Hosting Housewarming Party Games To Bring Friends Together

Moving into a new home is an exciting milestone. After weeks or months of packing, cleaning, and hauling boxes, you’re finally settled in and ready to celebrate! What better way to commemorate this fresh start than by throwing a housewarming party and inviting all your nearest and dearest to join?

Housewarming parties are a great way to show off your new digs while reconnecting with friends you may have fallen out of touch with during the move. Of course, beyond the usual catching-up over drinks and appetizers, you’ll want to have some activities planned to keep your guests engaged. This is where fun party games come in!

Having some interactive icebreakers and engaging group games on hand will ensure your housewarming party isn’t just lively—it’s downright memorable! I’ve hosted my fair share of these get-togethers, so let me walk you through some of my tried-and-true favorite housewarming party games.

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Get the Party Started with Icebreakers

Before you jump into more complex games, get your guests mingling and feeling comfortable with some classic icebreaker activities. These are perfect for breaking the silence and introducing guests who may not know each other.

Two Truths and a Lie: This simple game requires nothing more than participants’ imaginations! Have each guest introduce themselves to the group and state three facts about themselves—two truths and one lie. The rest of the group votes on which statement they think is the lie. This is a fun way for your party to get to know each other better!

Question Cards: Print out cards (or make your own by cutting paper into squares) with fun questions on them. Place them in a bowl for guests to pick and read out loud to the group. Examples include “What’s your favorite meal?” or “Where is the most interesting place you’ve traveled to?” Prepare topics that will spark conversation.

Never Have I Ever: Go around in a circle, with each person stating something they haven’t done before starting with “Never have I ever…” Anyone who has done that activity puts a finger down. The last guest remaining with fingers up wins! This helps you discover surprising things you have in common.

Engaging Group Games

Once the ice is broken, gather your housewarmers together for engaging group games that will have the entire party interacting. These activities are designed to get people working together, being silly, and forming new bonds.

Charades: Split guests into two teams. Players take turns acting out different movies, TV shows, books, and songs without speaking. Their team has to guess correctly within a time limit. Charades gets everyone involved in the action and always leads to tons of laughs!

Trivia: Test how well your guests know you by coming up with trivia questions about your life. Include questions about hometowns, majors, first jobs, and even favorite foods. Gift the winning team member a quirky homemade trophy!

Two Truths and a Lie: The Game Show Version: Select several guests to be contestants. Have them privately write down two truths and one lie about themselves. Then play a trivia game show where the other guests ask yes or no questions and try to guess their truths vs lies based on their reactions. The first person to correctly identify the lie wins!

Memory Lane: This game requires some prep work. Before the party, compile old photos of you and your guests into a slideshow or collage. Display the photos and see who can correctly identify the most. This is sure to spark nostalgic conversations about the good old days!

Getting Competitive

If you have a particularly spirited group that’s up for lively competition, consider incorporating games that pit guests head-to-head. These individual and team challenges are sure to draw out everyone’s competitive edge in hilarious ways.

Balloon Relay Race: Split guests into teams and provide balloons of different sizes. Teams must take turns stepping forward and popping their balloon by squeezing it between their bodies and a wall. The first team to pop all their balloons wins!

Charades Relay: Assemble groups and have teammates line up behind a chair facing away from the action. One representative performs charades while the rest of the group tries to guess. If they fail, the next person steps up until someone gets it right, then the last person races to the chair. Fastest team wins!

Towel Flip Cup: Place towels or small rugs on the floor and set plastic cups filled with water at one end. Players must flip the cup from towel to towel without spilling until it reaches the final towel. Fastest player wins! This gets delightfully messy.

Scavenger Hunt: Before the party, hide various items around your new house. Split guests into teams and give them a list describing each object. The team that finds the most items within a time limit wins! Gets people exploring your new home with competitive spirit.

Get Creative and Personalize Games

Beyond traditional games, there are plenty of ways to engage your guests creatively while adding a personal touch with games customized just for your party. This extra effort is sure to make your event extra memorable!

Housewarming Bingo: Create bingo cards with squares describing the layout and features of your new home like “Hardwood Floors” or “More than 3 Bedrooms.” As you give a house tour, guests can mark off squares. First to complete their board wins!

Write Advice Cards: Distribute cards and pens and have guests write down their sage wisdom for you in your new home, from remodeling tips to hosting tricks. Read the cards aloud to funny effect, then save them in a memory box.

