[Definitive Guide] Guaranteed Crowd-Pleasers! Party Acts and Gags Everyone Will Enjoy
In addition to enjoying food and drinks at New Year’s parties, year-end parties, and farewell parties, it’s also common to set aside time for entertainment.
If you’re asked to come up with the entertainment… it can be a real headache, right?
For those who absolutely want to get laughs and make it a fun time for everyone, I’d like to introduce some can’t-miss entertainment ideas!
Of course, “can’t-miss” doesn’t mean a guaranteed success, but try choosing based on the age range and makeup of the group.
We’ll also introduce classic games that get everyone excited regardless of age or gender.
Here’s hoping your gathering is fun and lively!
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Definitive Edition: Guaranteed Crowd-Pleasers! Party Entertainment & Gags That Make Everyone Have Fun (11–20)
Childhood photo guessing quiz
It’s a game where you collect participants’ childhood photos and guess whose photo is whose! Some people look exactly the same as they did when they were little, while others look completely different.
You might even be able to guess the era from the photo quality.
At year-end or New Year parties with coworkers you only know as adults, it’s sure to spark reactions like, “You look totally different!” or “You haven’t changed at all!” It could be a great opportunity to chat about personal stories you usually don’t share and help everyone feel closer.
Stocking Sumo
When it comes to entertainment that always livens up year-end or New Year parties, “stocking sumo” tops the list.
Participants pull a pair of pantyhose over their heads, hook the legs together, and then tug against each other.
It’s not only exciting to compete for victory like a sumo match, but the stocking-covered faces are guaranteed to be funny, so laughter is a sure thing! However, some people may be reluctant to put pantyhose on their heads, so it’s important to be considerate—either select participants in advance or make it voluntary.
Magic
If you’re unsure what to do for entertainment, magic is a crowd-pleasing theme in any era.
It’s enjoyable for all ages and genders, and with practice beforehand, your success rate goes up.
For example, tricks like the “vanishing coin” or the “floating bill” are popular table magic you can perform with simple props.
Audience-participation tricks like “pick a card,” and simple yet astonishing effects like “spoon bending,” provide delightful surprises for viewers.
These days, there are plenty of tutorial videos on YouTube, so even beginners can try them with ease.
If you want to liven up a venue with a performance, trying magic is highly recommended.
Tasting ○○ Tournament
There are many kinds of snacks and drinks, and because they’re so familiar, we don’t often pay close attention to them.
This is a game where you compare such foods and beverages to see if you can tell the differences.
The classic way is to do it blindfolded so that shape doesn’t give it away, and have participants judge the differences based purely on taste, smell, and texture.
Trying side-by-side tastings you wouldn’t normally do in daily life can help you notice each item’s personality and subtle distinctions.
You may even find your preferences—like which brand or flavor you like—change as you compare them.
Perfect Match Game
It’s a game where you challenge yourselves to see how close you can get to a target number using numbers related to the people present.
You ask the people there questions related to numbers, add up their answers, and try to approach the set number.
Since you ask questions while predicting the other person’s answers, how well you understand them becomes an important point.
If you set a large target number, the flow shifts from big jumps to gradually fine-tuning the total, which should make the game even more exciting.
High-quality singing impersonation
If you’re confident in your singing, we highly recommend a high-quality singing impersonation! Just being a good singer is enough to make for a solid performance, but if you can closely imitate a famous artist’s voice, it’ll be an even bigger hit.
You might even find people asking you to sing at every event afterward.
At year-end and New Year parties where people of all ages gather, there may be attendees who aren’t familiar with recent songs.
So don’t just imitate trendy artists—try mimicking famous singers from the Showa and Heisei eras as well for an even better reception.
Gesture Game
It’s a gesture game where you convey the given topic using only movements.
In everyday life, when we communicate something, we always use words—through speech or writing.
That’s why even a topic that seems “so easy!” can be surprisingly hard to get across when you can’t use any words at all.
It’s a game that truly tests the performer’s expressive ability and the guessers’ imagination and powers of observation! Choose topics that people of all ages can enjoy, and have everyone at the year-end or New Year’s party join in and have fun guessing the answers together!
one-shot gag
One-liner gags that grab the room with a short phrase are arguably a staple of party tricks.
If you only do a single gag, you’ll end up with leftover time, so it’s best to line them up and perform them as a medley.
If coming up with your own gags is tough, you might want to take inspiration from comedians who specialize in one-liners.
It’s hard to get huge laughs with every gag, so the key is to keep going even if one falls flat, rely on mental toughness, and win by sheer volume.
A popular comedian’s gag
If you’re good at impressions or one-shot gags, we recommend performing the latest catchphrases from popular comedians! Pick jokes from comedians active on TV or YouTube to liven up the year-end and New Year parties.
However, if a wide range of age groups will be attending, trendy material alone might not quite hit the mark.
To make sure everyone there has fun, consider the participants’ ages and add some classic Showa-era comedy bits—people might appreciate it and think, “How thoughtful!”
Bubble Dance, Reiwa Edition
This performance is a Reiwa-era version of the “Bubble Dance,” with Rikka Ihara—who took part back then as a student—taking on the challenge of recreating it.
You can also feel a high level of fidelity in the fact that Avantgardey, produced by akane, who was involved as a coach for the dance club at the time, is participating.
Although it’s called the Reiwa version, the overall structure evokes the bubble era, and the aspect of recreating that time with Reiwa-era technology is an interesting point.
Compared to the dance club days, the addition of various professional skills draws you even more deeply into the world of the performance.