Events – noteworthy

a year of events: 12 events to plan in the next 12 months

Posted on June 26, 2021June 26, 2021 by allybro96

People are going back to spending time with each other which means HOSTING EVENTS. Hosting is one of my favorite things in the entire world! I am a firm believer that anyone can host and entertain. It just may require training and practice. This blog is to help you plan events from start to finish! I want people to finish reading a blog post and say, “That was not as hard as I thought it would be!” This is a round-up of 12 events that you can host for a year of events. Make it a goal to have people over at least once a month to have fun and laugh!

01 | January: New Year, New Skill

Start off your year of events with a one-of-a-kind event where you get your friends together to learn a new skill. There are millions of videos on YouTube dedicated to you learning a new skill. So, start off the new year by improving yourself. Do you want to learn how to cook or bake? Get a recipe book, and make a recipe together with your friends. Are you interested in learning a new language? Get the Duolingo app to start learning the new language and practicing together. Have you always wanted to be able to draw or paint? Look up some basic tutorials on Pinterest or TikTok, and try to all create the same piece in your own style. Are you trying to learn how to host events? Well, you’re already in the right place, so read this blog post!

With an event like this, all guests are together trying to learn something new. As the year goes on, this can be a reoccurring event to make sure you are all growing in the skill. Furthermore, you can hold each other accountable for growth. You can practice and compete with one another to get better at your new skill. Let this new year be a year you learn something new.

02 | February: Kitchen Competition

I love kitchen reality shows, and it can be a really fun event to host one of your own! As kitchen space is often limited, I suggest hosting the first part virtually through FaceTime, Zoom, Google Hangouts, or another video conferencing service. Then, you will all come together to eat everyone’s great creations.

a. Chopped Competition

There will be a few ingredients that all need to be included in the dish. The ingredients should be based on the skill level of your competitors. As I doubt that you are competing against a group of only professional chefs, I would not have a time limit. Inform your guests of the required secret ingredients in advanced, and have a time where you will all come together to bring your dish together. Then, everyone will vote on their favorite secretly.

b. Star Ingredient

Based off of Beat Bobby Flay’s first round, you will have one ingredient that you need to show off. This is similar to Chopped, but you will have only one required ingredient. With Chopped, there are many ingredients, and none particularly have to be the star. But with this variation, you want your main ingredient to be obviously and creatively displayed. Everyone will make their own dish, and they will vote on which is the best.

c. Recipe Roundup

With this competition, all of you will be given the same dish which you have to make your own. For example, everyone may be told to make macaroni and cheese. It will be up to the competitors to be unique in coming up with ways to create a delicious and one-of-a-kind macaroni and cheese. You will all eventually come together to vote on whose is the best.

d. Full-Course Champion

Bring your appetites for this variation. You are going to have people go head-to-head for various courses in a meal. There will be at least two people per round competing to make foods for their assigned course for people to vote on whose is better. You will have two-people making appetizers, entrees, and desserts. People will vote on each round on which dish was better. You better not eat before this one because you’ll be eating a lot of great food.

03 | March: Game Night

The classic game night is a quintessential event when thinking of a way to bring everyone together. The healthy competition and hearty laughter is something that is always welcome. Game nights are my favorite things to host, and I love hosting them all year round. March is a perfect time for one because the weather is slowly beginning to get warmer, and you could have a nice game night either outdoors or indoors. You could do a combination of both.

If you are at a lost for how to host an unforgettable game night, check out this post that I made to teach you my method.

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04 | April: Craft Night

I LOVE CRAFT NIGHTS! To me, they are basically just hanging out with your friends while doing crafts. It’s been a while since my last craft night that I have hosted, but they are essentially just nights where people get together working on whatever creative project they would like. I could be working on a painting, another friend could be doing crotchet, another friend will be knitting, and another friend could be writing a story. Each friend is doing his or her own creative project, but everyone is together doing it with their loved ones around.

If you would like, you could have extra crafts for people to work on individually. But the beauty of this is that it is very LOW-MAINTENANCE. It is important in hosting a year of events to have events which require little effort from you. You could even have a movie going on in the background while each of you is being creative.

05 | May: Karaoke Night

There aren’t many events that are funnier than a classic karaoke night. Embrace your voice, especially if you’re not a professional singer, with this event and a cheering audience. Whether you are virtual or in-person, this event is bound to be loads of fun. There are videos, like those on Sing King’s YouTube Channel, that makes hosting karaoke nights super easy. But, what are some ways to mix up your classic karaoke night to something more memorable.

a. Song Association Challenge

The Song Association Challenge is a challenge popularized by ELLE where contestants are given a word. Then, they have 10 seconds to sing that word in a song. That word must be said in the 10 seconds in order to get the point. One channel on YouTube, Song Association Words, has made a lot of videos that just has the words and the countdown. So for your karaoke night, make sure that you try this out for size. Check out the current 4 seasons of Song Association on ELLE’s YouTube Channel. (Season 1) (Season 2) (Season 3) (Season 4)

b. Harmonizing Challenge

The Harmonizing Challenge is, just like it sounds, a challenge where you and your loved ones try to come up with a good harmony. It has a few different formats, to be either competitive, cooperative, or a mix of both. This challenge was created by Cimorelli, one of my favorite groups of all time. Only do this one if you are a more musically inclined group because this is such a hard thing to do, but it can be super fun even if some harmonies are disastrous.

