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group of Muslim men and women
After a Month of Self-Sacrifice & Spiritual Growth, a Party is Certainly in Order

After a Month of Self-Sacrifice & Spiritual Growth, a Party is Certainly in Order

Eid al-Fitr falls on May 12 this year and celebrations will continue into the next day. As someone new to these traditions, I was eager to learn more about the festivities surrounding the celebration of Eid al-Fitr and the importance of gift giving, so I reached out to several members of Muslim families and communities who have trusted Elfster to help bring them together. They shared with me their own stories of how they are creating new traditions, not only…

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secret santa party themes
4 Secret Santa Party Themes to Up the Creativity

4 Secret Santa Party Themes to Up the Creativity

Getting into a festive party mood is rarely difficult if you’re a party planner like me. I’m always ready to see family, friends, neighbors, and college pals in person, online, or a combination of both. And I’m still particularly fond of Secret Santa parties especially when the theme is exciting and engaging for everyone involved. Sir Isaac Newton once said, “Truth is ever to be found in the simplicity, and not in the multiplicity and confusion of things.” And I…

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family gathering
3 Fun Gift Exchange Games for Family Gatherings

3 Fun Gift Exchange Games for Family Gatherings

My great-grandmother Irene set up games for us to play as a family during every birthday, anniversary, or holiday gift exchange. In the summer and fall, it was croquet in the backyard. The winner received their gift first, followed by those who came in second and third place. For birthdays, we’d play Dominoes or Uno. Only, she would pronounce it “You Know!” That winner would always be first for a white elephant gift exchange. She’d offer lemonade, cookies, and joy…

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children's gift exchange ideas
5 Children’s Gift Exchange Ideas to Get Everyone Involved

5 Children’s Gift Exchange Ideas to Get Everyone Involved

As an adult, you probably look back over your childhood and remember how you received so many gifts. Now, as a parent, you’re likely the one giving them. But, whether you’re on the receiving end or the one giving the gifts, there’s one thing that has likely remained the same: the excitement. Nothing beats the feeling of opening a gift or seeing the joy on your child’s face when they open a gift.   And, while you might be a pro…

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Secret Santa for Virtual Teams
Secret Santa for Virtual Teams: Tips and Tricks

Secret Santa for Virtual Teams: Tips and Tricks

Before my office transitioned to all of us working remotely, we were planning our annual summer party. Each year, it’s always featured a competitive kickball game and a Secret Santa gift exchange—playing off the “Christmas in July” theme. Needless to say, this being 2020, our normal party isn’t going to happen. While there won’t be a chance to defend our kickball championship title, my team will still be able to participate in a Secret Santa for virtual teams.  As we…

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These summer party game ideas will help everyone connect.
7 Sunshiney Summer Party Game Ideas

7 Sunshiney Summer Party Game Ideas

As soon as the weather starts to turn warm, even just the first hints of spring, I start to get itchy. I love fall and actually really enjoy our cold Midwest winters, but I still cannot wait for warm weather again. I start to make summer playlists. And I start to plan summer parties.  Some winters and springs seem longer than others. We might not always be able to see each other in-person. So, when we can have a summer…

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These spring party games celebrate rebirth.
5 Spring Party Games to Embrace the Season

5 Spring Party Games to Embrace the Season

I live in a city famous for its cold winters. So when there’s a warm day, we fling our windows open and garland our hair with flowers. That’s because we’re all looking forward to spring.  Spring is a time when everything seems to unfurl, unravel from winter’s tight gloom, and become brighter. That’s why I love having a spring party. It just feels like renewal. And having spring party games makes celebrating the season even more fun. The 5 Best…

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A New Year's Eve gift exchange game is the perfect way to kick off 2020.
3 New Year’s Eve Gift Exchange Games to Start the Year Off Right

3 New Year’s Eve Gift Exchange Games to Start the Year Off Right

Saying the holidays are hectic is like saying water is wet. Everyone knows that. There’s so much hustle and bustle packed into a few short weeks. There are office parties and family parties and visits and shopping and more. New Year’s Eve comes almost as a surprise; like, “Oh yeah, now this.” That’s why we use New Year’s as a time to exhale, relax, and reflect. Our main tradition is to gather a small group of friends who we didn’t…

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Christmas party games for small groups are great ways to up the fun.
5 Festive Christmas Party Games for Small Groups

5 Festive Christmas Party Games for Small Groups

Normally, we throw a big Christmas party every year. But the holidays can be hectic, and sometimes we just want something a little more intimate. So last year, we decided to just have a handful of close friends over. And guess what? It was every bit as fun as our big party. A small Christmas party can be a joyful occasion, a chance to sit and talk to people while sipping from your mugs. It’s a chance to catch up…

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Secret Santa is a fun Christmas party game for high school students to play.
What are the Best Christmas Party Games for High School Students?

What are the Best Christmas Party Games for High School Students?

