Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with Party

Wii group games?

Anonymous — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 14:40:18 -0800

Buying a Wii game for my parents. They have the sports and resort games, I'd like it to be something that multiple people can play, ideally at a party, as that's when they use it the most. Great group Wii games?

Next Week's AskMe: I Think My Mother Has The Hots for Me

rokusan — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 21:19:26 -0800

Doc Brown Christmas Filter: Help me get my own DeLorean, if only for one day! (Posted for a dear, dear friend, obviously. From the future.)

My company is hosting a sci-fi themed Christmas party in Tampa this year, and it would be amazing super cool if we could find a DeLorean as a 'prop'.

I've e-mailed the local DeLorean group and posted on DMCTalk in my area's forum to no avail. I came *this close* to buying a local Delorean to meet this desire, but the price was too great for the car's condition and our ability to spend time and money on a project car for such a short-time special event: one day (Dec 19). It doesn't even have to run, really, as long as there's some way to get it there.

Does anyone have any other ideas, links, suggestions, pointers or help?

Where to host a party in Milwaukee?

InvestorMD — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 11:33:42 -0800

Milwaukee Filter: Where is a good place to host a get together for around 20 people with food for an average of 10-15 bucks per person? We've hosted our annual get-together at a Mexican restaurants and Olive garden's but are looking for something new. We prefer locations that are friendly to having the bill split up multiple different ways since handling a bill for 20 people is exhausting when there are mixtures of cash & credit. In addition, some people will add various mixed drinks and wines which makes splitting the bill evenly not fair.

We tried having a get together at Melting Pot but the price scared some people away, while some loved the new idea of fondue.

Atmosphere is important too. A loud bar where nobody can really talk to each other is not what we are looking for. Neither is a nice quiet restaurant since we all see each other once per year making us not the silent eaters.

These can extend to the suburbs too. Thanks!

The most fun way to hold a raffle

biwa-shu — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 18:23:30 -0800

Are there more fun ways to give away a variety of prizes at a raffle than just draw names/numbers from a box? ie: gameshow-style, competitions, etc. We'll be having a raffle at an event with about 80 people. We'll have a variety of prizes worth anywhere from $5 to $50. What are some fun ways that we can choose the recipients, instead of just going "OK, next one ... OK, next one..."?

"Then wear the gold hat, if that will move her..."

Bukvoed — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 15:41:06 -0800

I've been invited to a Great Gatsby-themed party. Help me dress up! Details: Male, skinny, with dark, curly, longish hair. I'm usually not very good when it comes to this sort of thing, but I would like to at least make an effort. All suggestions are welcome, but the simpler the better (outfits based on puns or somesuch is also something I've considered, but I haven't been able to think of any good ones). I'm in Edinburgh, so suggestions for where to get these kind of clothes on the cheap would be nice. Feel free to post pictures of good examples as well.

You're tearing me apart Lisa!

theRussian — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 14:32:08 -0800

The Room viewing party ideas? The Room - we want to have a viewing party. Need any and all ideas about how to make this event even better. (For those who haven't seen it, it's one of those 'so bad its good' movies)

I am torn between having really awful food/drinks to having really, really super fancy things to eat and drink.

Any ideas are welcome - even bad ones.

What makes a good office party?

juliplease — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 10:58:09 -0800

What makes a good office party? I'm in charge of throwing the holiday party for our group. They're great people and everyone gets along, but it's sometimes hard to get people to leave their desks, so we're going to do it in the office. This will also work out very well for our budget. I've suggested a Friday at 3pm so people can start their weekend early.

I don't think people will mind staying in the office, because when we've traveled in the past it seems a little inconvenient for everyone insofar as getting people rides, parking, and/or getting folks back to Metro. We went bowling last year and I think it fell a little flat.

There are probably going to be 20 people there or so, and that includes significant others who can make it. I have a budget of about $200. I'll get decent food and beverages and I think we're going to make a spiked cider or something fun. I can do the cheesy decorations and lights or whatever, and find some holiday music. (Is the Peanut's Christmas album appropriate?) We're also doing a Santa's Junkyard type-thing, where people are to bring something valued under $10.

It's going to be a modest event, but I have some time on my hands to plan and these people deserve a decent holiday party. What else can I do/bring/buy/provide to make sure people have a good time? Have you been to an office party that wasn't lame? How'd they do it?