Working Together: As an entire group, you will select a song from a hat. After getting that song, you will start singing a part of the song trying to come up with good harmonies. Here are some examples of Cimorelli doing this variation:
Versus: In this variation, two teams will compete against one another to come up with harmonies for the same songs. You may want a judge to be a party to decide which team did better.
- Cimorelli Sister vs. Sister Hamonizing Challenge, Part 1
- Cimorelli Sister vs. Sister Hamonizing Challenge, Part 2
Recorded: For this variation, you will be recording all of the parts to a song to make creative harmonies. You will need an audio recording app where you can record various parts. There is a free one called Take that I have been using for years, but it will limit you to only 3 parts (one of which I assume would be the melody). Spire Song Maker is another app which has gotten good ratings for being able to do similar functions. Watch the Cimorelli version for an example.

06 | June: Binge Watch Party

Does anyone else feel like they are behind on a television show? Glad, I’m not the only one. Chances are that your friends are also behind on your favorite television show, so what is better than to plan an event for all of you to catch up together. Grab your friends together for a night (or day) together watching, reacting, and discussing all the best moments from your favorite television shows. Are you all caught up on your shows? There are thousands of shows to pick from on the various streaming services that exist.

It is not hard to plan a Binge Watch Party. All you need is a television, a streaming service subscription, some snacks, and all of your loved ones. Just like that, you have an event for this month. Are you watching a long-television show? Split it between various nights. Pick a night of the week where you guys meet weekly to watch a couple of episodes. If you do not want the brunt of the hosting on you every week, swap houses each week to give everyone a chance to host the television show. Come up with creative ideas for each of you to make it your own. Looking for tips on hosting a successful binge watch party, check out our post here. After this is over, you have made it halfway through your year of events.

07 | July: Cookout

A cookout seems rather obvious because it is the middle of the summer! (Plus, it has Independence Day if you live in the States.) The weather is warm, and it is the perfect time to grill out with all sorts of food. There are various creative summer recipes that you can try for food and drink. And, you finally can dust off your outdoor games like cornhole and ladder ball.

But, you can make your cookout next level with a few small additions! Have a themed-cookout where all the decorations, foods, and outfits match the theme. It could even be a simple color theme, where everyone comes in the same colors for a picture perfect moment. You can easily buy colored plates and napkins from Wal-Mart to go with the theme.

Plan for a few stations at your cookout! Cookout food pairs well with different sauces, so you can have a sauce station. This can be made into a competition where people combine various sauces and spices to try to make the BEST ORIGINAL SAUCE that they can. Or you can try to recreate your favorite restaurant sauces, like Chik-fil-a sauce.

Create a question and answer station as an icebreaker. Find colored paper that goes with your theme, and make small sheets of paper with good get-to-know you questions. Guests can write their answer to the questions, and put it in a container. Later on in the night, gather everyone together to get people to guess who said what. Check out my blog post on the best question book ever and how to use it for fun games.

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08 | August: Photo Scavenger Hunt

When was the last time you did a scavenger hunt? Photo scavenger hunts take your normal everyday scavenger hunts to the next level. They also only require cell phones and the scavenger hunt sheet. Plan a time for everyone to meet at a predetermined space with their charged cell phones. Everyone will need to be in separate groups with a scavenger hunt paper for each group.

On the scavenger hunt paper, there will be a list of pictures that they have to take. All group members, except maybe the one taking the photo, must be in the picture. These will contain various poses and locations for people to take the photos. Different photos will have different point values. Closer spots and easier photos will have lower point values whereas more difficult locations and photos will have higher point values.

There will be a time limit, so make sure all groups arrive on time or they lose. The group to have the highest point value in the time assigned wins. You want it to be a short enough time for groups to have to make decisions on if they are going to go for more pictures of smaller point values or the fewer pictures with higher point values. Ultimately, this is a fun an innovative activity having people run around taking photos at various locations. You have some great photos with friends, and a lot of fun competing with others.

09 | September: Movie Night

Movie Nights are the coolest! Two hour movies in a dark theatre are not my thing, but a movie night is so much better. You can sit on your super comfortable couch with your friends, under the comfort of a nice warm blanket eating popcorn that is not super expensive. For half the price, you can have an amazing experience, customized however you want it.

