into a circle facing each other. One of the players says: "Ha!". The following says "Ha-ha!", the third continues "Ha-ha-ha!" and soon. If someone pronounces the wrong number of "ha" or laughs, he/she is out. The players who are out of the game try to make all the rest players (those who are still in the game) laugh. The player who laughs the last is the winner.

80. DO YOU LIKE GIRLS, BOYS? ( Joking.)
The leader and 5-15 girls make a line. At a distance of 1 meter behind them there are some boys. At the command all of them run. While running the leader asks: Do you like girls, boys? The boys must altogether answer "No". The leader asks the question for several times and all the times the boys answer - "No". At last the leader says: "Well, why do you run after girls, if you don't like them?"

Games

1. THE MOST FAVORITE. ( For adults only.)
The player who manages in a fixed time to get as many kisses as possible is "the most favorite". The kisses are counted by the signs of lipsticks left on the players.

2. REAL MAN. ( For adults only.)
A player who manages to tie a kerchief on the lady's neck using only one of his hands may be called "the real man".

3. ROLL A BALL. ( For adults only.)
Usually several pairs take part in this game. Each pair is given 2 ping-pong balls. The gentleman must roll the ball from one sleeve of the lady's dress to the other. The lady rolls the ball through the gentleman's trouser-legs (from one trouser-leg to another).

4. PUTTING OF AN EGG. ( For adults only.)
In each pair the partners stand with their backs to each other. They have an egg between their backs (or a little bit lower). The object is to put an egg on the ground, so as not to break it. The pair which succeeds in it wins the game. Instead the egg you may a small rubber ball. In this case the object of the game is to put the ball on the ground so as it doesn't roll.

5. LIFT A BALL TO A CHIN. ( For adults only.)
In each pair the partners (the lady and the gentleman) stand facing each other. They hold a small rubber ball between their bellies. The object is to roll this ball to a chin of the shorter partner by rotatory movements.

6. RESOURCEFUL QUESTS. ( For adults only.)
Several pairs take part in this game. Each player is blindfolded. Then the leader puts some clothes-pegs on different parts of the players' clothes. At the leader's command the players must take the clothes-pegs off the partner's clothes. The pair which copes with the task the first wins the game.

7. WHERE TO INVEST? ( For adults only.)
The instructor asks 2 pairs to participate in this game (in each pair there is a lady and a gentleman). 'Try to open the network of banks as soon as possible. You deposit only one banknote in each bank. Receive your entrance fee! (the instructor gives the money candy covers to each pair). You may use pockets, lapels and other secluded places for the banks. Try to register your deposits and open the greatest number of banks as soon as possible. Now get ready, begin! The instructor helps the pairs to fulfil the task. In a minute the instructor sums up: How many banknotes do you have? And you? Great! All the money is profitably invested. Good! And now I ask the ladies to change the partners. Your task is to take all the money away from the banks. Get ready. Begin! (The music is playing. The ladies are looking for the money at their rivals' partners).

8. ALCOHOLOMETER. ( For adults only.)
When you're in the close company suggest 2 slightly tight men to get to know who of them is tighter. Give a felt-tip-pen to each of the players. Put "a scale" with the grades 20o, 30o, 40o etc behind them. The scale is drawn on the large piece of thick paper. The object is to mark the grades on the scale. To do it the participants must bend down and pass their arms between the legs. Of course, the participants want to seem sober. That's why they try to reach the least number.

9. THE WORST TIPPLER. ( For adults only.)
One of the philosophers said: "Do not drink more than your head can bear". We shall not drink but we shall measure the size of the head of each player so as to find the player of the greatest endurance.

10. MERRY TAILOR. ( For adults only.)
Line up into 2 teams. In each line men and women take their turns. In each line the players choose a tailor. The tailor takes a wooden stick ("a needle") with the thick thread in it (you'd better wind the thread into a ball). At the command the tailors begin "to sew". The tailor "sews" the gentlemen's trouser-legs (passes the thread from one leg to another) and lady's sleeves (passes the thread from one sleeve to another). The tailor who "sews" all his team the first wins the game.

11. LITTLE CROCODILE. ( For adults only.)
In each team 5-6 players form up a line. Between each player in the line there is a ball. The players hold the balls with their backs and chests. They mustn't touch them with the hands. Their task is to run the distance as fast as possible.

12. PASS THE BALL. ( For adults only.)
Line up into 2 teams. In each line ladies and gentlemen take their turns. The first person in each team is given a ball to place under his/her chin. He/she must pass the ball to the next in line but neither may use his/her hands. The players can use all the parts of their bodies to pass the ball but it's forbidden to drop it. The first team to get the ball all the way to the last person is the winner.

13. HORROR FILM. ( Joking.)
On the table there are 5 eggs. The leader says that one of them is uncooked. But others are hard-boiled. The players must break the eggs against their foreheads. The player who gets an uncooked egg is considered to be the bravest. In fact all the eggs are hardboiled and the prize is given to the last player because he deliberately ran risks to become a laughing-stock.