Decorating Contest: Split guests into teams and give each team a room in your house along with decorations. See who can spruce up their assigned space the best in a time limit! Judge beforehand and the winning team gets prizes.

Recipe Swap: Ask everyone to bring their signature dish or favorite recipes along with copies to share. Take turns presenting your recipes for a fun cooking inspiration swap. Compile all the recipes into a personalized cookbook!

Remember the Moving Memories Slideshow: Compile photos of your moving day into a slideshow set to music and show it during the party for laughs. From boxes stacked to the ceiling to exacerbated expressions while hauling furniture, we all have moving memories!

Housewarming Jeopardy: Create answer cards describing fun facts about your new home. On the opposite side of the card, write the questions guests must ask to earn points. Split into teams and take turns asking “questions” to see who earns the most points!

Get Neighbors Involved

Don’t limit your housewarming party to close friends! Get your new neighborhood involved and get to know the community better by inviting your nearby neighbors. Here are games perfect for mingling with new neighbors:

Neighbor Bingo: Make bingo cards with neighborly squares like “Has lived here 5+ years” or “Has 2 kids”. As guests mingle, they can collect neighbors’ signatures in the squares. First to complete their card and meet the neighbors wins!

Map It! Tape a large map of the neighborhood to a wall. Provide pins, sticky notes, and pens so guests can mark their own home and share favorite local spots like parks, restaurants, and more. It doubles as a local guide!

Meet and Greet Scavenger Hunt: Create slips of paper with getting-to-know-you questions. Guests mingle with neighbors to find someone who fits each description and get their signature. Examples include “Knows the best coffee spot” or “Has an outdoor fire pit”.

Potluck Appetizers: Encourage guests to bring appetizers that represent their heritage and home region. Print cute labels so people can guess each dish’s origin as they mingle, sample, and vote on favorites. It’s a tasty cultural exchange!

The Key to a Memorable Housewarming Bash

The key takeaway? Be sure to keep your housewarming bash feeling interactive and engaging. Bust out board games, compile personalized activities, and bring out guests’ competitive edges. And be sure to get any newcomers to the neighborhood involved for an extra neighborly vibe.

Most importantly, embrace the celebratory spirit of this special milestone! Moving into a new home marks an exciting fresh start, so bring that energy to your party. Decorate with balloons, play upbeat music, provide festive drinks and food, and capture plenty of Polaroids to memorialize the fun.

Follow this housewarming party game guide, and your new abode will be properly christened with an unforgettable bash shared with beloved friends. After all, there’s no place like home—especially when it’s thoughtfully warmed by the ones you love!

In conclusion

Interactive housewarming party games and activities are key to keeping a housewarming party feeling lively, memorable, and personalized. Strike a balance of classic icebreakers, engaging group games, and competitive activities customized with details from the home itself or homeowners’ lives. Getting neighborhood residents involved also integrates a neighborly spirit. With the right mix of games and celebratory energy, your housewarming party will be a smash hit!

FAQs

Q: What are some good icebreaker games to play at a housewarming party?

A: Great icebreaker games for a housewarming party include Two Truths and a Lie, Never Have I Ever, Question Cards, and Name Tag Trivia. These interactive activities help guests open up, spark conversation, and get to know each other in a relaxed, engaging way.

Q: What are easy housewarming party games for large groups?

A: For large housewarming parties, easy group games include Charades, House Superlatives, Scavenger Hunts, Trivia, and Group Karaoke. These activities get big groups laughing, interacting, and forming connections.

Q: What makes for fun competitive games at housewarming parties?

A: Fun competitive housewarming games include Balloon Relays, Charades Relays, Towel Flip Cup, and various races. These team games bring out guests’ competitive spirits and are full of laughs and lively energy.

Q: How do I personalize games for a special housewarming party?

A: Personalized housewarming games are all about incorporating details of the home itself or the homeowners’ lives into activities. Ideas include Housewarming Bingo, Decorating Contests, Memory Lane photo slideshows, or Recipe Swaps.

Q: What are good ways to integrate neighborhood games into a housewarming party?

A: Getting neighborhood residents involved with games like Neighbor Bingo, Meet and Greet Scavenger Hunts, and Map Its allow new homeowners to connect with the local community. It’s also fun to do a neighborhood-themed Potluck Appetizer to mingle and exchange culture.