Tags: Fall Holiday Party Planning Thanksgiving
I’m a huge fan of the show Friends. I’ve seen all ten seasons a million and a half times, and I could watch them a million and a half more times!! I dare say it’s the best American sitcom in the last 30 years (although I’m sure Seinfeld fans would disagree!) I can put on any episode and it’ll have me cracking up in the first three minutes. Ross in his leather pants or going out with the “dirty girl”, Rachel trying to impress Joshua with her cheerleader routine, a million different “Joey and Chandler” moments, and Phoebe…well Phoebe just being Phoebe! I love them all!!
It’s impossible to choose a favorite episode, but pretty high up the list of favorites is “The One Where Chandler Doesn’t Like Dogs”—Season 7, Episode 8. It’s a Thanksgiving episode (aren’t those always the best) and it has Rachel crushing on her assistant, Phoebe secretly pet sitting, and Chandler admitting his fear of dogs. More importantly (and the point of this post) it’s the one where Chandler introduces the group to the 50 States Game—list as many U.S. states as possible in six minutes. Monica forgets 14, Joey ends up with 56, Phoebe gives up and starts listing types of celery (“1. Regular Celery”) and Ross refuses to eat until he’s figured out the one state he missed. Between Ross trying to finish the game, Chandler being afraid of the dog Phoebe’s been hiding in the apartment, and Rachel making everything awkward by crushing on her assistant…yeah, it’s definitely one of my favorites! Regardless of whether you’re a Friend’s fan or not, the 50 states game is a wonderful addition to any party.
The Rules: Try to list all 50 U.S. states in six minutes.
No matter how savvy you think you are when it comes to Geography, I guarantee you, it’s MUCH harder than it sounds. I don’t know if it’s the pressure of being timed or the distraction of competing against other people, but I was shocked at how many states I missed the first time I played (of course, my genius husband completed the list with time to spare…nerd alert!!)
This game is also a wonderful ice breaker. Holiday gatherings can sometimes be a bit awkward. You have distant family members you rarely see and therefore have to get reacquainted with, new people you don’t know, and let’s be real…people who just don’t get along! Having a game like this on deck is a wonderful way to ease the tension and coax out the “Holiday Joys” you’re supposed to experience when you bring friends or family together.
This game is also the perfect way to pry people away from the football game and get them interacting. I’ll never forget the first Thanksgiving I spent with Adrian’s family. It was at his mom’s house, someone had started up the Play Station, and Adrian and his cousin were completely immersed in some fight-to-the-death battle. His grandmother walks up to me (a woman I had JUST met, by the way) and says, “A good wife knows how to get her husband to turn off the TV at a party!” I wanted to melt into the floor!! We’d only been dating for a handful of months!! I walked over to Adrian and told him, “For the love of God, turn off the TV…turn off the TV NOW!!”
I can laugh about that now because I know her so well and love her to pieces, but 14-years later, I still panic slightly when someone has the TV on at a party!
I never understood why Thanksgiving was left out of the “party game” scene. We plan games for birthdays, weddings and baby showers, we trick or treat on Halloween, and there’s White Elephant at Christmas parties. Why does Thanksgiving get left out? Thanksgiving has its lulls too and isn’t that why we plan out games for parties…to avoid the lull? Well, there won’t be a lull this year because you’ve got a 50 states game template. Just print off one for each guest and watch everyone come together in mutual frustration!
50-States-GameSIDE NOTE: If you have some geography nerds like my husband, or just want to have a triple-point dessert round, ask your guests to list the state capitals…that’s always fun!!
Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!!