If you have a projector, this is the PERFECT opportunity to host an outdoor movie night. September is not too hot and not too cold, so an outdoor movie is perfect. Plus, it is a last ditch effort to use the grill before fall is in full swing. But in case of inclement weather, it can easily be moved indoors to your living room. Make whatever foods you feel like having, and make the space perfect for your movie watching experience.

How do I make this movie night different from any other movie night? As long as your hosting it for the people you love, any movie night you have will be amazing. But if you are looking for ways to make it stand out a bit more, have a critic’s panel. Have sheets with a grading rubric for how you would rate the movie and the various aspects. Talk about characters, development, predictability, set design, costumes, engagement, and re-watch-ability (if that’s even a word). Discuss with one another why you gave the score you gave and what they could have done to improve to you. If you are an creative bunch, write a new ending for the movie and vote for your favorite. However, you cannot vote for your own! Whatever you choose to do, a September Movie Night is 100% the way to go.

10 | October: Murder Mystery Dinner

This is the event that no one ever thinks to host, but if implemented correctly, it can be a huge hit. This requires the most planning out of all of the events, especially because you DON’T want to split the work between various people! You are the host and the only one that knows all of the information going in. If other people help, that will ruin the surprise which is the key element to a Murder Mystery Dinner. Mystery is literally in the name!

When you send out the invitations, you will provide your guests with a character name and description. Give them a few days to practice getting into character: finding outfits, practicing character choices, etc. When they arrive to dinner, give them an envelope or booklet with all of the information they will need for the night. But, they cannot open it until directed by you because it will hold secret information for each character! Make notecards or sheets that each person will grab at random when coming in (also to be kept secret) on whether or not they are the murderer.

Planning a Murder Mystery Dinner can be a lot of hard work (and I definitely want to make a blog post devoted to just this event in the future). In order to lessen the work load on you, check out Broadway Murder Mystery which has cheap kits to make it a whole lot easier on you for planning.

11 | November: Friendsgiving Potluck

Potlucks are the best events to host because it requires the less work than many others. You cook one dish because everyone else is also bringing their own foods. You do not have to make an entire elaborate feast by yourself, nor should you have to. Create a sign up form with Google Docs or Google Slides. Collaborate with everyone to make sure that they know what they are bringing. Keep food allergies in mind to keep everyone healthy. If you are having outside of the home, make sure someone knows to bring plates, utensils, and napkins! Then, everyone will bring their dishes to the venue for a nice dinner together with friends.

Now, you know that there is going to be people who have dishes that they will want to make for themselves. So, make sure everyone brings a few copies of the recipe for everyone to take home and make for themselves. You can check out our editable recipe pages and cards, right here. (If you’re not a subscriber to Noteworthy, check out the bottom of the Noteworthy page for our newsletter archive for the password. Then, subscribe so that you do not miss another freebie!) This way everyone has a chance to make their new favorite recipes at home. You have new recipes to make with your family. If you do not know what to make, we’ve got you covered because we have a crowd-pleasing recipe that friends of all ages will love. Make adorable mini cheesecakes for everyone to enjoy.

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12 | December: Christmas Party

There’s nothing better than a quintessential Christmas party. There are so many variations to this classic event which cumulates all the skills from hosting your year of events. Host a Christmas Movie night where you and your friends watch a classic Christmas movie, such as Home Alone. You can opt for the traditional Ugly Christmas Sweater event (or it’s classier cousin, making an Ugly Christmas Sweater look good). Go with another potluck for a Christmas feast because everyone knows that you cannot diet in November and December. If you haven’t planned a game night in a while, do one while everyone is in town for the holidays with some Christmas-themed fun! Do another karaoke night but with Christmas music only, or go caroling around the town. Plan a Secret Santa or White Elephant with your loved ones.

Or do my favorite… COMBINE THEM ALL FOR A END OF YEAR SPECTACULAR! You have practiced, and you are ready for the biggest event of the year! Have everyone come in their Christmas attire bringing one of their favorite dishes and a gift. Start with a bit of light competition with a game of sorts with the winner being the first to choose their present for White Elephant. After presents have been opened (and wrapping paper has been cleaned up), it’s time to enjoy your Christmas feast! Play some Christmas music in the background, so your musical friends can jam out. When everyone is stuffed to the brim, cool down with a nice Christmas movie. And there you have it; a complete Christmas event combining many events from the rest of the year! This will be a great end to your year of events.

Final Thoughts

An entire year of events for you to plan may seem like a lot, but I hope this post took some of the fear out of it. At least, it is to give you some ideas of what you can do. If you want to only host games nights for your year of events, you should do it. But make it your goal to host something each month, even if it is with the same group of people each month. Twelve events may seem like a lot, but it is worth it to find new ways to laugh and have fun with your loved ones.

