Hobbies And Interests
Circle Games
Ask everyone to stand in a circle and hand one player a ball of yarn. Have him say his name and grab the end of the yarn. Tell him to toss the ball to another player in the circle. Each player must say his name and toss the ball to another player. Keep playing until everyone says their name at least twice. For another quick circle activity, give the players an inflatable beach ball. They must toss the ball around the circle. Each time a player catches the ball, he must say his name aloud. To make these activities into a game, award a prize to the player who can remember the most names at the end of the activity.
Balloon Games
Inflate several balloons and place a small slip of paper in each balloon with each guest's name. Place the balloons in the middle of the room. When you say "Go," players must grab a balloon and pop it. Once players have a name from the balloons, they must find that player as soon as possible. The first player to find the correct person wins the game. Another idea is a balloon-popping contest. Divide the players into groups of five or six and give each team 20 balloons. The team who pops all their balloons the fastest wins the game.
Name Games
Give each player a sheet of paper and have her write her name on the paper. She must write a characteristic for each letter of her name. For example, someone named "Kate" could write "K-kind, A-apple-loving, T- talker, E-enjoyable." Tell the players they have five minutes to write down their answers and then have everyone read their papers aloud. Alternatively, ask each player to say their name with a dominant characteristic that starts with the first letter of their name. Some examples include "Generous Gracie" or "Funny Frank."
Line Games
Divide the players into two teams and yell out a category, such as hair length. Each team must line their players up in order by hair length. The team to do this in the fastest amount of time wins the game. Other categories include shoe size, age or birthdays. Alternatively, play this game in one large group to give everyone a chance to meet each other. Another idea is switch the teams up after each round.