Icebreaker acts for welcome parties that rapidly bring people closer: surefire, easy crowd-pleasers
Entertainment and performances are essential for welcome parties.
Sometimes the hosts perform, and sometimes the newcomers do—both patterns exist.
Either way, it’s nerve-wracking, and choosing what to do can be tough.
In this article, we’ll introduce performances recommended for people in any position.
We’ve picked a wide range: activities that help everyone open up, ideas that let others get to know you, and funny bits.
However, be sure to avoid acts that are too long and bore participants, or anything vulgar!
- Get the office buzzing! A collection of recommended entertainment and performance ideas for year-end and New Year parties
- Get closer in no time, even with first-time meetings! Games that liven up welcome parties
- Liven up even first meetings! A collection of fun games perfect for welcome parties
- Roundup of easy party tricks. A collection of ideas that require no preparation.
- Easy, crowd-pleasing one-shot gags recommended for new employees. Fun routines that get everyone hyped.
- Entertainment ideas for year-end and New Year parties: games everyone can enjoy together
- Simple yet exciting! Recommended games and activities for year-end parties
- Ideas for team-based games to enliven a party
- A surprise for the welcome party. Heartwarming surprise ideas.
- Party Acts That Women Will Love: Crowd-Pleasing Entertainment Ideas for 2026
- Party acts that hype up the crowd: Recommended entertainment and performances for banquets and drinking parties [2026]
- Party Games That Will Liven Up Your Workplace [2026]
- Performances that liven up an elementary school thank-you party! A collection of ideas everyone can enjoy
Icebreaker performances for welcome parties that bring everyone closer in no time: surefire crowd-pleasers (11–20)
manzai (a traditional Japanese stand-up comedy duo performance)
Perform a simple manzai comedy routine.
You could try material that’s already been performed on TV with themes like welcome parties or banquets, or weave in relatable, situation-specific jokes that will land especially well in that setting.
If you want something even easier to perform, just doing a popular comedian’s one-liner gag is perfectly fine too!
dance
These days, dance is popular regardless of age or gender.
So how about performing a dance as entertainment at the welcome party? Any song is fine, but I recommend a well-known idol hit or a trending J-pop dance that everyone can enjoy.
It will take some practice, but it doesn’t have to be perfect.
In fact, boldly making a few mistakes might make the party even more exciting (lol)!
Marshmallow Catch
@miu_ryokun This makes me die laughing every time lol
♫ Original song – Miu – Sleeping Princess
The marshmallow catch that Naomi Watanabe performed as her special skill and made famous.
All you need are marshmallows, and it’s easy to try even in a small space, so wouldn’t it be perfect for a welcome party? It’s sure to be a hit whether you show it off as a special skill or have everyone give it a try.
Drawing Telephone Game
A drawing telephone game where you pass along the given prompt through pictures! It doesn’t just test how good you are at drawing; you also need the imagination to guess the prompt from a picture and the skill to course-correct a message that’s going off track with your own drawing.
It’s great fun for people who like drawing, but pure agony for those who don’t! Precisely because you don’t yet know each other’s strengths, it’s perfect for a welcome party—everyone can get excited as you’re surprised by unexpected talents and laugh out loud at quirky artistic sensibilities.
The choice of prompts matters too! Aim for that sweet spot that you can imagine but is hard to draw—the closer you get to that edge, the more fun it becomes!
Bingo
This game is a sure-fire, classic recreation, isn’t it? That thrill while you wait for the number to be called from the bingo machine, and above all, the lavish prizes! It’s the kind of game you want to play at least once a year.
Since it’s a welcome party, you want to create a fun atmosphere—and this game is perfect for that.
Office relatable moments
Classic in-house “relatable moments” and insider jokes are the safest of safe bets.
They’re usually more reliable than showing off a trendy one-liner or a bit you haven’t fully practiced.
If you can get laughs with material that crosses departments, it might even help you build new relationships.
Depending on the vibe of the event, you’ll want to vet your jokes beforehand so they won’t come off as disrespectful to superiors, colleagues, or clients.
If you want to avoid risk altogether, it may be wiser to go with broader “job-related relatable moments” rather than jokes about specific people at the company.
Ice-breaking welcome party acts that bring people closer instantly: Surefire, easy crowd-pleasers (21–30)
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!