I have discovered the secret to a successful dinner party. No doubt you are thinking it’s the menu or a beautifully arranged table. That’s nice. But don’t put that much pressure on yourself. You can even order Chinese or pizza and wings. The secret ingredient to this dinner party is connecting and sharing some good laughs and stories. You know how dinner parties go. You have the talkers and the non talkers. You have the people that dominate the conversation and the people who basically say very little. Here’s a way to get everyone talking and contributing. It’s a game of Table Topics. It comes neatly packaged in a square acrylic box. I’ve played it so much that I now cheat a little. I’ve made up my own questions, and I pick out the best question so it’s no longer a randomly selected card. I place a little card at each place setting and as the dinner progresses and the guests start letting their guard down – boom, the conversation flows. We start going around the table and answering the questions. You start learning new stuff. You are off your phone. You just never run out of conversation with these questions. The questions are clean, non-contoversial, good for all ages, helps teens to interact, good for the older folks and open up to many possible and intriguing answers. Just when you think you and your guests are starting to lose the conversation, pull out one of these babies and see where the conversation takes you. Here’s a sample question ….”What is the best gift you ever received?” “Name something new you have tried this year.” “Have you ever played a practical joke on someone or witnessed one?” and ”If you were to get a tattoo, what kind would you get and where would you put it?”

     Let’s face it, some of us don’t really want to play charades. I also don’t want to play a game were I need to be a genius and come up with historical facts that I may not remember. No one wants to be put on the spot. 

     It works if you have a huge group, or if it is an intimate dinner party, the conversation just keeps going around and around. Once the game starts, it gains steam and accelerates to lots of laughter and comments.

    Like it or not, it’s better than talking money, politics, and religion. These are the little stories that stay with you. 

   I know there are other games out there, but this one really connects the people you care about most. The ones that are with you right now.

By the way, “What was your favorite vacation?” 

  Sincerely, Trish

Tags : Dinner Parties, Games