Do you have ideas for other events that were not mentioned in this post? Please leave a comment sharing your ideas with others. I would definitely love to get new ideas for things to host!

Until Next Time,

All Posts, Events

how to host a successful binge watch party

Posted on June 12, 2021June 11, 2021 by allybro96

Are you ready to spend time with people again? Make up for lost time and plan to have a binge watch party together for a one of the many great television shows that are accessible to you. There is so much potential with binge watch parties that make them truly amazing experiences, and you can alter the format based on your individual needs. This is the perfect way to catch up with old friends. With so many streaming services, there is always something to watch.

My love for watch parties began in college. My friends introduced me to Once Upon a Time, and as we learned of more friends who watched it, we slowly began to form watch parties every Sunday night. It was fun to gather people together to watch a show we all loved. Then after graduating, there was another show a bunch of friends and I loved. But because of conflicting schedules, it was not like we could all watch it together, so I planned one binge watch party where we would meet together to watch a bunch of episodes back to back. It was a great success.

how do you have a great binge watch party?

Having a great binge watch party is more of an art than a science, but it is still a social event. There are different small things that will make it stand out. While just sitting and watching the television show is something that is fine in and of itself, there is so much more that you can do which will make it so much more fun. This step-by-step guide will have you hosting amazing binge watch parties in no time.

1. food

Food is a must! This is the most obvious of all of them. If you are watching a bunch of episodes back-to-back, people will get hungry. In order to not need to stop in the middle to go out to get food, make sure that you have food present. Have snack foods for people to munch on during the watch. These are things that are simple to prepare, and you probably already have it somewhere in your kitchen. Think popcorn, chips, veggie tray, crackers, and fruit. These things have little or no preparation. People will be eating these while watching the show no problem.

But, you will also want to have something a bit more substantial, especially if it will last more than 3 hours. Snacks are nice for the short term, but consider making something bigger for the group. Around 3 hours, you will want to take a break anyway. It can be exhausting to sit for long periods of time. So every 3 hours, have a break and food ready. This can be pizza, sandwiches, spaghetti, or anything. Just have a time where you are away from the screen enjoying each other’s company with good food and good conversation. Prepare it in advanced. It will save you time and headache. It is so much easier to just heat something up than making it when there are hungry people over.

Check out this blog post on how I made a 3-course meal in a Ninja Foodi to give you recipes and ideas for food that you can easily make for your binge watch party.

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2. interactive element

I say this for all of my events. Have something interactive for people to do! It makes a world of difference. The last binge watch event I hosted, I used my whiteboard. It was interactive central. It cost no money, but it stimulated good conversation. I had a few prompts which people could write down their thoughts.

Reactions – In this section, people could write down their major reactions to things that happened in the show. We would also write down things that we would say often in response to what was happening.
Predictions – This is an interesting section, and it is super fun to watch if they come true. Here, people would write what they think would happen. Some were funny, and some were serious, but it was always fun to see these as we are going along.
References – We were watching the show, Young Justice, which has many references to the number 16. So, I challenged my friends to try to find and identify every reference to the number 16 that they could find. Find things that work in your own show that could be a fun challenge to discover.

Ultimately, this event led to a lot of good memories as they would write the funniest and most absurd things on the board that I still remember to this day. With every plot twist, I am glad that I got to experience it with my friends. But there are other things you can do for an interactive section. You could have a What If? section, responding to what would be different if a character made a different decision. You could make a Show Playlist for what songs you would play for different scenes. You could make a TV Menu, writing down every food you see in the show. This can lead to another follow-up event where you each make a different food that you saw in the show for a potluck. Comment what other interactive elements you would include in your binge watch party.

3. discussion

Have a space for discussion. Whether that be during the episode or in between episodes, you need a space to discuss what just happened. TV shows include various plot twists and surprising elements, so make sure to have a time to talk about it. Here you can talk about some of the things from above in the interactive elements section.

During discussion, you could have a question that really causing people to think. This idea came from college where a few friends got together to have philosophical movie nights where we would have a deep discussion based on the movie. Imagine you just watch a heart wrenching scene where two characters break up. You could have a pretty in-depth conversation about various things. What would have happened if they did not break up? Where did it go wrong? What would happen if I was in both characters shoes? Where can a similar concept be applied in our own everyday lives? These all are simple questions that can go deep really quickly. It is a great way to get opinions and thoughts out in a civil conversation.

what should we watch for our binge watch party?