One would be company but will two be a crowd?

crabintheocean — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 20:19:48 -0800

I'm having my birthday party at home on Saturday night - food and drinks for about 15 good friends (we supply dinner and a nice cocktail, guests bring wine and beer). An out of town friend is coming and we asked her to invite a friend of hers who does live in our city and who we met once before and really liked. Now the friend-of-our-friend is asking via the friend if she can bring two other people we don't know. I'm really on the fence, can you give me some advice? Not a life or death situation I know, but I'm a little bit stumped... On the one hand, it seems wrong to turn down a chance to meet potentially cool new people in our city, and I really want friend-of-our-friend to come and feel welcome. I feel like I should just be like "oh, of course!", and I feel put on the spot, like it's the kind of request you don't say no to.

On the other hand, I have no idea who these people are, and while I'm not worried they're crazy or terrible, this is a small party, and I care about people getting along. It's definitely an invite only, RSVP party, and although +1's are welcome and encouraged, two strangers who know each other and this girl I've only met once seems too much, and it's hard to imagine them not forming a conversation of three all night. I'm also not sure I want to buy two random people a nice dinner and drinks, although it's not as though the extra cost is really a deciding factor.

One would be a non-issue, it could be cool, but two feels like too much. I feel like it's kind of a rude request, but I'm squashing that feeling because I think friend-of-our-friend is great and I suspect she's just not super clear what kind of party this is.

What do I do? I know I'm over thinking a little, but I always put a lot of though into our parties and they're always fantastic. I want to be generous and embrace the chance of meeting new awesome people, but I just can't imagine two strangers coming with a near stranger working out...

Should I run a one-off D&D game for a party with (adult) non-players?

mark7570 — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 08:58:39 -0800

Any suggestions for one-off D&D game for newbies? I'm considering running a D&D game for an upcoming party I'm hosting. Guests and I are all in our mid-to-late 30s and most of us have never played D&D (though I played in my teens).

My question is, does anyone have a suggestion for a one-off D&D campaign that I can run at the party, which would be fun for people who've never played before? Something we could run start to finish in, say, two hours.

Note that this wouldn't be leading on ongoing campaign - this would just be a fun activity we haven't tried before, possibly to go on to other games for the next party.

I have some DM experience so I could do that, though I'd have to go out and buy the materials I'd need... it's been a long time since I had my old D&D manuals around.

BTW, I'm also interested to know if the answer is "don't do it" - i.e., if there just isn't an easy way to run a one-off quick D&D game for new players. I just thought that it might be an interesting game to try for people who've never had the chance to experience D&D.

P.S. I've already seen this and this question on AskMeFi and found them helpful for extra info, albeit for more advanced gamers.

I need suggestions for my Logan's Run party!

Faint of Butt — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 10:58:02 -0800

What be fun and appropriate to do, eat or drink at a Logan's Run party? There doesn't seem to be any acceptable way for me to avoid turning 30 next month, so I may as well make the most of it. I'm going to have a birthday party, but before the big day I'm also going to have a get-together exclusively for my under-30 friends, planned around a commemorative screening of the best 30th birthday movie ever made, Logan's Run. Unfortunately, I'm not intimately familiar with the details of the universe, so I've come to seek suggestions. What would be some suitable activities, food and drinks to have at such an event?

Creative ideas for a party

Kateruba — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 20:56:11 -0800

What short, creative performances can guests put on at my party to entertain themselves? I'd like to have a holiday party. But not just another dinner party or a drinking party. I'd like all of my guests to put on little performances - whether that would be a short skit, dance/music, puppet show, parody, magic tricks, telling some jokes, monologue, poetry reading, juggling, sword swallowing - whatever! I just would like everyone to do something entertaining and creative, my expectations are pretty reasonable, I don't expect everyone to prepare and practice like prima ballerinas...

I am always ambivalent about hosting parties - so much stress in organizing and making sure everyone has a good time! And I am especially doubtful about hosting this one. Even though most of my friends/acquaintances are a creative bunch, a lot of my potential guests find my party idea intimidating. They are either shy or have no idea what to do for this "assignment", and hence are unsure whether they will attend at all :(

I'd love some suggestions for this which I can offer to my friends to make them less intimidated and more enthusiastic. Ideally, they would have all or any of the following qualities: creative, suitable for shy people, do not take much time or effort to prepare for.