14. TAKE A SMALL BOX. ( Joking.)
The leader suggests the player to sit on a stool and to cross his/her legs. The task is to take a small box with the teeth, not touching the floor with the hands and feet. The small box is placed upright at one of the hind legs of the stool. The players may turn on the stool as they like.

15. WITH THE HELP OF A SONG. ( Joking. )
Ask the players to recollect and write down several lines of 6 of their favorite songs. After that give them a key to solution.
1. The first song - your feeling after the first kiss;
2. The second - your memory of the first night together;
3. The third - reminder of your honey moon;
4. The fourth - in a year after the marriage;
5. The fifth - Now when we are together I think about it.
6. The sixth - in 50 years of the life together.

16. WHAT? WHERE? WHEN? ( For married couples. Questionnaire.)
Ask 3-4 married couples to take part in this game. At first ask the gentlemen to leave the room for a while. And during this time ask the lady's the following questions (one lady at a time)
1. What kind of weather was on the day of the registration of your marriage?
2. What day of the week was it?
3. What did your husband wear that day?
4. When is the birthday of your mother-in-law?
5. What is the favorite dish of your husband?
6. What is the name of your husband's chief?
7. How long does it take your husband to get to his work?
8. Name the favorite clothes of your husband.
9. Name the favorite singer, composer, writer, actor of your husband.
10. When did your husband give you the flowers last time?
Then ask the husbands to come into the room and ask them the same question. Collate the answers of the wives with their husbands' answers.

17. DUMMIES. ( While dancing.)
It's a variant of the well-know children game "Day-Night" for grownups. As the music suddenly stops the people who are dancing stand still in the pose they are. The person who cannot keep his/her balance must pay a forfeit (fulfil the leader's task).

18. LET'S INTRODUCE OURSELVES! ( Icebreakers.)
All the guests (many of them) get into 2 circles: the ladies are in the inner one, the gentlemen are in the outer one. The ladies and gentlemen are facing each other. The number of ladies is equal to the number of gentlemen. As the music plays both of the circles are moving in the opposite directions (the inner circle is moving clockwise, the outer one is moving counter-clockwise). In 20-25 seconds the music stops. The circles stop moving. There form the pairs. The ladies and the gentlemen introduce themselves to each other. The ladies introduce themselves the first. Then they let the gentlemen know of their 2 hobbies and of 2 things they don't like. Then the music plays again. The round dance moves to the next pause etc.

19. DETECTIVES. ( While dancing. Icebreakers.)
At the party some girls secretly fill in the questiomairies. In these questiomairies the girls indicate their distinctive marks: height, color of the eyes, dress cut, jewelries. The leader put all these cards into the box. In the pauses between the dances the leader asks the most attentive youths to act as Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot - to find a girl with help of the description given in the card. The youths take the cards and begin to search for the girls. The youth who finds the girl the first is the winner. Then the youths have a dance with the girls they have found.

20. CHOOSE A PAIR. ( While dancing. Icebreakers.)
The instructor holds a bundle of many-colored ribbons by its middle. The ladies come to one end of the bundle, the gentlemen to the other. Each of them takes an end of the ribbon. The instructor lets the bundle go. All the partners are now connected by the ribbons. There are the pairs for a dance.

21. DRESS A LADY. ( For adults only.)
Each lady holds a ball of ribbon in her right hand. The gentlemen take a tip of the ribbon with the teeth and wind it round their ladies (not using their hands). The gentlemen who is the first in "dressing" the lady or whose "dress" is the best is the winner.

22. COMPETITION FOR LADY'S. ( For adults only.)
Being blindfolded the ladies must recognize their boy-friend's (husband's) hand to the touch.

23. FINAL. ( For adults only.)
Divide up into 2 teams: one team consists of gentlemen, another consists of ladies. At the signal the players of each team begin to take off their clothes ( any items they like ). The players put their clothes in one line. Each team has a line of its own. The team which has the longest line is the winner.

24. "TOUCHING" COMPETITION. ( For adults only.)
The gentlemen are blindfolded. The task is to identify the lady by touching her knees.

25. APPLE. ( For adults only.)
Each dancing pair holds "an apple" - a little rubber ball - between their fore heads. The music changes from slow to energetic one. The task of the players is not to drop the ball while dancing.

26. BEING BLINDFOLDED. ( For adults only.)
With the thick mittens on the hands try to identify the person which is in front of you. The girls try to identify the youths. The youths try to identify the girls. It's permitted to touch the whole person.

27. STEAM-ENGINE. ( For adults only.)
The instructor asks 2 men and 1 woman to participate in this game. They from up in file sideways to the spectators. The instructor says:
- This is a steam-engine team. The first man is an engine driver. The woman is an engine-driver's mate (she stands between the men). The second man is a stoker. They are in the steam-engine. Usually the steam-engines keep to the following signals while shunting: at one whistle they move forwards, at two whistles - backwards, at three - stand still. The instructor rehearses with the steam-engine team.
- Now let's begin to play. I ask you to act quickly and precisely, according to the signal.
The instructor gives 2 whistles. The engine driver makes a mistake: he makes one step forwards.
- It's bad. You mustn't mistake. So you must become a stoker. This is our rule.
The instructor leads him to the end of "the steam engine". 2 other players - the engine-driver's mate and the stoker move one step forwards.
- This is a new steam-engine team. The game begins anew. On finishing the game the instructor says: with the help of this game we checked how attentive our players are. The shunting is over. The steam-engine may be come in at.

28. EVENING DRESS. ( For adults only.)
The instructor asks 2 pairs to take part in this game. He/she suggests their making the evening dress, using only newspapers, pins and scissors. The winner is chosen by the spectators.

29. SUVOROV'S VODKA. ( For adults only.)
Suggest the players to manufacture Suvorov's favorite vodka. It must be of 47o strengeth. Each participant is given a half of the glass of water. They must manufacture vodka of 47o by tasting it. The instructor checks the correctness of the strength with the help of the alcoholometer.

30. STOMACH DANCE. ( For adults only.)
All the players who wish may perform "the stomach dance". Each participant must move the wooden sticks (both ends of them are passed through the string) with the help of the stomach. The players do it to the music without using the hands. Each participant has his/her own strip of sticks. The fastest and the most artistic participant is the winner.

31. SNIPER. ( For adults only.)
Fasten the belt on the waist of each player. Tie the string with the apple at its end to it. In front of each player there is a plank with the nails. The object is to pin the apple on the nail.

32. BREAD-WINNERS. ( For adults only.)
Scatter some peas on the stool. Put a bowl near it. The players' task is to sit on the stool so as to move the peas into the bowl (don't use the hands!) The player who manages to do it is the winner. The instructor counts the number of the peas in the bowl of each player.

33. SUMO STRUGGLE. ( For adults only.)
The players divide into pairs. They hold the balloons between their stomachs. The task of each pair is to burst the balloon between the stomachs.

34. FIRE EXTINGUISHERS. ( For adults only.)
Tie strings to the belts of the players. At the end of each string there is a small box or a piece of wet cotton wool. In front of each player there is a candle. The task is to put out the candle with the help of the small box or a piece of cotton wool as fast as possible without using the hands.

35. TRIO. ( For adults only.)
It's a relay race game. It's common knowledge that all the tipplers are divided into 3 groups: those who drink little, those who can go only leaning against the walls and those who cannot go at all when drunk (they are usually carried away by the drinking companions). In each team there are 3 participants - the participant who "drinks little", the participant who "leans against the wall when going", the participant who "is carried away by his drinking companions". Those who "drink little" must devastate the bottles (drink the remains), those "who lean against the walls" must make a diagonal wall out of these bottles (the bottles must be at some distance from each other), those who are carried away" must gather all the bottles into the shopping bag. The players must do it as fast as possible.

36. HIT A PURSE. ( For adults only.)
There are several pairs in this game. To the ladies waists tie big sham purses. To the gentlemen's waists tie big sham banknotes. The object is to put the banknote into the purse. (While doing it the players mustn't touch purses, banknotes and strings with the help of which the purses are tied to the waists).

37. WILD BEACH. ( For adults only.)
The players are divided into pairs. The instructor invites all the players to visit "the wild beach". At "the wild beach" the instructor announces the dancing party. Ladies and gentlemen in the pairs are given the gramophone records (ladies-3, gentlemen-1) to cover their "nudity". The pairs begin to dance. They mustn't drop the records. That's why they have to lean against each other very tight.

38. LOVE STATUE. ( For adults only.)
The instructor asks some couples to participate in this game (preferably married ones). The couples are asked to leave the room. Then the instructor asks one couple to return and "to create" "The love statue". After that the instructor asks one of the gentlemen (of those who are among the couples behind the door ) to come into the room. His task is to change something in this "statue". The gentlemen changes the poses of the couple. Then the instructor suggests him to take the place of the gentleman in "statue". Then the lady (one of those behind the door ) is asked to come in. She is also asked to change something in the statue and to take the place of the girl in "the statue". This game goes on until all the couples took part in it.

39. FOOTBALL. ( For adults only.)
2 men take part in this game. They put on the belts and tie thick strings to them from behind. To the end of the string there tied an apple. It must be 30-35 cm. above the floor-level. Each player is given a ball (or a balloon). At the distance of 10-12metres from the start-line there are "the goals" (made of chairs). Swinging the apple between the legs the players move the balls (balloons) towards "the goals". The player who copes with the task the first wins.

40. ROULETTE. ( For adults only.)
6 players participate in this game: 3 gentlemen and 3 ladies. Each player is given his/her own number. The first player throws a dice. The number on the dice ( from 1 to 6 ) stands for the part of the head the player must kiss: 1 - lips, 2 - nose, 3 - forehead, 4 - cheek, 5 - ear, 6 - crown. Then the player throws a dice for the second time. The number on the dice stands for person whom he/she must kiss ( the number on the dice corresponds the number of the player ). As the first player has fulfilled the tasks, the second player throws a dice etc.