Several years ago, my husband (Joe) and I decided we would like to begin a new tradition and host a wine tasting party in our home. Over the years, it has grown and evolved to include friends from many pockets of our lives: family, childhood friends, college friends, neighbors, church friends, parents of our children's friends that have grown to be friends of ours, work friends and even friends of friends!
Although my mother taught me how to throw a great party, something was missing. People seemed to stay in their own comfort zones, not mingling with each other as much as we had hoped. We thought this was a shame, since many of our friends had lots in common with each other and the whole point of having this party was to bring our favorite people together for a fun time. So, a few years back, we decided to incorporate some games into the evening including wine trivia, playing theme songs and having people shout out the movie they belonged with and other small activities meant to get people talking. They were fun; but, as soon as they were over, people went back to their little groups.
Aha, "I'll have a 'Murder Mystery' themed wine tasting next year," I decided! Well, after some research, I realized that wouldn't work for our kind of crowd. Undoubtedly, people said they were coming and then didn't at the last minute and others said they couldn't and then showed up anyway. Both situations were fine with us, but didn't work for a traditional Murder Mystery themed party- which requires knowing the guest list in advance, assigning characters and certainly couldn't accommodate the size party we routinely hosted (about 40 adults, give or take a few). I am not an easily discouraged person, plus I routinely volunteer with children, which means I'm good at coming up with fun and creative ideas to keep them engaged. So, I put my "creative" hat on and set to work developing the ultimate game that would take our Wine Tasting Party to the next level.
After lots of brainstorming, I decided to keep with the mystery idea but came up with a format that would allow for flexible party attendance and size. The first version of Click involved passing out a playing card to each person with a one or two-word clue on the back. Our guests then had to talk to each and every other person in the game to exchange clues, which they unscrambled into sentences by suit to work out the four complete clues that solved the mystery. In order to get their clues, they had to ask and answer a pre-determined question of each other and, once they visited everyone, they would have the solution. Our friends LOVED it and, more importantly, they talked to everyone else at the party and made real, lasting connections. That's what Click is about- Creating that moment you CLICK with somebody!
The first year, our friends shared their favorite travel experience. The second year, our friends shared their favorite musician or concert they attended. And, those simple questions evolved into warm conversations! It worked! It is our sincere hope that we can bring to your parties that one little thing that was missing from ours- that moment in time, that second, when shyness, awkwardness, introversion, or even simply needing a reason to talk to someone you don't know morphs into a brand new introduction.
Joe and I were so very happy with how the game worked for us and we feel that if, by bringing CLICK to the rest of you, one new awesome connection is made, we will have infused a little more happiness into this crazy world we live in.
Click less on your devices; CLICK with somebody!
Cheers,
Ginny