I love to entertain. SO, last night, Brandon and I had eight couples over for game night. Yes, EIGHT! I invited so many because I figured half of them wouldn't be able to come. Everyone came! I was happy about this because I really like all the people I invited-however, such a large group would have made it hard to play the new game I got for Christmas, Things, or my other favorite game, Perudo. I felt it was necessary to come up with an alternate game that everyone could play together. I decided we should all play the Newlywed Game. You've played this game, right? First the wives are asked questions about the husbands, then the husbands answer the questions and see if the wives were right. If a couple has the same answer, they get a point. Then you switch and ask the husbands the questions. We have played this game at parties before and it can be really funny and entertaining. I told Brandon about my plan and he kindly reminded me that the last time we played this game, we got in a huge fight over one of our answers. I decided that I would just ask the questions and we wouldn't play. The guests arrived and we chatted and ate for a while, and then started the game. It turns out that the game took forever, husbands and wives were turning against each other and the men starting moaning about how this game always made them have to sleep on the couch. After the game was over (an hour and half later), my guests seemed bored and worn out. No one wanted to play any other games. I began to worry that people weren't having a good time. I always feel obligated to ensure that everyone enjoys themselves and feels comfortable. I looked around and noticed that one girl wasn't talking with anybody and another guy was being left out of the male conversation in the room. At this point, Addyson starting whining to be fed so I had to leave the room for a while. When I came back, all the couples but two had left to go home (it was 10:00ish and they all had babysitters). I didn't get to say goodbye to anyone. Overall, the evening was very anti-climatic, left a bad taste in my mouth and I ended up feeling deflated. Of course, I worried that my guests thought the party was lame. Though I enjoy it, I always stress about entertaining. The actual event usually turns out to be not as great as I build it up in my mind to be before hand.
The best thing about the evening was the food. We had quite a spread of artichoke dip, spinach dip, seven layer dip, homemade salsa, cookies, and guacamole. I made stuffed mushrooms. They were delicious and pretty easy to make. This is what they looked like before I put them in the oven.
Get the recipe here. Tip: if you ever make these, use a mini-muffin tin to bake them. They fit perfectly and then they don't roll around on the cookie sheet.
***Do you like The Newlywed Game? What is your favorite party game? Do you stress about entertaining and worry that your guests didn't have fun? Do you like stuffed mushrooms?***
3 comments:
I would have LOVED to come to your party, especially with that spread of food! I actually thought "BRILLIANT!" when you mentioned the Newlywed game. I love stuff like that. Really I'm just jealous that your house is big enough to have 8 couples over. We can invite 2 couples over at a time and then the issue of kids comes up . . . I miss game nights. I am so glad you have the blog so I can get these sort of detailed descriptions that I have been missing out on!
I am sorry you felt that way about the evening. Maybe people left because they had church the next day and don't like to be out late. There are people like that around here.
I am undecided about the Newlywed game. Brian and I have not really played it. I am with Ashley in that I thought it was a perfect idea.
I loved your appetizer selection. We are having friends over in a few weeks. I was thinking of a game night but if I did dinner there usually isn't a lot of time for games (kids are coming and people drive a long distance). I might have to go with the appetizers.
Oh and a game Brian and I really love is Ticket to Ride. The drawback is only 2-5 people can play. We have played as couples but Brian and I usually have to play seperately.
I cannot believe you just had a baby and you invited and cooked for 16 people! That is the miracle. Your party sounds so fun and I'm sure everyone loved it!
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