It’s a really easy game tht I’ve mentioned before called SNOWBALLS. Very apt for this time of year.

Just to remind you:

• Get everyone to sit in a circle and give everyone a pen and a sheet of paper
• Ask people to write an interesting thing about themselves on the paper
• Ask them to screw up the paper and throw the “snowball” into the middle
• Mix all the snowballs up and ask each person to take a snowball
• Taking turns, each person introduces themselves and then reads out what is  contained in the snowball.
• They then have 3 guesses to try and work out who the owner is.
• Continue round the circle until all snowballs have been matched to owners.

It’s a really simple way of finding out a bit more about each other. For a more advanced and riskier version ask participants to write down the most interesting thing about themselves! For tons more ice breaker games for your next meeting or event visit the ice breaker ideas web-site

via Ice Breaker Ideas!.

Vegetarian Ice Breaker Games

There’s a brilliant article in The Sunday Times Style section this weekend.

In it they asked some food experts “if you were a vegetable….”  Of course this got me thinking – it’s very similar to quite a few of our ice breaker games “if you were an animal what would you be?” “if you were a pudding what would it be..?” Obviously they have to expand on their answers and the Sunday Times had some really insightful ones…

Gizzi Erskine, TV chef

“An artichoke – multifaceted, pretty, occasionally thorny and a pain to deal with”

Lily Vanilli, cupcake maker

“Asparagus, because I’ve got great tips, or maybe celeriac, because I’m well hard.”

Ravinder Bhogal, recipe writer and TV presenter

“An onion, because there are lots of layers to me (my first layer comes off easily). Also i’m best when pickled”

You get the picture! There’s absolutely no reason why you couldn’t use this as an ice breaker game for your training, meetings and events.

For shed loads of fantastic ice breaker games to electrify your meetings, training, social and corporate events, check out the ice breaker ideas web-site NOW!

Team Building Activity

Just wondering if I can get my action learning set to build a spaghetti tower as a team activity next week – I’ve never seen it done but I’d like to see it. I’ll let you know how we get on! In the mean-time check out our amazing DIY team building activities – great for trainers, schools, youth groups etc or for a bit of fun and for even more fabulous fun and games check out the ice-breaker-ideas web-site

Briefing the Ice Breaker Game

Ice breaker games are fantastic for getting people to talk and befriend each other quickly. They bring people together that otherwise may not have the opportunity to talk.  Having a bit of fun together breaks down barriers quickly and helps people relax.   Icebreakers speed up the getting to know you process and make it easier to take a group forward. They are a trainer’s dream tool but can be used in many more meeting situations than people do!

When should you use an Ice Breaker Game?

Ice breaker games have so many uses both at work and away from work. They can be used for all ages too! You can use them to start your training sessions, sales meetings and corporate events but you can also use them to integrate your school pupils at the start of the new school year, for youth groups, club meetings etc. Virtually any group gathering could make use of ice breaker games to ensure an event gets off to a good start. I used to use them at the start of every PTA meeting.

To get your meetings off to an excellent start you should learn how to to lead an icebreaker really well. Get to know your chosen ice breaker game very well and then practise on your friends!

Ice Breaker Games

First, give an overview of the game and then step by step instructions. Start with easy  ice breaker games when you’re first starting out and then learn something a bit more challenging for established groups. Ask around colleagues and friends for their favourite ice breaker games and try those. With some great care and attention you will grow in confidence and your meetings and events will have a real buzz about them.

Ice breaker games can be quite noisy and busy affairs – that’s what they’re supposed to be! if you need to amke yourself heard you might think about investing in a whistle, bell or some attention getting device.

Try this easy ice breaker game:

Changing places

• Have everyone seated in a circle. You stand in the centre. You say
• “Everyone wearing blue change places and greet your neighbours on both sides”
• So everyone wearing blue changes places and you try and slip into one of the vacant seats. Allow a few seconds for people to greet their new neighbours
• The new person in the centre issues another command such as:
• “Everyone who drove here today change places and greet your new neighbours”
• The person in the centre slips into a vacant seat, everyone greets their new neighbours and on it goes until everyone has met lots of people and had enough!!
• Above all, have fun with this energetic ice breaker game suitable for all kinds of groups.

Sharon Naylor is passionate about ice breaker games for work, play, parties, meetings, groups and clubs. In fact anywhere people are connecting to others whether it be for the first time or even when familiar with each other. If you would like to find some great icebreaker ideas for your next training or event visit the ice breaker ideas web-site for hundreds of amazing games and fun icebreakers.

If your delegates are seated in rows its tricky to do an ice breaker or some kind of break out session to get people involved, keep them engaged and stop then falling asleep.

Ready for Pass the Parcel?

So what about the traditional Christmas party game of “Pass the Parcel”?

In advance you will need to make up loads of pretty, wrapped and exciting looking parcels with lots of layers.