There are a lot of great shows to watch. Some are shorter shows, whereas some may be longer. Consider your audience and patience. You also do not have to watch all of it in one night. Split it between multiple nights. You can have a weekly event where people know to come over for this event. Plus with all of the streaming services, there is bound to be something that you all can watch together that will have everyone’s interest. Here are a list of some of my personal favorites:

Drama: A Million Little Things, This is Us, Once Upon a Time
Mystery/Thriller: Why Women Kill, WandaVision, Gossip Girl, Stranger Things, Psych
Action: Flash, Supergirl, Stargirl, Young Justice, Titans, Gifted, Inhumans, Fate: The Winx Saga, Invincible
Family Friendly: High School Musical: The Musical the Series, Fruits Basket (2019), Boy Meets World, Girl Meets World
Reality Competitions: Worst Cooks in America, Food Network Star, Survivor, The Bachelor(ette)

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final thoughts

As people are starting to spend time together again, plan to have people over. A binge watch party can be the perfect way to get people all back together again who may not have seen each other in a very long time. You can have a lot of fun and a lot of great conversations. It doesn’t cost a lot, and planning for one does not take much time. You can plan to have one tonight. Send out those invites now. Start making the food (or order it). Choose the show. You’ll be ready to host one right now. Stop doing Netflix Watch Party. Host a real watch party that people will remember and love. Comment on any ideas or additions that you would add for an amazing watch party.

Until next time,

All Posts, Events

why asking questions is your next game night tradition

Posted on May 23, 2021June 22, 2021 by allybro96

My best friend and favorite person in the whole world has a new tradition that was started a few short months ago. While he is at work, he posts a question on Instagram which people answer, and he posts throughout his work day. He has a variety of cool questions that he asks of people.

I love getting to know people. Once I have decided that I want to be friends with someone, I want to truly get to know them. My friend says that his favorite question is: What are 3 stories you have that really define who you are? It is such a deep question that I could spend hours trying to think about. But, asking questions is really the most simple way of getting to know others.

Whether your next game night is virtual or in person, asking questions of each other will make it not only fun, but meaningful. Do you know what is better? It is so easy to do and requires no set-up. And, there are so many ways to mix it up so that it looks different each and every time. This has happened a few times, and each time, I have felt that those have been the most successful game nights that I have ever gone to. Check out my post for how to host a great game night.

In college, a close friend introduced us to this truly magical book. It is called The Complete Book of Questions (Gary Poole). The book contains 1001 engaging questions to get to know the people who you are with. It starts off simple with easy questions that you can answer without much thought. Every time you reach the next 100, it starts a new, deeper category of questions. Before you know it, you are asking each other questions which require in-depth thought. You really get to know the people around you. If you are interested in purchasing the book, I will leave it linked below.

how does this game work?

It will be slightly different if you are having an in-person game night as opposed to a virtual game night. If you are virtual, you will just have the person who owns the book ask all of the questions whereas those having game nights in person can pass the book. It does not matter how big or small the group, this works wonders. It can be as small as 2 or as large as 40. This will be a hit.

People can join in at any time. Many other games, you have to wait for a round to finish or something of the sort. This is so easy to have people enter and leave when it is convenient. You can also do this while doing other things. When you are hosting an event, sometimes you are preparing food while company is present. Even while preparing food or setting up, you can answer questions when it is your turn. Let’s look at a few different ways to play the game.

variation 1

Let’s make up some imaginary players: Atticus, Brynn, Cruz, Darcy, Everett, and Fallon. Atticus starts with asking Brynn what number she chooses. Brynn picks a number between 1 and 1001. Brynn choose number 327. Atticus searches the book to go to question 327, and he asks her the question. Once Brynn answers, she gets the book (if in person), and she chooses who she wants to call on next to answer a question. She chooses Fallon. Fallon chooses number 757 and gets asked that question. Then, Fallon chooses the next person to answer a question.

This can go on for as long or short as you want it. Typically, you will not want to ask anyone a second question until everyone has gone at least once. So, no one can call on Brynn until everyone else has answered at least once. This way, everyone in the group has an equal chance to share. Sometimes, people re-ask the same number by mistake (even with 1001 numbers, you would be surprised how often it happens even for short games). In those cases, tell the person to pick a different number.

variation 2

This is very similar to the first variation, but with this one, you go around in a circle (or predetermined order). We have done this at retreats where there are many more people. I was once in a circle with probably around 30 other people. Instead of people randomly picking, everyone gets a chance to answer when it is their turn. So, Atticus would go first. Next, Brynn goes. Afterwards, Cruz, Darcy, Everett, and Fallon go in that order. Then, Atticus will go again.

This way, you will not have to keep track of whose turn it is. Everyone will know when they are going based on the predisposed order. This is perfect for a Zoom or Google Meets where you can go in order. You may not get the random surprise of not knowing when you will be called on, but it makes it so easy for people to know when they are going to go making it easier than trying to remember who has and has not answered questions.

variation 3

One day in class where we had a lot of students absent, we did this variation. Atticus picks a number. He choses number 804. Everyone will have to answer that question going around the circle or video call. Once Atticus answers, then Brynn, Cruz, Darcy, Everett, and Fallon are all expected to answer question 804. Then, the next person (Brynn) will pick a number that everyone in the circle has to answer.