And what would I do for my part? I would do something similar to Isabella Rosselini's Green Porno "Nothing Porno about it!" as she says. In the series, Rossellini enacts the mating rituals of various insects and other animals (including the dragonfly, spider, bee, praying mantis, squid, snail and housefly) with cardboard cut-outs and foam-rubber sculptures (wikipedia) - the result is very whimsical and reminiscent of an elementary school play in its aesthetics! If anyone is intrigued, you can view all of the episodes on

Ideas for a place in L.A. to host a large Oscar-viewing shindig?

estherbester — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 12:50:22 -0800

I'm looking for a venue in Los Angeles -- the closer to downtown, the better -- where we could throw a private party (around 200 people) for watching the Oscars. Indoor location preferred! This is for a fundraising benefit at the small non-profit where I work, so our budget isn't huge. Last year we held it at the J-Lounge, and it worked pretty well, but we're looking for someplace new for this year.

The Oscars will take place on March 7 next year, I believe.

I've checked out the suggestions from this question, but that's a few years old now, and I'm sure newer, fresher, cooler places have popped up since then!

Hosting a public LAN Party; What legal issues should I be aware of?

ilumos — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 10:53:31 -0800

Hosting a public LAN Party; What legal issues should I be aware of? Hi MeFi,

Myself and friends have been hosting private LAN parties for the past 3 years and with 20 or so atendees we've outgrown our normal venue.

What do we need to be aware of when hiring out a new venue with regard to public liability, insurance and the legality of sleeping overnight in the (public) venue?

I've done some research into other LAN parties, most of which have both rules and legal waivers, and some with insurance.

We hope it to be a successful event, but before we start approaching prospective venues we want to have an idea of the legal implications.

This is for a 48 hour UK based LAN on the south coast with hopefully 30+ attendees, and we'll be charging for entry to cover our costs.

Any information is greatly appreciated,

Many thanks!

Help...traditional holiday party in jeopardy!

teg4rvn — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 08:58:45 -0800

What steps can company management take to minimize liability at an office holiday party where alcohol is served? I work in an office of approximately 30 people with 6 being the "management" who have traditionally (last 30 years at least) paid for an office holiday party/dinner at an outside establishment and allowed employees and their SO to order a couple of alcoholic beverages with dinner. This year, 4 of the 6 management-level employees said they will not participate with the event nor sponsor it because they are concerned with getting sued by someone or their family if an employee drives home drunk and gets hurt or killed. A reasonable concern, but the remaining two of us are willing to still throw the party. With layoffs and everyone else doing more work to make up for the lost employees, my boss (and I) believe the effect on morale will be devastating if we didn't have the party. The crux of the concern is that there is 1-3 problem drinkers amongst staff and their invited spouses. Our plan is to:

1) Issue two "tickets" for drinks per person and deem them non-transferable.

2) Be the last one's to leave so we can assess drunkeness.

3) Do this at a restaurant with a liquor license with "professional" waiters and bartenders.

Despite these precautions, the 4 other senior-level folk still do not want to participate because of liability issues. Frankly, I believe they don't want to spend the money, but the alcohol issue is a real, but, convenient diversion.

You are not my lawyer.....but is there anything else I can do to further safeguard us, allay the fears of others, and hold our holiday party as it has been for decades? please feel free to tell me that my stubborn colleagues are in fact right and that my traditional party need be updated to 2009 legal standards if that's the case.

Like a turkey trying to fly.

zoomorphic — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:37:49 -0800

I'm hosting my first Thanksgiving. I have zero idea what I'm doing. Advice, s'il vous plait! I got the bright idea to organize a Thanksgiving dinner for my fellow NYC transplant friends who aren't flying home for the holidays, doubling as an excuse to show off my cool new apartment. Oh, except, I can barely cook tofu, let alone an entire turkey. Today I saw a sign-up list at a grocery store for turkeys that ended yesterday, and I was mortified that somehow I'd missed the turkey lottery deadline. I need advice on everything.

