How To Create Party Games And Win Gifts: Be Prepared: Musical Chairs, Chinese Whispers, Charades and Other Universal Xmas Party Games

Musical chairs. Angela with her own Santa hat and a prize for winning musical chairs at Tampines West Toastmasters Club in Singapore. Photo courtesy of Tampines West Toastmasters Club.

Practise Party Games
If you do not have a large enough family to play Xmas games, or if you do and want to practise, go to a public party such as those at Toastmasters International clubs around the world. The parties are held throughout December. The games are usually organized by members with the members or invited dancers or comperes organizing the games.

Spot Prizes
You might get asked to look for a dot under your plate or glass or chair. you can then claim a gift or answer a question, or be the leader in a quiz.

Be prepared. I had forgotten. But at a party Organized by Toastmasters Club of Singapore, we were asked to bring certain items.

I remembered questions from other events such as Residents' associations. You might be asked to buy raffle tickets. So have small change.

Coins And Notes
Coins are also useful. Check what is on local small and large coins and notes. You might be asked to bring the head of HM the Queen, which is on many coins in the UK, also stamps.

Singapore has a Merlion, half mermaid and half lion, a symbol of Singapore, on a coin.

You need to have your change purse handy in your pocket as you run forward.

Teeth
You might be asked to bring up teeth. You could run forward and point to your teeth. Or bring a comb.

Four Legs
Bring up a small table or chair. Pick one near the stage or on the stage. Point to the one you were sitting on and lift it up.

Seating Situation
If you sit near the stage, on the side of the table nearest, you have a better chance of running up and being first.

Santa Hats
I had taken the precaution of carrying a Santa hat left over from last year . (You can buy two for two Singapore dollars in Daiso.) Hats look festive in group photos.

Keep Rules Handy
It is a good idea for the organizer to memorize or have on their phone the rules for a couple of party games. Also have a couple of small presents to reciprocate or join in a Secret Santa. Occasionally you turn up at a party and find everybody else knew about the secret gift exchange but you didn't. Or maybe they emailed you a month ago but you forgot. This happened to me at the first Christmas meeting I attended of Braddell Heights Advanced Club.

The usual system is to encourage participation by promising a gift to the winner, later giving leftover gifts or smaller prizes to everybody so that nobody goes home empty-handed.

If you need a gift, inexpensive gifts are available at Daiso which has hundreds of branches worldwide, or Valu (both opposite each other at Expo MRT in Singapore).

I was invited to a party (Toa Payoh South Toastmasters) and asked to bring a Secret Santa gift xchange of value $5-10 (Singapore dollars). I asked my American friend Marshall what to do, as the $2 gifts from Daiso were not of high enough value.

He suggested, 'Choose items of the same type to make up a set. I did that with three items of kitchenware."

So you could select three, four or five gifts of the same type, depending on your budget, to make up a set, such as three items of stationery, or crafts, or kitchenware.

Watch Out For Watches And Clocks
I am fond of watches and clocks. However, in Asia, and for Asian guests in the West, apparently clocks and watches are not popular as leaving gifts for employees, especially not retirees. Why? Because clocks and watches remind them of the passing of time, which is running out for them. So clocks are considered as omens of bad luck or death, which means the gift is inauspicious. This could be uncomfortable for the receiver, or the giver. The giving of such a gift could be interpreted as either malicious, or simply ignorance of local customs and thoughtless.

Some countries in Asia say clocks are bad luck but watches are OK. Check the thoughts of your guests and hosts.

Remember the O'Henry short story of the Magi.
He sells his watch face to a comb for her hair. She sells her hair to buy a strap for his watch.

Story 1 Chinese Whispers At A School English Enrichment
When attending an event, have a speech and a game ready in case you are called upon for a suggestion or help. I declined to give the opening speech at the first meeting of English Enrichment at Crescent School in Singapore because my family was likely to take a weekend trip overseas to a Malaysian island. But the weather was bad so we did not go and I accepted the invitation at the last minute. No time for briefing me.

I turned up expecting simply to attend and be introduced as one of the helpers to teach reading and writing essays. I was asked to give a motivational speech on the English language and passing the exam! I was introduced as an author. (You should always carry a book as a prop in case.)

Then I was asked to introduce a language game. What? Hangman - too negative. How about Chinese Whispers?

My adviser and friend said, "Go ahead." First I asked if anybody knew the game. Blank looks.

So I started describing it. you stand in a line. The first person in line whispers a message. Everybody repeats it to the person behind them. At the end the last person says aloud, loudly what message they received. The first person announces what message they sent.

A girl in the front row pu up her hand. "I know this game!"

I asked, "What do you call it?"

"Broken telephone."

Oh. A little voice asked, "Why do you call it Chinese whispers?"

Big embarrassment. Firstly I don't know. Secondly, I suspect that it has something to do with foreigners' poor comprehension of English and ability to speak English. Hardly encouraging when my job is to encourage them. Finally it singles out the Chinese as the world's worst speakers. Even worse.

I imagined the country of China. Huge. I had the answer, a convincing answer. I said:
It's called Chinese whispers because China is so large that by the time the message travels from one side to the other the message has changed. Does everybody understand? Let's go. Form a line."

I called the girl who had spoken to be first in line. "You," I said, "Yes, you."

Names
What was her name? It is handy to put names on guests. If you are calling people forward and want them to feel involved and to call them by name and show their names as prizewinners. If you think people won't like names, make up funny badges with nicknames.

