[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 Acts and Skits That Everyone Will Love (21–30)
Hilarious tablecloth pull
Speaking of the New Year’s staple TV show “Celebrity Hidden Talent Contest,” Masakazu Sakai’s tablecloth-pulling act was a huge hit.
If you’re around your 50s, you probably watched it every year.
More recently, Wes-P has been in the spotlight.
He even performed a tablecloth pull on his stomach and competed on “Got Talent.” With tablecloth pulling being such a hot topic, it’s guaranteed to get the crowd going.
It does require some practice time, but it’s not impossibly difficult, right? If you’re thinking about picking up a new act, give it a try!
flash mob dance
Flash mobs that bring unexpected emotion to proposals and parties are a tempting choice for entertainment.
Yamauchi from the comedy duo Kamaitachi pulled off a huge gag by attempting a flash mob all by himself at his partner Hamaie’s wedding.
We wouldn’t recommend it unless you’re very brave… Since it’s mainly dancing, it may require a longer practice period than other performances.
It’s reassuring if you have a few people with dance experience.
For company events, it might be fun to divide into teams—like a junior team and a veteran team—and perform that way!
[Definitive Guide] Guaranteed Crowd-Pleasers! Entertainment and Skits That Make Everyone Have Fun (31–40)
Telepathy Gesture Game
It’s no exaggeration to say that gesture games have long been a pillar of Japanese variety shows, and they’re always a hit as party entertainment.
Here, instead of a typical communication-style gesture game, we’ll introduce a telepathy-style version that tests whether two people are on the same wavelength.
First, present a prompt.
If the two performers make the same gesture, it’s a correct answer.
For example, if the prompt is “baseball” and one person acts as a batter while the other acts as a pitcher, that’s a miss.
It’s even more fun if you set up a screen so they can’t see each other’s gestures!
Swat-and-Helmet Rock-Paper-Scissors
With simple rules that anyone of any age can enjoy—where the winner of rock-paper-scissors hits the opponent’s head and the loser guards with a helmet or similar—this is “Hit, Wear, Rock-Paper-Scissors!” Even though it only adds “hit” and “defend” to the rock-paper-scissors everyone knows, once you try it, split-second decisions are surprisingly tough.
You end up hitting each other, or both taking a defensive stance at the same time, and while the players are dead serious, the audience is in stitches! It’s the perfect entertainment to liven up year-end and New Year parties, don’t you think?
two-person robe (Nininbaori): a comedic act where two people share one kimono-like garment, with the rear person acting as the arms for the front person
When it comes to classic party entertainment, the ever-hilarious “two-person haori” act is highly recommended.
It’s a simple, traditional skit that people of all ages can enjoy.
Whether eating or putting on makeup while in the two-person haori setup, the way the pair coordinate turns any scene into laughter.
Unexpected little mishaps that make everyone smile are common, too.
If you use food, be mindful of safety—watch out for burns, for example.
Why not create a memorable, fun moment at any gathering with a two-person haori performance?
Juggling
Juggling is a classic form of entertainment that can delight audiences of all ages.
It has a captivating charm, and it’s fun to start with basic tricks like the three-ball cascade, making it approachable even for beginners.
If you check YouTube, you’ll find tutorial videos covering a range of difficulty levels, so be sure to use those as a reference.
Juggling is something anyone can enjoy, and with practice you can really feel yourself improving—making it a perfect act for your next event.
Impressions that are too subtle for anyone to get
Imitations that capture a person’s distinctive traits and recreate them are a classic party trick.
Among those, let’s aim for material that reproduces finer details so people focus on your accuracy and what you notice.
It’s good to keep clarity in mind by mimicking famous people, but you could also go for laughs in the moment by imitating someone close by—other participants or people you’ve seen in everyday life.
Rather than structuring it so everyone gets it, try honing in on angles that will make only a certain number of people laugh.
