RDP Wednesday: REVELRY

Remember fun? I used to have it. Especially during the Christmas season- but that came to a screeching halt in2019-2020.

But let’s not dwell on that right now. Let’s think about the fun that can be had this year after the presents have been opened and the Christmas dinner has merrily scarfed down.

I’m thinking about games for after dinner because when I was little my family used to play parlor games after we ate- I loved playing parlor games. When I was a kid my Great Aunt had a wine cellar and my Dad’s family loved their sherry and bourbon and their wine so watching the adults playing word games or charades was a riot.

Sad to say the wine cellar is no more and watching your family getting bombed for sport while watching them trying to remember what an adjective is or act out a film without spilling their drink from the comfort of an antique chair  is no longer considered PC so-

My family bought one of those bingo sets and we play games for prizes- which we all contribute and if you want to know the truth we really go all out on those prizes.

My nieces love board games, which surprises me that anyone under the age of 40 plays board games so sometimes we play those but I still love parlor games so I’ve dug some up and listed them here and I’ve added some Christmas Flash Mob performances because – well.

Why not?It’s nice to remember that the world used to be a fun place and who knows,

maybe one day it will be again.

THE MINISTER’S CAT

The Minister’s Cat follows the formula of many classic word games: Players sit around in a circle and take turns describing the minister’s cat with a different adjective. Each adjective must start with a different letter of the alphabet, starting with “A.” For example, the first player might say, “The minister’s cat is an angry cat,” followed next by, “The minister’s cat is a brilliant cat.” Players are eliminated if they repeat an adjective or fail to come up with a new one.

 CONSEQUENCES

If you’ve ever made up a story one piece at a time as a group, you know the basic concept of Consequences. This version can lead to even more hilarious, and often horrifying results. The first player kicks things off by drawing a head (whether human, animal, or mythical) on a sheet of paper, then folds it over to cover the creation. After passing it on, the next player draws a torso, the next legs, and so on. Once the sheet has made the rounds, players can unfold it to marvel at whatever monstrosity they created as a team.

FORFEITS

A round of Forfeits is a fast way to loosen up your party guests. To start, everyone forfeits an item of value (keys, phone, wallet, etc.). A player selected to be the “auctioneer” stands at the front of the room and presents each item as if it were to sale. Players can get their item back for a price—the auctioneer might tell them to sing a song, share a secret, or do 100 jumping jacks. In the smartphone era the stakes of this Victorian parlor game are even higher.

I loved this clip because you got to have a sense of what it was like to be in the Flash Mob- plus the participants were cute and dressed festively AND this clip is from 2021 so that made it even more special to me.