Add These 5 Adult Party Games to Your Holiday Lineup
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Holiday hosting can be a huge stressor—especially if you have in-laws, distant relatives, and the like over at your place. It’s easy to panic about getting all the details right, but the bottom line is that your guests will be happy as long as there’s a drink in one hand and an hors d’oeuvre in another.
Drinks and food aside, if you really set apart your event—and have them talking about it for years to come—it’s time to break off into teams and get weird with a game or two. Send the kids home early this holiday and keep the holiday spirit alive with a spirited adult-friendly game. Our favorite picks will leave you out of breath laughing, and getting to know your family and friends that much better. Drinks not included but highly encouraged!
Merry Dissmiss
Think you’ve got thick skin? Think again. In this hilarious holiday-themed game, a rotating Diss Master draws a card and reads the prompt to the rest of the group, like “What was the worst gift you’ve received from one of your fellow players?” or “What’s the craziest thing to happen at a family wedding?” Everyone then lists their response on a dry-erase board, and the Diss Master selects their favorite response after reading it aloud to the group.
Buy Merry Dissmiss at Amazon, $20
Buy Merry Dissmiss at Target, $20
Cards Against Humanity
When you’re with your closest people, formalities belong out the window. And if you’re meeting these people for the first time or are looking to kick your acquaintances up a notch, think of Cards Against Humanity as a stellar social lubricant. In this “game for horrible people,” as the brand describes it, each player takes turns selecting a black prompt card, and all other players are then invited to fill in the blanks with their funniest, most outlandish white card (and one they believe will resonate most with the card caller). If your holiday season will involve lighting the Chanukah candles and devouring latkes, grab the Jew Pack expansion cards. For a general holiday spin on the game, opt for the Seasons Greetings Pack.
Buy Cards Against Humanity at Amazon, $5
Buy Cards Against Humanity at Target, $5
Taboo
While Taboo happens to be the tamest game on this list, it’s still pretty exhilarating. Guests will break up into two teams, and each member at a time will aim to describe as many words on a card as possible before the quicksand runs out. The catch? Players from the other team get to ring a buzzer any time you mention one of the off-limit words on said card. It makes for some good, clean fun for all the word nerds in your lives, and it has a gameshow-like feel that’s perfect for upping the energy in any room. For a festive twist on Taboo, grab this downloadable expansion pack from Etsy full of Christmas-themed Taboo cards like Rudolph and eggnog.
What Do You Meme?
If you and your pals communicate strictly in memes over DM, you’ll want to take it IRL with the viral card game What Do You Meme. Think of it as a similar concept to Cards Against Humanity, but instead of phrases, you’re prompting other players to caption a photo of a meme. They’re all super recognizable memes with loads of creative potential (think: Julia Roberts doing mental math), so even your most offline friend will get a total kick out of it. For that unique holiday twist on the game, create your own starter pack.
Buy What Do You Meme? at Amazon, $30
Influencers In The Wild
Named after the viral Instagram account of the same name depicting influencers in compromising positions just to get the right photo, Influencers In The Wild makes for an entertaining way to poke fun at content creator culture while still feeling festive. In this board game created by self-described memelord Tank Sinatra, players take turns rolling the dye, and gain and lose social media followers as they complete certain challenges on the cards. Like “real life” influencer stardom, getting a blue check mark card grants you immunity to specific penalties, and the goal is to make it to the highly Instagrammable big pink wall in Los Angeles. Think of it as the holiday getaway you never knew you needed.
Buy Influencers In The Wild at Target, $30
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