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Charades

Ingredients

• Coins

• Hat

• Index Cards

• Marker

To Play

• Each player writes down a difficult phrase/name/title/song etc. from the party’s era on an index card.  Place the cards into the hat.

• Divide everyone into two teams.

•  Each team chooses a "captain", and the two captains flip a coin to decide who gets to go first.

• The first person has to pick a slip of paper from the hat without looking. He then looks at the paper, and gives a signal to his team (signals are determined before the game begins) to reveal what category he will be acting out.

• For example: If it is a book title, the first player might put his hands together face up in front of himself, as if he is reading a book. The players on his team will say, "It's a book".

• The "actor" puts up the same number of fingers as there are words in the phrase/name/title on the paper. His team will say out loud how many words there are. Then he will again, show a number of fingers for the word he will be acting out first. If he is acting out the name "Daffy Duck", and he wants to act out the 2nd word first, he has to put up 2 fingers. Then for each word he acts out, all he has to do is have his number of fingers represent the word he is acting out.

• If the group is having trouble guessing the word, the "actor" can cup his hand behind his ear to convey, "sounds like". Then he can try and act out a word that the word in the phrase sounds like. When the team guesses the "charade", then it is the next team's turn.

SIGNS FOR CHARADES

Syllables - placing the same amount of fingers can show the number of syllables in each word, as there are syllables in each word on your forearm.

Book - Hold both hands in front of you, touching, with palms up.

Movie - Put one hand in front of your eye in a fist (so you can look through it), and turn the other as if you are winding up film.

TV show - Draw an imaginary square in the air (symbolizes a TV).

Play - Place one hand near your heart, and the other out, as if you are showing your team something great.

Song - Open your mouth, and wiggle your finger in front of your mouth (as if sound is coming out).

Dress up Contest

Ingredients

• Era Specific Clothes

• Decade Theme Accessories

To Play

• Divide guests teams and choose one person to be the dress-up "dummy".

• Find era specific clothes from the thrift or vintage store, or your own closet.  For the 70s use brightly colored scarves, big sunglasses, platform shoes, floppy hats, halter/tube tops, jewelry in the shape of a peace sign, tie dyed anything, and anything else that you can place on another person's body to dress up your "dummy."

• Make your "dummy" as funny and creative as possible.  The funniest "dummy" is the winner or the funniest and most quickly dressed.

Who Am I?

Ingredients

• Index Cards

• Tape

To Play

• Write the names of famous people on index cards. As guests arrive, tape one card to the back of each guest.

• Have everyone walk around in the same room. Instruct them not to mention the names on their backs, but to talk to everyone as if they are the people whose names are on their cards.

• As people begin to correctly guess their identities, they have to continue to treat the people who still don't know their identities like the stars whose names are taped to their backs. When everyone guesses the names on their backs correctly the game is over.

Dance Off

If your party is at a restaurant or community center, a dance off is perfect to get everyone dancing.  Hire a D.J or band to provide entertainment all night.

Ingredients

• Dancefloor Light Up Jewelry

• Noisemakers

• Pink Glow Light Bracelet

• Poster Board

• Markers

To Play

• At a dance off people dance for as long as they can until the music stops.  And if they stop while the music is still playing they are disqualified.

• Coordinate a time when the music can start for the dance off. A good time would be after dinner.

• Make cards out of poster board and markers that say, “You Are Out.”  Ask a few people to keep score.

• Hand out glow bracelets; light up jewelry, and noisemakers to everyone who is going to dance.

• When the music starts grab all of your friends and start the rump shaking.

• As soon as someone stops dancing the scorekeeper raises the sign that says “You Are Out.”

• The last few people on the dance floor are the winners.

• You can play several rounds and also award prizes for best dance moves, most creative, or most ridiculous.

Karaoke or Lip Syncing Contest

Ingredients

• Karaoke Machine

• CD Player

• DJ

To Play

• Select a play list that includes songs from a specific era.

• Then, get the DJ and Karaoke machine cued up and start the fun. 

• Have guests lip sync or karaoke to the Beatles, BeeGees, ABBA, Elvis, Rolling Stones, etc.

• Award prizes for best in show, the funniest, most ridiculous and best act.

Air Guitar Contest

Find out which one of your friends can totally rock it like SLASH from Axl Rose, Johnny Cash, or Elvis.

Ingredients

• DJ

• CD Player, IPod or MP3 Player

• Index Cards

• Marker

• Hat 

To Play

• On index cards write songs and the guitarists name.  Place them in a hat.

• Provide the list to the DJ, burn a CD, or make a play list of all the songs.

• Have each of your friends draw a card.

• Then, one at a time each of your guests plays the air guitar to the song on his or her card.  Make sure they are really rocking it otherwise throw tomatoes!

• Give out prizes for the best and worst air guitar, most alike, creative, or daring…if they stage dive or something.

Grease Lightening

Fun for a 50’s & Early 60’s party and perfect for a Grease themed party.  

Ingredients

• 50’s Accessories

• Index Cards

• Markers

• Grease Soundtrack & Lyrics

• Hat

To Play

• Decorate an area of the party with 50’s Accessories.

• Invite your guests to come dressed as one of the Grease characters, Sandy, Danny, Rizzo, Kenicki, Frenchy, and the Pink Ladies. 

• Write out each of the songs on the soundtrack on the index cards and place ina hat.

• Put together teams of characters.

• Cue up the Grease Soundtrack and give each team a set of lyrics.

• Then, each team has to perform one of the Grease songs.

• Award prizes to the best performance.

Prizes

• Itunes Gift Card

• CD’s

• Rock Tee-Shirts

• Grease, The Movie