When a question is asked, sometimes I want to answer that question to. It can be really cool to compare answers to see what you have in common with others. I love doing this with groups who do not know each other as well. You all can find commonalities or differences in the group when answering the same question.

variation 4

If you have a group that knows each other pretty well, this variation will really test your knowledge. You can quiz each other on making guesses on what the other person would say. In your circle or Zoom Room, know who is before you and who is after you. Atticus picks a number (401). Brynn has to try to come up with what she thinks Atticus would say as his answer for the question. Then, Brynn picks a number (202), and Cruz has to guess Brynn’s answer to the question. This can really see how much your friends really know about each other. You could even change up this rule in a few ways.

Brynn could pick the number/question and guess how Atticus would answer.
Atticus could pick the number/question, and Brynn has to guess how Cruz will answer.
Atticus could pick a number, and everyone in the group has to guess his answer. Points go to the people who guess the answer correctly.

Mix it up. Find ways to be creative with this one. There are so many possibilities with this one. I can tell you that I will be doing the third one for the next game night that I host. This friendship competition will really make things intense.

variation 5

I only recommend this in a group where everyone feels safe, but this is perfect if you think there is someone who would only stick to the lower numbers. With this variation, Atticus would choose a number. The person with the book would say the question. Then, Atticus chooses Darcy to answer. This is a version that requires being comfortable with one another because someone else hears the question before choosing who will answer. But in other variations, you already do not know the question that you will be asked. The only difference is that this one is slightly targeted.

You can put parameters around this variation such as having a number ceiling (where people cannot ask numbers above a certain level for a while) or having question skips if people do not want to answer. But, this is a good way to really get to know people and prevent some people from only picking small numbers.

variation 6

This version requires a little more set up. In advanced, you need to have slips of paper or notecards for people to write on! Atticus will find a question he wants everyone to answer. Everyone, except Atticus, will answer the questions on the slips of paper. They will compile their answers and shuffle them. Atticus, then, will have to try to figure out who gave which answer.

This may be difficult as it relates to people learning each other’s handwriting, so you can have a computer where people type in their answers. They just have to make sure that their answers are not chronological, or Atticus is in another room while they are typing their answers. Atticus will get points based on how many he gets right. After Atticus, Brynn will go, and everyone will rotate until everyone has gone a certain number of times. The member with the highest points wins.

variation 7

Variation 7 is very similar to variation 6, but with a bit more set-up. In this variation, Atticus is not the only one guessing who said what. Instead, everyone is trying to guess who gave what answer. Hopefully, everyone will get at least one point per round (their own answer). But, this will require another sheet for people to write who they think said each one.

Once everyone has written or typed their answer, number them. You would write 1 on the first answer you pulled out, 2 for the second answer you pulled out, and so forth. After all of them have been read aloud and numbered, people will write the name beside the number that they think gave that answer. If the first one pulled out was Darcy’s answer, everyone who wrote Darcy for number 1 would get it correct.

You can use free websites like Swift if you have people with distinctive handwriting. This allows people to just text in their answers without having their name attached necessarily. Plus, you could project it on a screen for easy access to easily see the answers instead of having them on a small sheet of paper.

final thoughts

Regardless of the variation that you choose, this needs to be a game added to your arsenal. It only requires one book. If you go to any store and see the price of games, this is so cheap in comparison. Not only do you have an engaging game that allows people to talk about themselves, but you have a chance for people to get a better understanding of each other. You can really get to know each other well by doing just one simple variation of this game.

Even if you are not using it for a game, it is a great tool for introspection. For those looking for icebreakers for groups, journal prompts, or using it as a teaching tool? This book has a great use and needs a place in your home.

Let me hear your thoughts. What are games you love to play during game nights? Is there a creative variation that you can think of that would go well with the question book? Make sure to write all of those in the comments. I can’t wait to read them.

Buy your own question book here.

until next time,

All Posts, Events

the guide to a super surprise party

Posted on May 8, 2021May 25, 2021 by allybro96

“My loved one has a birthday coming up! I want to throw him/her a birthday party!” No worries, we’ve got you covered. Throwing a surprise birthday party seems like a lot of work to plan for, but in reality, they are easier than you would expect. This guide will lead you through step-by-step for how to plan and host an iconic surprise party that your loved one will appreciate.

plan the surprise party

So you have decided to plan a surprise party for a loved one? Well, this is your guide to have the greatest party of all time. The first step is to get some of the major details decided.