For example, Santa Simon/Susan/Sarah. Snowy Simon/Susan/Sarah/Siti. The reindeer, Robert/Richard. Thomas the tree. The tree, Tom, or Tim, or Tony, or Tan.  Elf Elizabeth. Red nose Robert. Red hat Romeo. Harry the Handsome. Brenda the beautiful. Brian the birthday boy. Fiona the Fairy.  Peter the President. Sam the Secretary. Angela the angel. Lovely Linda/Lim. Warm Warren/Wong/Wang. Smiling Sara/Suzie/Seng. Reindeer Ravi.

Story 2 Dancing
At Tampines West Toastmasters club we were asked to form into pairs for dancing.  Ten of us, in five pairs, volunteered.

We were last. I moved to last. It helps to see what the others do.

The music played. The first couple did regal waves with their hands.

Another couple did a South American dance. The next couple a ballroom dance. We had just practised linking arms facing in opposite directions and doing a twirl. I suggested to my partner, "When I say 'left', move your left arm to your left. When I say 'right' move your right arm to your right. When I say up lift your arm up. Stand up, or on tiptoe. When I say down, bring your arm down, bow or bend low."

We galloped forward, repeated the wave done by the first couple, did the arm movements, turned at the end and bowed.

The dance leader called on us to step forward and nod in turn for applause.

 Useful Websites
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gift_of_the_Magi

singaporeair.com

https://www.toastmasters.org/find-a-club

About The Author
Angela Lansbury is an author and travel writer and photographer, teaching English and other languages.
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Dealing with redundancy at home and overseas, jobs, condos, cars and cats

Problem
The company sets up a new business or employs new staff members. A year later people are made redundant. What should the company do? What can the employee do?

UK
Years ago in the UK, I was a young copywriter in an advertising agency when the company lost an account and I was made redundant.  Personnel told me that I had lost my job and asked what I was going to do next. I had no idea. they suggested that as I had been working as a copywriter, if I did not want to take the opportunity to change direction, I should look for and apply for copywriting jobs advertised in the advertising industry newspaper Campaign (which had been started by the late Philip Kleinman who wrote an amusing column. The PR man circled two ads and suggested that I phone up.

The way I like to remember the story is that I looked too bewildered or shy, and either out of pity or to get rid of me and my having a glum face for the rest of the hour before I left, he decided to take action and help.

He phoned the two numbers and confidently and matter of factly asked for personnel, described me and my situation, asked if they would like to interview me in person, and would they like to speak to me on the phone, put me on to them to give my name address and date of birth for their records, and I instantly had a job interview (for a job which I got).

Even more impressive was the action taken in the USA after I went to live there. A British company closed down its entire operation. The HR department, before the office files and phone were removed,
asked for a day's grace until after the weekend to deal with the paperwork requried by law of giving the staff their final wages and statements.

The HR department did two things.
1) They ran off useful paperwork.
a) A Record of each persons' employment history in the form of a C.V.
b) Added two testimonials from the HR department and each person's boss or colleague.
c) They listed all the companies in the area, plus the names and addresses and phone numbers of the HR departments and the local newspapers or magazines which advertised jobs - in fact reproducing that 'week's job ads, such and such a company in the next street was advertising for two secretaries and one post boy, and three delivery drivers, and so on.

2) They organized a job fair courtesy of the local hotel in the lobby. Al the companies on the nearby industrial estate were asked to send the HR department to sit at a desk, give out leaflets on their company, lists of jobs available, and collect CVs from our staff.

Our staff then went around collecting information, speaking to HR (which gets around the fear of phoning them later), and handing over CVS.

Each Friday for the next six months, the head of HR held a party either at her house, or a rotating list of homes, or a nearby cheap restaurant, in which we all got together. Those still looking for jobs gave their CVs to those who had found jobs, to hand into the new companies. Of course, anybody who had taken a new job and didn't like it could tip off somebody keener, "I'm going back to my old company and family in San Francisco, so if you are still looking for a job, I'm resigning from my job here on the East coast on Monday."

When the head of marketing found herself a new job three months later and needed to assemble a team of market research interviewers, she was able to mop up those still looking for jobs.

HR is an Americanism for what, in the UK, was and still is called Personnel Department.

In Singapore an advanced speaker using the old Toastmasters International system, acted out a scenario where he had to deliver bad news such as redundancy to an employee.

Redundancy
Moving back to the UK or your home country in a hurry involves various practical moves.

Singapore Rentals
We took out rental agreements in Singapore. The rental agreements were for two years. The only reason why you could move out instantly was if your job ended and your work permit was withdrawn. You had to have your employer guaranteeing the payment of the rent, I think for two months.

So your problems can include disposing of the condo, the car and the cat.

Selling A Car
One problem in the USA was to sell the car in a hurry. This was achieved simply by putting a sign in the car window saying, Want to Buy This Car, Only $...... phone this number ........"

Selling A Car Quickly
I must admit that for years I had thought that people who advertised cars with a sign in the window were criminals on the run. But on this occasion, we found a trustworthy buyer who trusted the seller.

Advertising A Garage Sale
One way to sell up household goods is to have what the Americans call a 'garage sale'. How do you advertise it? The system is to write your phone number two dozen times on a fringe of tear-off vertical slips at the bottom of the sheet so that numerous people can take your number and call you.

What is safe, what is legal and what is feasible changes constantly. Armed with these ideas and energy and enthusiasm, check sources in your area to find the best practices in your country to help yourself and help others when you have need.

UK
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker