Dinner parties can wind down quickly with awkward moments of silence and conversation stoppers. Here's how to save the vibe.
Dinner parties have awkward moments. So do Sunday lunches. It’s that lull after the meal when everyone’s focus drifts to Monday morning or, at dinner, to a yawn, a shuffle and a nightcap.
It’s the kind of pause that can hara-kiri any vibe instantly. Luckily, there’s an arsenal of pastimes that can prevent this from happening.
Before the fat lady sings at your gathering, haul out a few party tricks that will get the brain cells working, the impact of the vino laughing, and guests extending a good time.
And while 30 Seconds may be the go-to game to liven up any party, you cannot revert to the same thing time and again.
’30 Seconds’ can save it, sometimes
After Dinner is a set of one hundred cards, each printed with trivia and general knowledge questions and answers. It’s available from Exclusive Books and other stores for under two hundred rand, and it is a load of fun.
The questions range from the sublimely easy, if you have a decent general knowledge, to some real posers like “Who masterminded the Gunpowder Plot?” and “How many patents did Thomas Edison accumulate?”
But, of course, after a few bottles of the good stuff, who really cares what the answers are?
If general knowledge isn’t your party trick, mobile games can add to the stupid fun you can have at lunch or after dinner.
Heads Up is available on both iOS and Android platforms, and it’s loads of fun.
The player on their turn holds a phone in front of their forehead while friends and family shout out clues to help them guess what’s written.
There are all kinds of categories, from celebrities through to movies, accents and super-strange, obscure words and objects.
If you haven’t got the app, Post-it notes make a decent substitute, although someone has to come up with the word riddles.
ALSO READ: What to watch: When world leaders go full action hero
Never Have I Ever?
On the more daring side, there’s always Never Have I Ever. It’s a drinking game, and you don’t need much more than a bit of tipple.
Each person holds up five fingers, and players take turns saying, for example, “Never have I ever …” followed by something they have never done before.
On the innocent side, this could be, “Never have I ever gone skydiving,” “Never have I ever stolen ten bucks from my parents,” or “Never have I ever faked being sick to get out of work or an event.”
On each turn, any player who has done the deed mentioned must lower one of their five fingers and take a drink in penance. The first person whose fingers are all down loses.
Never Have I Ever can, of course, become a bit edgy as people tend to lean towards extracting secrets from one another.