Decide the date.
How many guests do you want?
Who is going to help you?
Will there be a theme?
Decorations?

assemble your team

To throw a truly successful surprise birthday party, you will need to form a team. You cannot do it all alone. Find 2 or 3 trusted friends who you plan on inviting in order to help you make your party a success. Have people who know the person well help out. They can be helpful in a variety of ways. Delegate tasks so that the entire burden is not on you.

Food and Drink Coordinator – This person will organize all of the refreshments for the event. This person does not have to prepare or buy all of the food by himself or herself. But, it is good to decide what is needed and how to set it up. Whether the food is being homemade, bought, or delivered, there needs to be a point person to set it up.
Surprise Decoy – The point of a surprise party is the surprise, but you will need someone to help you get the guest of honor to the venue without arousing suspicion. This person can also help you buy time if things are going awry. Ultimately, this person’s job is just to spend time with your friend until it is time to arrive to the party.
Gift Guide – If you all are getting a gift together, have someone coordinate it. Have someone to be the point person to collect all of the donations in order to purchase the gift.

send out the surprise party invites

This may seem like it is the most obvious part, but you will need to send out your invitations. Decide who you want at the party. Find people who mean a lot to your guest of honor. Family, friends, mentors, roommates, and close coworkers are some of the best people to invite. If they are unable to come, try to find a way to include them still somehow. I’m sure they would love to be included even if they cannot be present.

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decor galore

Decoration is something that is often overlooked, but nonetheless, it is something that sets the scene for an overall experience. Decoration does not have to be anything extravagant. I have a whiteboard in my living room which I can decorate to fit whatever the theme is. I also have a message board where I typically include the title of the event that I am hosting. There is a lot that you can do for decoration that is typically cheap…

Colorful Napkins, Plates, and Cutlery that go with the theme
Making a movie poster for the guest of honor on Canva
Designs cut out of colored paper
Small Battery-operated tea candles

These are just ideas to get you started, and doing all three of the ideas above would cost less than $10 to implement. Decoration does not have to an ice sculpture with various moving parts, but small tasteful decorations will make all the difference in a surprise party. (Plus, it saves you from a lot of cleanup.)

favorite foods

For the last surprise party that I hosted, I included some of his favorite foods. He is a lover of pizza, coffee, and (interestingly) strawberries. The pizza and coffee were easy, but I knew that I definitely wanted to incorporate strawberries somehow. Like most people, he loves chocolate. Chocolate-covered strawberries were the obvious option. I got white chocolate and dark chocolate to cover the strawberries. Then, I decorated them further with gold drizzle and luster dust.

Figure out what your guest of honor loves. When you figure it out, your menu has already been made. Be clever on how you get the information though. As with everything, you do not want them to catch on. Let it be a natural part of the conversation. My best friend had polls on his Instagram where you could ask him questions. I would always bombard him with questions. Included in those questions were things that I wanted to know for his party, such as what he wanted and foods he liked. Because I was already asking a lot of questions, he was none the wiser. I already knew a lot of what he liked, but this got me more ideas.

Figure out what works for you. If you can, ask someone who knows the person well. They can give you the inside scoop without compromising your secrecy.

surprise! and special touches

It’s the day of the surprise, and you are getting everything together. The food is ready to be served. All decorations are set up. You know who to expect and when to expect them. Everyone on their team is doing their job, especially the surprise decoy who has arguably the most important job. Now, it is just time for any last finishing touches before the party.

In my blog post on hosting an unforgettable game night, I mentioned having an interactive element for guests when they arrive. This still holds true for surprise parties. For the last surprise party that I hosted, I made a guest book of sorts. When guests arrived, they would write their favorite memory and an encouraging note to the birthday boy. Because I had thought of this days in advanced, I also reached out to people who I did not invite or who could not make it to also write messages which I would simply type up. This “guest book” was one of his favorite parts, and all it took was a few sheets of paper (with a graphic I made).

With all of that finished, it is time for the surprise! Inform your decoy of when to arrive, and prepare for the surprise. Everyone needs to get into position, and when the time is right and they enter, surprise your guest of honor. Enjoy yourselves as a lot of hard work went into planning this successful surprise party!

What is something unique that you have included or want to include in your surprise parties? Let me know in the comments!

Until next time,

All Posts, Events

the beginner’s guide to plan an unforgettable game night

Posted on April 3, 2021May 25, 2021 by allybro96

I love game nights! My fondest memories of college are going to and planning game nights where we would all have fierce competitions. I love getting my friends together for some laughs, and this is my favorite way to do so. There are a few different types of game nights each of which has their own allure. Follow this guide for your next game night, whether it be virtual or in-person!

planning a game night

In order to have a successful game night, you need a plan. There are few considerations that you need to take into account when making your plan, but they are important nonetheless. Make sure you have an answer to each of the following questions before moving forward:

