Farewell parties are bittersweet occasions where someone is going away, but they are going for something better. They make us feel happy and sad at the same time. A farewell party can be made fun and memorable by adding a few fun games to the list. This article provides some suggestions.
Farewell parties are thrown by the person who is going away, or by someone close in his/her honor. They are an opportunity for the one who is leaving to spend a few special moments with the people who are close to him/her. To make such special moments interesting as well as memorable, one should not forget to plan some fun games as well as activities for the party. Given below are some fun and interesting game ideas for farewell parties for both children as well as adults.
Game Ideas for Kids
Treasure Hunt
For this game, hide some of the stuff of the child who is leaving, such as his/her ‘favorite shoes’, ‘favorite book’, ‘beloved T-shirt’, ‘prized toy’, etc. at various places. Next, make teams of the kids and give each of them a list which consists of all these items. The teams now have to get hold of as many items as they can from this list in ten minutes. The team which brings back the maximum number of items is declared the winner and is given a prize in the end.
One-Minute Contests
Another going away party idea is to have the kids compete against each other in one minute contests. You can have contests wherein five kids compete against one another to blow as many balloons as they can in one minute, or drink the most number of juice glasses in a minute, etc.
Photo-Session
Most kids love to pose for photographs. To implement this fun activity, prepare a replica of a photo booth with the help of cardboard and a curtain for the background. When all the kids come over, you can ask them one by one to come to the photo booth and say something for their friend who is going away. It can be something funny or serious or any other kind of farewell message. The kids will simply love this kind of make believe activity.
Balloon Bursting
You can have a small area of the wall or any other surface covered with balloons. Stick the balloons on the wall and keep some darts or toy guns ready. Ask the kids to throw the darts or aim the toy guns at the balloons and burst as many as possible. You can keep a limit of five tries per child, and the one who can burst the most number of balloons wins a prize. However, while using darts and toy guns, make sure that none of the kids get hurt because of them, and keep these things away once the game is over. Do not leave this activity unsupervised.
Tug of War
Make two equal teams of the kids and make them stand facing each other. Instead of a rope, give them a soft bed sheet to pull. Mark a middle line between the teams and ask them to start pulling. The team that manages to pull the other one across this middle line wins. However, make sure that there are no sharp objects around while playing this game so that no child gets hurt if he/she falls.
Shooting Hoops
If you have a basketball hoop in your yard, then you can have a shoot-off. Make two teams and ask each player to shoot the ball once. Every player has one turn and the team that can shoot the most number of hoops wins. Children usually do not tire of this game and it can go on for a long time. You can also alter it to make each team member dribble the ball from the other end of the yard to the hoop without letting it slip. The team that can make the maximum continuous dribbles wins.
Party Games for Adults
Quiz
One of the most interesting games is to keep a quiz on the life of the person who is going away. Divide all the guests into teams and ask them questions such as “In which year did John pass out of college?” or “Which is John’s favorite movie?” or “How many girls has John dated seriously in his life?” etc. Such a quizzes can be a lot of fun when there are close friends present who know the person inside out. You can also have a similar trivia quiz about other topics.
Pie Eating Contest
A pie eating contest can be a lot of fun. Set the time to 10 minutes. You can have any number of participants. You can also have rounds in the contest going up to the semi-finals and finals. The number of rounds and participants is for you to decide. For the contest, keep the pie that is a favorite of the person for whom the party is hosted. It may be chocolate, or blueberry, or anything else. The person who can eat the most number of pies wins some prize.
Suitcase Packing
Plan a game wherein the guests compete against one another as to who can pack a suitcase properly in the least possible time. For this, keep a few travel items in the center of the room. Next, keep three to four suitcases and ask the same number of guests to start packing them. When the guests are done packing, have the others give them points on how neatly they have packed as well as how fast. Remember to give prizes to the winner to make this activity even more fun.
Karaoke
A karaoke sing-off is a lot of fun. The people who want to participate have to select the song of their choice and sing it in front of everybody else. At the end, all the other guests can vote for the participant they liked the most. It does not even have to be a contest. It can just be a karaoke session where everyone comes up and sings at least one song that they know. This can be a lot of fun and induce a few laughs, and will also be very memorable.
Team Games
If the party is in the outdoors, team games such as football, baseball, cricket, etc. can be played. You can also have games like a three-legged race, tug of war, volleyball, or other games like musical chairs etc. There are also games like a relay or cook-off that can be played with a big group of people.
Charades
Charades can be made a lot of fun by including not only names of movies, but also songs, cartoon characters, famous people, or something about the guest of honor. It can be made unique and fun, and quite memorable.
These games are sure to rock the farewell party and at the same time etch its memories in the minds of the attendees for a long time to come.