My ten guests are bringing side dishes according to their household traditions, but I'm in charge of the turkey, the mulled wine, candied bacon ice cream and pumpkin pie. I'm a good baker and will do right by the desserts, but I need easy-to-follow advice on good places to acquire a bird (preferably free-range, organic) suited for 10 people, gutting it, basting it, etc. If you've got a good mulled wine recipe, send it my way. Any favorite Martha Stewart touches would be lovely. Miscellaneous advice related to large dinner parties would be much appreciated as well.

The Dare Essentials

Sully — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:38:18 -0800

I am thinking of organizing a "two-dollar dare" party and I need simple dares that can be performed in front of a lot of people, and achievable right there. Props are fine, as is the use of another person. So far, I have things like, picking your nose, licking someone else's foot, peeing in a pair of adult-diapers, letting someone slap you hard, letting someone give you a haircut, simulating an orgasm. The idea is that if the people at the party want to see it, they can up the "bid" to a double-dare ($4) or a triple-dog-dare ($6) so I am looking for a good selection of tame dares and rather more outrageous ones. Can the hive mind help me?

What to do with a nice, fresh stretch of blacktop?

eamondaly — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:15:35 -0800

Our street in Chicago was just repaved, and in honor of The City that Works, we're closing it off on Saturday to throw a block party. We've got 100 feet of beautifully smooth black asphalt with a slight crown and a gradual west to east fall of about 3 feet or so, enough for things to slowly roll with a starter push. We don't have enough time to make soap box racers, but what else could we do with the street before it's ripped to shreds by snowplows?

Party ideas for a geeky gamer's 30th!

tastybrains — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 09:08:38 -0800

My husband is turning 30 next month, and because his birthday typically gets overshadowed by the holidays, I am throwing him a BIG surprise party at our house. I am trying to come up with a loose theme that I can tie into the cake/cupcakes, decorations, and some little scavenger hunt hint cards I am going to leave for him. Some of my ideas have been pretty lame, so I'm turning to the hive mind for ideas! My husband is an electrical engineer and a gamer. He used to be really into World of Warcraft, so I had been planning to do a bit of a WoW theme (quest completion "question mark" cupcake toppers, relabeling beer bottles as beer from the game with stats & all, using WoW colors & fonts in banners and crap), but he really hasn't been into it lately and one of our friends who also plays w/ him thinks the idea is a little dated. He's not really into any ONE game right now, I think he's playing about 3 or 4 at the moment, and they're not ones I know much about (I have played WoW on and off, so I felt like I could do a decent job with that theme).

Other things he likes are the typical gamer/geek themes ... robots, pirates & ninjas, sarcastic humor, and beer (in an interest in brewing way, not in a bud lite chugging way...in fact, one of his surprise birthday presents is being sent to brew some beer). He also really likes moose, but that's a kind of lame party theme in and of itself.

So what can/should I do? I want to do something kind of fun and different. I am crafty and really enjoy projects like creating unique decorations/favors and want this party to be really memorable for him. It has to be child friendly as there will be family as well as friends there, and I also do not want to spend TOO much. I've budgeted several hundred for the party, but a lot of that is going for food and drink. I want things I can make by hand, with no more than a couple hundred for supplies.

Need inappropriate office party behaviors

arniec — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 07:29:06 -0800

For Christmas Card art--what are some inappropriate workplace party behaviors that can be portrayed in a single drawing? I'm working on having an artist do our company annual Christmas card, and this year we're doing a Far Side-ish cartoon of an inappropriate office party. For example, there will be someone Xeroxing their behind, and some people making out in the office supplies closet.

What other types of activities can be/should be included here? The funnier the better. But it can't be too involved, a single frame of someone "in the act" needs to convey the whole bit. But our artist is very very good, so if you have ideas, please post them and he might be able to make them work.

Thank you for ideas!

(and would a lampshade on a head be a workplace thing, or is that specifically a house party type behavior?)

Need family friendly party games!

royalsong — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:43:11 -0800

Birthday Party for a 30 year old. Need ideas for short, 10-20 minute games/activities to do. A dear friend is turning 30 years old and my sister is throwing her a party. We have the hall, food, and invitations set. My sister plans to do a Family Feud and/or $10,000 Pyramid style game show as well as a Roast of the birthday girl.

We still need to plan out prizes for those big games.. but we also need a handful (3 or so?) small games that we can keep the party goers busy with while we set up the larger games.