When the music starts (yes you will need piped music of some sort) feed the presents in at the start of row A and get them to pass along the row. When they get to the end they pass it onto the person behind them on the next row and they pass it down their row and so on until it reaches the end of the rows. When the parcel gets to the end of all the rows have some one on hand to take it back to the start of row A and feed it in again.

At random times begin to feed more parcels in at the start so you might have 20 parcels being passed around the rows at a time. Of course the exciting bit is when the music stops and the lucky people holding the parcel get take off a layer. At this point it could be a layer of wrapping or it could include some small gift, a corporate message or a daft item to wear eg. paper hat, plastic glasses etc. Be careful not to make this too ridiculous or to set out to embarrass people – the spirit of Christmas should always be kept in mind.

The most exciting bit is when the final layer is taken off the present and the person who does that gets to keep the present.

As there are lots of parcels on the way round and with different number of layers – keep going until the last present is opened. This could be an extra special parcel – the last parcel to be opened with more layers of wrapping than the others could be the best!

Good luck – you are sure to have fun with this festive Christmas conference game

For shed loads more brilliant ice breaker games and ideas for Christmas, conferences and team building, check out the ice breaker ideas web-site NOW! If you like this game please press the LIKE button. If you think you can use this conference ice breaker leave me a comment!

CHRISTMAS TREE

A great game  for children at Christmas time is to trim the Christmas tree when blindfolded. Put a small tree at one end of the room, ready to be decorate. Have all the ornaments on a table nearby, ready to be put on the tree.

This was the first time I had ever come across such a concept, but since then, I have used ice breaker games to great effect in a myriad of jobs, places, meetings, training sessions, conferences, parties and corporate and social gatherings.

Ice breaker games are brilliant for breaking down barriers quickly and for helping people feel at ease with each other. Used correctly they can rapidly create an atmosphere of fun and expectation.

At the adventure centre, kids would often turn up to programs not knowing many people and some not knowing any at all. They could be anxious and excited; but some were also reluctant and detached. Our job was to ease them into the programme, allowing a sense of fun, trust and anticipation to build. We did this through the use of ice breaker games.

We started the evening seated in a circle and the instructors would always join in as equals. First we would start with a simple name game: “Hello my name is Sharon and I like tennis” and on it would go around the circle with everyone trying their best to remember people’s names. The ice breaker was simple and non-threatening and even the most reluctant could join in.

The next game might involve working in pairs spending a few minutes getting to know each other and then introducing each other to the group.

Gradually the group began to feel more at ease with each other, and began to trust us, the leaders.  From this point on, and sensing the mood in the group, we could start to include more physical and ambitious games.

The key is to start with simple, non-threatening ice breaker games and gradually build up the complexity or outrageousness as the group allows. Once the ice is broken the group will look forward readily to the main topic of the day.

There are literally thousands of ice breaker games and ideas that can help you get your next event off to a flying start; whether you are looking for a quick ice breaker to inject a bit of fun into a meeting before the more serious business begins or you are looking for a party ice breaker to transform your event into the next sizzling sizzling show stopper!

Check-out the ice breaker ideas web-site for more fun than you can handle!

Why not try our Halloween Howler?

Hopefully it will scare the pants off your friends!

This is a night walk with a difference and works best with a small group or team if you’re doing this at work. It can be as short or as long as you want but you will need a flash light per person. You will also need to prepare map sections and a “coffin” or treasure box filled with goodies in advance.

• Draw up a map of your local grounds or search area – this could be the grounds of a park or big garden – suggest you keep to a small, safe area. Draw a route on the map using red ink (blood) clearly marking the START and COFFIN at the end. Cut the map into about 5 or 6 sections. Each section should also have an x marked on it where the group will find the next section of the map. Make the X in an obvious spot like the foot of a tree or gate. Laminate each section of the map. There needs to be enough detail on the map for people to follow and you should be willing to give clues if your map is not up to the job!!
• Prepare the nightwalk by putting the map sections out into their places eg. under the tree, by the gate etc. Make sure they cannot blow away or be picked –up by anyone if in a public area. You could staple the map sections to trees, gateposts etc. but make sure you pick them up afterwards. Suggest you also number the map sections to avoid confusion if other map sections are found by mistake.
• Place the “coffin” at the end. This takes the place of the traditional treasure box. This could be a large box with a cross marked on it. Inside the box you could place lots of horrible things like plastic skulls, spiders, rats etc. as well as a few prizes – chocolates etc. Make sure the box is well hidden to avoid finding it before the final section.
•  Take your team to the start and give them the first section of the map. Tell them their challenge is to find the “COFFIN” by following the red trail.
•  I would suggest you accompany the group to avoid them getting lost. To make things a bit more fun you could hang a white sheet in a tree for a ghost effect or place a few challenges along the way and reward success with the portion of the map.

For more scarily fantastic Halloween Games and Ideas ready to instantly download check-out out the ice breaker ideas web-site. Set your Halloween party on fire!