Last weekend, our small, core group of friends was able to hang out all together for the first time in a long time and we had so much fun having dinner and playing games. I shared a few candid videos in the moment and it seems that MANY MANY of you are ready (or getting ready!) for hosting again, and wanted to hear more about our game night. So I wanted to share the details of our simple (but wildly fun!) game night today!
I think the reason we don’t write more about our game nights or entertaining is because that is our pleasure. That’s our hobby that’s just for us. I don’t go all out with decorations. (I don’t decorate at all!). Sometimes the food isn’t fancy. We rarely even take photos. Those moments and memories are really just for fun within our little group or family. But maybe the world needs to see more of that! Get togethers don’t have to take a lot of effort or extras. Don’t let the over-the-top parties on pinterest intimidate you from having people over.
For dinner, we had a blind taste test!
To be honest, we (Chris) wasn’t up for going all out with cooking, so we decided to make dinner a game too, and keep it easy but fun. We got different kinds of hot dogs, root beer and salsas (6 or 7 of each). We cooked up the hot dogs and poured the root beer and salsas into small bowls and cups. We wrote what each brand was on the back of an index card and numbered the front before placing a serving for each person on top of the appropriately numbered index card. (We also had a few other sides and condiments out that weren’t a part of the taste test).
After tasting, everyone rated their top 3 in each category. Each person gave their personal favorite 3 tallies, second favorite 2 tallies, and third favorite 1 tally on the coordinating index card. We were also allowed to give one X to our least favorite that would cancel out a single tally mark.
At the end, we counted up the tallies and a winner was declared! Well, except for the rootbeer–there was a tie!! The drama! We poured root beer shots for everyone of the tied drinks and we did a sudden death round. It was unanimous after tasting them next to each other–Bulldog was victorious for our group!
I hope it goes without saying, I’m sure there is a WAY more scientific way to do this. But we were going for easy execution and maximum fun here. It turned out so great, and after the taste test everyone was able to serve up a plate of their favorites!
In case you’re curious, our winners were: Mateo’s Salsa, Bovine and Swine Hot Dogs and Bulldog Rootbeer. Â
The Games Continue!
Dinner was a great warm-up activity, but as our friends were finishing up, I pulled out a game called “Hey Robot” I actually got through a Kickstarter awhile ago! It’s a brilliant game that uses a smart speaker (we used an echo). We divided into two teams and ended up playing TWICE because we were laughing so hard. You try to get the Alexa (to say the word on the card by asking ONE question). She isn’t allowed to sing. It’s so much harder than it sounds. And probably a lot more fun than it sounds too. Ha!
After eating and playing a game around the table, everyone is usually ready to move to the couches. So we did and we pulled out the game Speechless! It’s a really fun game that’s kind of like charades except you act out 6 different things in a short time and every person guesses individually on personal whiteboards that come with the game. NO TALKING! It’s a great time and everyone ends up laughing hysterically.
Dessert?
We ended the night with a call back to dinner and brought out several different ice cream brands of the same flavor to vote on! And then chatted for another hour or two. It was low-key and tasty and just fun to be together again.
Like I said, we didn’t really take any photos (I wasn’t planning on sharing this, but I took a few screen grabs from my friends’ videos!), so we put together a little starter pack below if you want to host something similar. Although we don’t decorate, it is nice to have a few serving pieces that you can pull out over and over and I linked the games, too!
1. Ceramic Crocks $43
2. Stainless Steel Cocktail Pits $11
3. Wooden Bowls $6
4. Drink Dispenser $35
5. Note Pads $15
6. Echo Dot $25
7. Rainbow Pens $12
8. Mercer Dinner Plate $5
9. Serving Bowl $19
10. Acacia Wood Serving Board $30
11. Tiered Stand $79
12. Speechless $24
13. Enamel Drink Bucket $69
14. Hey Robot $25
Weekend Sales
Abercrombie: Up to 30% off select styles (gimme all the crewnecks)
Anthropologie: Extra 25% off sale items (gave this puzzle to the girls for Easter and it is a HIT)
Bloomist: Use code GARDEN25 for 25% off (perfect for Spring)
CB2: Up to 15% off outdoor furniture (our outdoor furniture is still on sale!)
J.Crew Factory: Up to 50% off everything + extra 50% off clearance with code SALE Â (would be less than $10 at checkout)
LOFT: 40% off your purchase with code SOGOOD (these jeans and these sneaks!)
Madewell: 25% off select styles with code TWODAYS (one of my favs)
Overstock: Patio Super Sale! (cute outdoor set)
World Market: Save 20% when you sign up for member rewards totally free! (this bench!!)
I remember you said you liked Codenames, I would try Decrypto as another good word guessing party game. Also, we have enjoyed Hanabi as a fun card style game. We love a good game night.
Sounds so fun! What brand won the ice cream taste test?
The So Delicious Dairy Free Vanilla Bean ranked SUPER high. I can’t remember if it was the winner or not.
Sounds like a blast, ya’ll are so blessed to have such a great group of friends!!
I got Hey Robot after watching your stories this weekend and my teenagers have been asking to play it every night! The gloves come off when you can’t get google to say that one word. Lol!
Hey Julie, we did a party like this years ago. We called it the hotdog challenge. It was the easiest and most fun party we have ever had. I love the idea of root beer and salsas and will copy that for sure. Thanks for the ideas. Glad to see you are enjoying your last days in this house. I will really miss this house but can’t wait to see the new one.