So I'm looking for ideas or websites for short party games. These games need to be family friendly (young and old will be there and the birthday girl is a very 'proper' type of person) and able to work with around 50 people.

on the cheap would be for the best, as well.

I'm sure there are a bunch of askmetas out there about this, as well as on the web - but my searching skills fail me.

Thanks!

A Saturday afternoon in the TDot

dnesan — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:02:22 -0800

Can you tell me something great to do this Saturday afternoon (Nov. 7th) in central/downtown Toronto? My friend is getting married, and we're having a pseudo (co-ed) bachelorette party for her. We already have the evening mapped out, but need something to do before dinner. Stripperobics (and that sort of bachelorette faire) aren't exactly our/her style.

We're all GTA residents (or close enough to it), and we're having both lunch and dinner in the downtown core. We'd like to find something to do between hunger pangs (say around 3pm-7pm), something that's fun and memorable despite the fact that we already spend a lot of time in the city. There must be some little known gem that I don't know of.

I'm considering the ROM, but think it might be too staid. The bride loves the distillery district, if that helps define her at all. I want to find something that feels special for her, she has broad tastes and interests over all.

We're all late 20's men and women, money shouldn't be the prime concern but none of us are millionaires. We'll have cars to travel in if needed.

Can you help us do something great?

Leave The Mask On

The Whelk — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 07:56:52 -0800

Help me find music about sexin' up Superheroes! I'm running an event based on Yoe's "Secret Identity" and I need background music that references a bunch of things and/.or sounds like something The Silk Specter would enjoy. Ideally these songs should be about any or all of these things:

Superheroes/Masked Avengers

Secret Identity/Double Lives

Sex/Kink/Lust/Etc

Music from the 40s-50s greatly preferred but not necessary. I want to mood to bend more toward "wink wink nudge nudge" kinky rather than darker or more aggro sounds.

My old nemesis, we meet again.

oinopaponton — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:49:44 -0800

How can I enjoy a frat party when I'm too old and lame to actually want to go? I'm visiting my sister, who's in college. She's a sorority girl, and she wants me to go with her to some frat's Halloween party tomorrow night. This sounds just awful to me, but she's my little sister and I don't see her enough. (no offense to frats: I'm not in college any more, and even when I was, I didn't go to frat parties after the first semester of my freshman year. Not my scene.)

I could just refuse to go and entertain myself for the night, but I do want to spend time with my sister and it doesn't seem like she'll be talked out of going to this party with her friends [and me in tow]. So, MeFi, assuming I go, what are some things I can do to avoid seeming like a total Debbie Downer of a big sis? Tell me your tricks for making a generic frat party fun when you're a total square like me!

I will not: make out with anybody.
I will: drink.
Bonus: I will probably be coerced into going in some sort of cobbled-together sexy [fill in the blank] costume, so, uh, there's that.

What's with all the Raclette?

Hands of Manos — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 06:10:43 -0800

I'm looking for a decent Raclette grill around the 60 dollar mark. Can anyone make a recommendation? My girlfriend's birthday is coming up in a couple of weeks and I'd considered having a fun dining experience for her and her kids. A German friend of mine said she liked using her Raclette grill for parties.

It'd only be the 4 of us so a smaller raclette grill would work but before I buy one, I wanted to know if someone recommends one over another.

Also, do you have to use Raclette cheese or can you use another type (it's in short supply where I live).

Beyond peeled grapes and cold spaghetti

bibliowench — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 10:24:25 -0800

Next Thursday, I'm going to be forced to throw a Halloween party for about 15-20 second graders. Most, but not all, will be boys. We have a small house, and I have no freaking idea of what to do besides pump them full of sugar and hope that they don't break anything. I'd like to have some alternate plans. I'm going to confine the revelers to a living/dining room for food and a family room for . . . whatever it is that they're going to do during this thing. So what are they going to do? We're going to set up a monster-cupcake making station, and we'll serve pizza, but beyond that, my brain stops. It doesn't help that both my husband and I are under a lot of stress at work right now, and neither of us really has time to get creative. I have friends offering to help - one is even a very skilled artist - but I have no idea what to tell them to do. Please give me some advice so I don't go down in history as the worst mom ever.