Skip to main content

Not-So-Newlywed Game



One of the fun evenings in our community is when I host the Not-so-Newlywed Game. I’ve done this a few times and the residents really enjoy getting to know some of our couples better. It is not a program that I do every year. I like to mix it in to the calendar so that it stays fresh. I also have it based on when there are enough fun and interesting couples to participate. It is very important that those who are participating are quick witted, up-beat people, who the community knows and likes. The residents remember the real Newlywed Game with Bob Eubanks, so I make sure to speak to the couples independently and assure them that the questions will not be anything inappropriate. I explain to them that I do realize that unlike a cruise ship, that I know that they have to see the people in the audience for the rest of their lives and that I would not embarrass them.


I find that having four or five couples is perfect in order to make the program move along and stay within the one hour time frame. Here are a few sample questions that I’ve used before. You will need questions for the husbands and questions for the wives. You can find more on the Internet, but many of them I saw were not usable for my community or needed editing.  I found this booklet  from endlessgames.com helpful when I was getting started with this special game night.

I have a volunteer help me the night that I have the program. I give the volunteer the couple's names and a place to record the answers on a score sheet that I created. (You will need to edit it each time, based upon your questions and the couple's names.)  Some questions are worth 5 points, some worth 10 and then the big question is worth 25. In order to be efficient, I also have the volunteer write down all the answers, just in case I miss something while I am running the program. 

I start out introducing the couples and briefly tell the audience how long they've been married, about their family, professions, etc. Then I ask the men to leave the room and ask the ladies to stay and answer their questions.  Then, the husbands are brought back into the room and asked the same questions.  Then it is the wives' turn. I do not have the people write their answers down, they just repeat them out loud after their spouse's answer has been given. If they match, points are given. When determining if the answers match, you will have to use your best judgment and humor in order to make everyone feel good.  

I do give each couple a prize based upon how they score at the show and send them thank you notes afterwards for their participation. It is fun for everyone and a chance for me to have some fun hamming it up like a game show host! 

Check out these other resources that could make your event easier for you and more interesting for your audience!

Comments

  1. Just FYI...It was Bob Eubanks, not Barker.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oops, I know that as well as I know my one name. Thanks for pointing it out, I have edited it to be correct. Glad to know someone is really reading my blog! Thanks again.

      Delete
  2. I enjoyed this article, it's very informative, nice share. thanks for sharing

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

3 Styles of Scavenger Hunts

Boy is it hot outside! If you are like me you may still be looking for indoor activities that are fun for your residents to do. This activity that I will share with you can be done for different levels of care in your retirement community. I encourage you to share it with the other activity professionals that work in those other areas within your own community. The activity is the Scavenge Hunt. This can be done in three different ways and I will describe them below: 1)       The Stay Seated Scavenger Hunt v   Ask audience to bring in items they think will be asked for. Encourage them to fill their purses, pockets, bags, etc. and bring it to the event v   Make a list of items that they could bring with them v   Include items that would be funny, that might have a story to go with them, or that people would be surprised someone would actually have. (Green Stamps anyone?) v   See the list I used v   Cut the list into pieces and place them into a basket v   Ask

Super Bowl Party for Seniors

It is almost here! The 46th Super Bowl game will be held on Sunday, February 5 in Indinapolis. Each year, residents in my retirement community want to have a viewing party for the big game. I believe that it is a fun program to make an activity out of, but not something that I must do every year. Mostly, I don't have this each year because there are not to many ways to change it up, so I don't want to have it become boring. (This is where your ideas would be great to hear!!) This year, we are going to have a party and I'd like to share with you the plans for the evening. Residents are now signing up for the program which is set to start at 6:00 p.m.  This time is perfect in my community because we still serve dinner at noon on Sundays and the residents usually like to attend for the food, if for no other reason. (I do charge them a fee for the food.) We will have the game showing on our big screen tv in the auditorium and tables and chairs set up for the residents to eat

4 Pictures 1 Word Game for the Big Screen

Many of you who have played 4 Pictures 1 Word , know that this brain game is available as an app for your computer, tablet or phone for free. That is great, bu it does not allow a team to play and is not audience friendly if you wanted to present it at your retirement community (or other social gathering).  After some time and effort, I made a 4 Pictures and 1 Word game  slide show that you can use in your community. I did use the app for suggestions and the Internet for the pictures. I am glad to share this with you so that you will not have to spend the hours that I did in creating this game. If you get the urge to make one also, please come back to this blog page and share it.  I played this last week with a group of about 25 independent living residents.We did not get through all of the slides due to time constraints..... but I was glad I did not run out of slides in my hour that I had their attention. I will be playing this with them again... and would love to have other