Entertainment ideas for year-end and New Year parties: games everyone can enjoy together
Are you struggling to decide on entertainment to liven up your year-end or New Year’s party? Bingo and karaoke are classics, but having games that make everyone smile can really boost the energy of the event.
If the rules are simple, easy to prepare, and anyone can join right away, it keeps things light for everyone.
In this article, we’ve gathered a wealth of ideas—from acts that instantly lift the mood to a wide variety of games that work regardless of group size.
You’ll find everything from show-stopping performances to conversation-sparking mind games and energizing activities that get people moving—plenty of variety to keep everyone engaged!
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Entertainment ideas for year-end and New Year parties: group-pleasing game ideas (1–10)
Stocking Sumo
Prepare two pairs of stockings and put the body (waist) part over your head.
Tie the feet together and pull against each other; whoever doesn’t have their stocking come off wins.
The highlight of this game is the faces people make while tugging on the stockings.
The players themselves are dead serious, but everyone around them will be in stitches for sure!
Gesture ShiritoriNEW!
Shiritori is a game everyone enjoyed as children.
It’s usually played with words, but this time let’s try it using gestures.
The difficulty goes up, which makes it a game adults can enjoy too! Participants decide the order with rock-paper-scissors or similar, and the first person conveys a word using only gestures.
The second person watches the first person’s movements and answers.
Continue this pattern, and if the turn successfully reaches the last person, the challenge is a success! To succeed, choose words everyone knows and communicate them with simple, easily associated movements.
It’s a fun game to watch as well!
Hige Dance
A classic party act that everyone from children to adults can enjoy:Hige DanceIt takes practice, but the excitement when you succeed is the best!
Entertainment ideas for year-end and New Year parties: group-energizing game ideas (11–20)
Impersonation
When it comes to classic entertainment for parties, impersonations are a must! For year-end or New Year gatherings, doing impressions of the year’s popular actors, comedians, anime characters, or musicians is sure to be a hit.
Choosing well-known and easily recognizable subjects is the key to success.
If you record yourself practicing on your smartphone and watch tutorial videos on YouTube, you’ll likely be able to practice efficiently.
Umaibō Sommelier
Umaibo has many classic flavors that have been loved for years, but there are actually lots of rare flavors you only see once in a while too! And the flavor reproduction on all of them is pretty spot-on! So how about a party game where you put on a blindfold, taste a Umaibo, and guess the flavor? If you mix both the classics and the unusual ones, it’s sure to be a hit! If your local convenience store or supermarket doesn’t carry many varieties, I recommend buying them online!
Don’t copy me, okay? / No copying, okay?NEW!
Let’s play a game called “Don’t Overlap!” where players must not give the same answer to a prompt.
Prepare several prompts, and each participant writes down exactly one answer that fits the prompt.
If none of the participants’ answers overlap, the challenge is a success; if even one overlaps, the challenge fails.
Prepare prompts that are easy for anyone to answer, such as “What’s a fruit?” or “What’s a spring flower?” If there are many participants, divide into teams and compete to see how many times each team can succeed.
Pedometer Game
It’s a game where players compete to see who can shake a pedometer the most.
The location on the body where the pedometer must be attached is specified.
Follow the instructions, put it on, and move your body as much as you can within the time limit to try to rack up more counts than anyone else.
The fun part of this game is that each person wears the pedometer in a different spot, so participants end up moving in all kinds of ways.
Someone with it on their hand will swing their arms, someone with it on their foot will run, and someone with it on their waist might look like they’re dancing.