Hey there friends! Have any Ugly Christmas Sweater Parties you're going to this year? Or still thinking about planning your own? Danny and I went to one this week with some of our neighbor friends. After searching 2 Goodwills, 2 Savers, Wal-Mart, and every other place you would think you'd find a nice, ugly Christmas sweater, I finally found some matching beauties at Kmart.
Not you're typical ugly sweater - more like a semi-ugly long-sleeved shirt. But the fact that we could match is what mostly did me in. And 60% off - steal of a deal, I'm telling you. And it's not too late! Want to plan your own Ugly Sweater Christmas Party? Head over to Kmart and snatch a few of these beauts yourself. Need a few suggestions for some good party games? Here are a few ideas to make yours a batch of festive awesomeness:
- Have a White Elephant Gift Exchange to go along with the party. What's an Ugly Sweater Party without a few awkward items to pass around? Danny and I won these Christmas headbands we've got on. Someone stole my previous item, so I picked these instead. I'm kind-of in love with them.
- Plan a Christmas cookie swap! Have everyone bring their favorite holiday cookie and trade at the party.
- Play some "Minute to Win It" games. Check out this blog post for a family who hosted a Christmas Minute to Win It game night. This is on my "to-do" list for future parties.
- A Christmas themed "What if/Then"game. Great for big parties. Similarly great for big parties is the...
- "Name That Movie" game, but played with all of the classic Christmas movies (I'd loved to see someone use Elf for this). *If you don't know what these two games are, scroll down for descriptions.
- What's a Christmas party without Santa? Have a friend dress up as jolly ol' Saint Nick himself. This could be either for the kids or just for the adults if it's a no-kids party. Have Santa pass out dollar store presents to the kids or party favors for the adults to take home.
- Christmas carols karaoke. See who can sing your favorite Christmas songs the best... or the funniest. I prefer funniest. Whoever gets the most laughs wins. When you can't tell if you're laughing or crying - that right there is what you're looking for.
So do it! Don your reindeer antlers and santa sweaters and throw your very own Christmas party.
Looking for a good party recipe? At the get-together we went to, we were asked to bring an appetizer or dessert. I found this recipe for some cucumber rolls, and then decided to try out my own version. I didn't take a picture of the actual cucumber rolls once they were all pretty and done up, so this is the best picture I've got:
Look declicious, right? Actually, it looks kind of gross. But - they were really, really good. The husband and I are in love with cranberries in salads. I figured they'd make a nice addition. And so, without further ado, here's the recipe:
Cucumber Feta Cranberry Rolls
Ingredients:
- 1 Cucmber
- Feta cheese - crumbled
- Greek yogurt (optional)
- Dried cranberries, diced
- Grape tomatoes, diced
- Red bell peppers, diced
- Almonds, sliced
- Lemon juice
- Pepper
I just played with the ingredients until I got the right taste that I was looking for. Initially, I added all of the ingredients without any Greek yogurt. I decided to put some in at the last minute to thin the mixture out a bit and make it a little more creamier. But the mixture still tasted good without the yogurt. The cranberries give it a deliciously light/sweet taste.
And I leave you with this picture:
I laughed at Danny's face for a good 5 minutes before I was able to catch my breath. This is his "funny" face. I think it's safe to say that this one might scare the kids. Too bad we already sent out our Christmas cards this year - I would've been more than slightly tempted to use this photo.
.............................................................................................................................
The "What if/Then" Game:
Step 1: Everyone gets a separate slip of paper and writes a "What if" question. Each question has to start with the words, "What if" (for example: What if no one left cookies for Santa?). Once everyone's written a question, put all of the slips into a bowl.
Step 2: Next, everyone draws out another slip of paper with someone else's question. They answer that "What if" question on the back of the slip of paper with a "Then" statement (for example: Then no one would ever get any more presents for the rest of forever).
Step 3: Everyone puts their paper slip back into the bowl and draws again, making sure to not grab a slip on which they've either written the question or answered it.
Step 4: Have someone in the circle start. Decide to go either clockwise or counter-clockwise. The first person reads the question on the paper they are holding, and the person to the right/left of them (depending on which direction you're going) reads the answer on their own paper.
So - the whole point of the game is that you're not answering the questions they way they're supposed to be answered. You can come up with some pretty funny/hysterical combinations that match up perfectly. Great for a big group of people.
The "Name That Movie" Game:
Split into teams (boys vs. girls is always a good combo). Each person on each team writes down 3 movies on 3 individual slips of paper. The movies need to be ones that would be easily recognizable by everyone. Put all of the paper slips into a large bowl.
Each team takes turns trying to guess the movies during 1 minute intervals until all slips of paper are gone. You do this 3 times in 3 different rounds.
For example: A member from the boy team draws a slip of paper from the bowl and tries to get his teammates to guess what movie is on that slip. The goal is to get his teammates to guess as many movies as they can in one minute. At the end of one minute, a member from the girl team gets up and tries to get her teammates to guess as many movies as they can in one minute. Keep switching teams and people until all of the movies have been guessed. You will do this three different times in 3 different rounds:
Round 1: Verbally describe the movie (you are not allowed to use any words in the movie title)
Round 2: Charades - have your teammates try to guess the movie while you act it out without speaking
Round 3: One word - you can only say one word to describe the movie
Once you've gone through all of the movies in Round 1, you repeat the same movies in Rounds 2 and 3. So even though those rounds are harder, you already know all of the movies that are in the bowl.
share this on:: |
Digg |
I loved how much fun you were having with your ugly shirt/sweater!!! Fun pictures…. Hope you are having a wonderful holiday season, Laura
ReplyDelete