Hobbies And Interests
What's in your purse or pocket?
In this ice breaker game, each person picks out an item she has with her in her purse or pocket that means something to her personally. Everyone sits in a large circle and one by one, each person introduces herself and explains what the item means to her. For example, a mother in the group may have a small toy of her child's in her purse. Someone may have a souvenir key chain from a favorite vacation in her pockets. Showing the items and explaining their significance helps everyone get to know the person better and relate to each other.
Interview Game
Divide the large group into groups of two. The partner groups should not know each other. For about twenty minutes, have the partners interview each other. They can ask each other questions about their families, hobbies, favorite movies or TV shows, life experiences, etc. You can write questions ahead of time for the partners to ask or just let the interviewers make up their own questions. Afterward, each person must introduce their partner to the group based on what they've learned from the interview. The interviewer must include at least one thing about their partner that no one knew before.
Two Truths and a Lie
Each person in the group must write down three facts about herself, but one is not true. Each person in the group will read her list aloud and everyone else in the group will write down which "fact" they believe is false. After the group has read their list and everyone has guessed the lies on their paper, each person will then reveal which fact was actually false. For example, someone might say, "I spent five years living in France. I paint portraits in my spare time. I won a lottery once." The lies should be difficult to guess and may surprise people. Some people may relate to the lies and conversations will start from these common experiences.
Sign Here
For each member of the group, prepare a list of traits and characteristics. For example, someone who has two kids, someone who has never been to Disney World, someone with perfect eyesight, etc. Hand out one list to each person in the group and give him an ink pen. Each person in the group must find someone who fits each category and have them initial beside it. The game is best played with different sheets with different characteristics. Another version can be played like Bingo. In each box, there can be a characteristic and the object is to get five blocks across the board signed and yell "bingo!" The first person to yell "bingo" can win a prize.