How many people do I want to invite?
- Of the people I am inviting, who would I expect to come?
- What games are conducive to that number of people?
Where is this going to be taking place?
- Is this in-person or virtual?
- Will this be at my home?
- Is this going to be at someone else’s home?
- Are we going to a more public place?
- Do I need to rent out/reserve a space?
What is the schedule?
- Is there a specific start or end time?
- Can people just come and go whenever?
- Is this structured? Will you just be going with the flow?
Will there be food/drinks?
- Who is providing them?
- What will be provided?
- Is everyone going to be bringing something?
What games will we be playing?
- Are we focusing on just one or two games?
- Will we be playing multiple games at one time?
- What are the format of the games?
  - Virtual Games
  - Video Games
  - Board Games
  - Card Games
  - Party Games

making the invitations

The most exciting part of the preparation is making invitations. These aren’t super formal, but the game night is official when these are made and sent! I create an invitation with all of the required information below, and I text it to people. You could email or hand them out, but I find that texting is simple.

On the invitation, you will need…

The event name
Time & Date
Location/Address
Date for RSVP

For events, I love coming up with creative names and themes to get into the spirit. These are just ways to stimulate excitement, and it is a fun theme to follow. It is not a requirement though. Some of the titles that I have come up with are for my most recent events…

Ghoul-ish Game Night(mare) [for my Halloween game night]
No Grinch Game Night [for my Christmas-themed game night]
The First Bro-el [for my Christmas themed guy’s night]
Joe to the World [a surprise party for my friend, Joe]

These are just ideas to get you started. Choose titles that work for you if you are going to give your game night an official name. Slogans are also fun to add something extra to your invitations. If you want a template for an invitation, sign up for our monthly newsletter, Noteworthy. You get access to a free editable invitation template where you can type in the information for your event to send to your guests.

day-of preparations

So, here you are on the day of the event. Excitement is building as you get ready for your game night. But, there are some things that you will need to do in order to prepare for the big night!

1. Prep Your Space

Take out the games for people to preview.
My Amazon Fire Stick takes my preparation to the next level. On the Fire Stick, I pull up a YouTube video with a cool background (some of which have music to go along with it). This adds a bit of ambiance to the atmosphere.
- During Christmas events, I may have a video of a running fireplace as a background. Use this fireplace video for your winter events.
- You could also do a coffee shop aesthetic. This coffee shop video will make you feel like you’re in a real café.
I also have a whiteboard in my living room. I tend to decorate my whiteboard for whatever event that I am hosting. This is just a small touch to add to the atmosphere. You do not have to do anything extravagant, but small touches go a long way.

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2. Food and Refreshments

This is not something that is required at game nights, but if you are having food, get it set up. Get your plates and utensils set up for guests to immediately dig in when they arrive!

If you are making the food, set aside enough time to prepare it.
For those who would prefer to order food, make sure to do it EARLY. If you don’t, it may not be there when people arrive.
Potluck style events are easy to set up. Just make sure to designate the area(s) where the food will go. Make a label for it if you must.

If you want a recipe perfect for game nights, check out my blog post for the ultimate finger food, chicken nuggets. It is so easy to make! Plus, finger foods are so easy for competitive game play. Read the blog post here.

3. Include An Interactive Element

I love having a small station somewhere for people to write something or think about something. Just make sure people can see it!

Have a few small sheets of paper to have people write down a recent blessing or good news!
This could be a prompt for people to respond to.
Use it as prep for a game that you will play later in the night.
Have people write encouraging notes. As the guests leave, they will take a note with them.

Preparation does not have to take a lot of time, but it is about the small things that people will remember. It is using small gestures and objects to make a big difference. Many times, I do all of my prep work in an hour or two. Do not spend copious amounts of time on prep.

game night

So, the night has finally come! There is only one thing that you need to do. HAVE FUN! You have worked hard only to enjoy this night. Different people have different hosting styles, so let yours run wild as you are hosting. Enjoy the night that you devoted time to create!

when the party’s over

There is one final touch to really set you apart in your hospitality! Send a text thanking your guests for coming! This will show how much you value the presence of your friends. This can also lead to some conversations about how things went as a way to get feedback on the event. Perhaps, they will talk about your recipes that they loved. Ultimately, people feel special when you do this small gesture that takes little time.

Send it within 24-hours. I personally like doing it the night of, but depending on logistics, doing it the next day could be better! I sometimes like to make a graphic similar to the invitation which you can just send to all of your guests easily. You could also send a personalized text message. Whatever you choose to do, honor those who took the time to come. You may have done the planning, but the event is nothing without the guests that took their time to come.

final thoughts

A game night is really what you make it, so work hard to make it the best. An unforgettable game night is both a science and an art. Like a science, there are formulas that you can follow for a pretty successful game night. But, there is an art to making it different and your own style. So, go forth and get your game night on.

I want to hear from you though. What are ways that you make your game nights unforgettable?

Until next time,