I'm back - the dermatologist froze three thingies off of my face - how attractive! - and I asked my primary care doc for a referral to a neurologist since I'm sick of being loopy and forgetful and distracted and disoriented since the car crash/concussion.
The candy corn bingo game sounds SO fun! (I think if we changed these games, Z2Hs friends would revolt, too - they've really come to enjoy them!)
So - I'll tell you about the two party games I immediately thought of sharing with you and how we've done them (at Christmas parties) - ways you could easily change them for your holiday/location will be pretty obvious. I've got lots of other games we've done at other holidays, but these are kind of the top two, and the ones best for large groups. One takes about 5-10 minutes total to play and the other sort of goes on while the party/event is going on.
They don't really have names - so bear with me...
Game #1 - I suppose we call this the "Reindeer Game." It is great as an ice-breaker and/or first activity of an event as it just sort of happens while the party is going along.
We got 9 little (3" high or so) hard plastic reindeer figures (AC Moore?) and hung a tiny name tag around each one's neck with a pipe cleaner- "Dasher," "Dancer," etc. ("Rudolph" got his nose painted red with nail polish!!!) and hid them all around the party room(s) before the guests arrived. All were in plain sight - guests didn't have to pick up or move anything to see any of them - but some were more obvious than others. (If they even notice any at all, early-arriving guests just think the reindeer are part of the party decorations.) After all the guests arrived at the party, each one was handed a piece of paper listing all the reindeer names with blank space next to them (but plain paper would work, too) and a golf pencil and told to "find the reindeer" and scribble a few words about where each one was. First one to find them all calls out "I've got them all" or something like that -- to great groans from the crowd! - and then announces where each one was. This game is hilarious - and it is almost *more* fun to watch the players and the different strategies folks use to hunt down the reindeer. This would be very easy to adapt to different holidays, but our reindeer get pulled out and re-used every year!
Game #2 - I think we just call this one "The Paper Game."
When we're ready to play, each participant gets handed one sheet of 9x12" construction paper. (I just got a pack of all-green sheets from a local school/craft supply store and now have a lifetime supply!) Everyone stands in a circle facing each other - and is told to hold the paper behind their back. When the organizer says "go," the participants are told to tear the paper into a christmas tree shape - but keeping it behind their backs at all times. (Again, hilarious to watch!!!) After a few minutes, folks will finish up and the game ends when everyone is done. At that point, everyone holds their finished creations in front of them and popular vote of the players determines the winner(s). Some trees always look awful (but are funny!) and others turn out to be amazing works of art - you never know! Again, this could easily be changed to use for birthdays or any holiday and you could have a judging panel or not.
Good luck with the party - hope one or both of these work for you - or maybe other DIS folks! We've done them with both young kids and DHs co-workers and groups of many different sizes.