Being a teenager means living in a strange middle ground between childhood and adulthood. That manifests in a lot of ways, but it’s especially acute around Christmas. You’re a little too old for the childhood magic to swirl into your mind but don’t quite have the sweet nostalgia that makes the season so achingly beautiful for adults.  This isn’t to stereotype teens as too cool for school, or thinking something is “lame,” or whatever people my age like to say…

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Gift exchange themes for adults make a Secret Santa even more fun.
5 Unique Gift Exchange Themes for Adults

5 Unique Gift Exchange Themes for Adults

One of the great joys in life is having old friends. Knowing people for years—or decades—gives you a perspective on life that gets richer as you age. One of the other great joys of life is making new friends. Creating friendships as an adult gives you a whole new shared language to develop.  Friendships are as important for adults as they are for children, and one of my life philosophies is that they should be celebrated. One way to do…

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Enjoy these Christmas games to play with large groups this holiday season.
8 Crowd-Pleasing Christmas Games to Play with Large Groups

8 Crowd-Pleasing Christmas Games to Play with Large Groups

When we throw parties, I want to make sure that everyone is having a good time at all times. So, I rotate between rooms and ping back-and-forth between groups. It’s pretty hard to keep up (“Were you guys just talking about Stranger Things? Oh, right, tax policy.”) and even harder to enjoy myself.  That’s why we now make sure there are games at the party, especially around the holidays, when parties get larger and more frequent. Games are really helpful…

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Christmas games for a dinner party make the whole event more festive.
Dinner Party Christmas Games for a Holly Jolly Good Time

Dinner Party Christmas Games for a Holly Jolly Good Time

If there’s one thing my wife and I love, it’s hosting a dinner party around Christmas. We enjoy gathering loved ones around us during some of the longest and darkest nights of the year, bringing warmth to the table, clinking glasses, and raising spirits. It’s a burst of brightness.  Still, hosting a dinner party can be a high-wire act. You need the right combination of great food, lively guests who get along, and stuff to do. Once the plates are…

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Try one of these Secret Santa theme ideas for work during the next office party.
9 Office-Safe Secret Santa Theme Ideas for Work Parties

9 Office-Safe Secret Santa Theme Ideas for Work Parties

When I was fresh out of college, a few years ago (ok, more than a few), I had a job at a consulting company. To make things more fun, they had a party committee. One holiday season, they set up a Secret Santa gift exchange and decided to do a theme. Fun, right? Absolutely. They were fun people!  But the theme they chose was British TV dramas of the 1980’s. Needless to say, not everyone knew what this theme encapsulated,…

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How to Play Secret Santa Year-Round: Gift Swap Ideas for Every Event

How to Play Secret Santa Year-Round: Gift Swap Ideas for Every Event

Gifts aren’t just for Christmas, so there’s no reason why you can’t have Secret Santa gift exchanges year-round. In my family and in my workplace, we celebrate a lot of milestones every year, from anniversaries to Yom Kippur. A lot of those parties involve gifts, so knowing how to play Secret Santa is often the key to making sure everyone walks away happy. After all, we’ve all had those awkward exchanges where one of our coworkers didn’t get anything while…

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St. Patrick's Day workplace ideas
St. Patricks Day Workplace Ideas for an Office Party

St. Patricks Day Workplace Ideas for an Office Party

Last year, as I was looking up St. Patrick’s Day workplace ideas, my son suggested “snakes” as a theme. When I asked why, he picked such a weird—and creepy—theme, he said to me “St. Patrick’s Day is to celebrate when the Pied Piper got all the snakes out of Ireland, right?” While he was a bit mixed up on that, his heart was in the right place and he did give me a good idea. A lot of people don’t…

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red carpet party games for adults
Oscar-Inspired Red Carpet Party Games for Adults

Oscar-Inspired Red Carpet Party Games for Adults

Here are a few game ideas to spice up Oscar Night. Don’t get me wrong – I love watching the Oscars each year, but I’ve got to admit, sometimes I get a little bored. I mean, I love all the glitz and glamour, but it just seems to go on forever. In fact, last year, I fell asleep and missed Viola Davis’ acceptance speech for best supporting actress. Of course, I YouTubed it later, but I was a little crushed…

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Chinese New Year party games
Chinese New Year Party Games

Chinese New Year Party Games

Every year on January 1st at 12:00 am, I can be found usually wearing some outlandish dress, bright and bold red lipstick, and covered in confetti. It’s my favorite holiday, but it wasn’t until college that I realized not everyone celebrates the new year on the Gregorian calendar’s schedule. My Chinese-American roommate brought me home one weekend to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year with her family, and I decided I wanted to find out more about the wonderful family…

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football party games for adults
Super Bowl Football Party Games for Adults

Super Bowl Football Party Games for Adults

Super Bowl Sunday seems like a holiday to most Americans—there are even efforts to get the day after to be a national holiday. Many of my friends don’t even watch football, and they still love to celebrate the Super Bowl with a party, usually hosted by yours truly. In fact, I’ve made a list of common football terms and the goals of the game so my less football-savvy friends can know a little reason as to why there are so…

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creative gift exchange game ideas
The Most Creative Gift Exchange Game Ideas for Your Next Party

The Most Creative Gift Exchange Game Ideas for Your Next Party

“Gift exchanges aren’t just for Christmas, silly!”, my coworker Kathryn laughed as she closed her laptop and got up to refill her coffee. She had just told me she was planning a getaway weekend for the girls at our office at her parents’ lake house. But when she told me she was organizing a gift exchange for the occasion, she immediately picked up on my puzzled look. A few weeks later, ten of us ladies were tearing open immaculately wrapped…

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Yankee gift exchange game
What Is Yankee Swap? Gift Exchange Rules & Ideas for How to Play

What Is Yankee Swap? Gift Exchange Rules & Ideas for How to Play

“Jingle Bells, Batman smells, Robin laid an egg!” I screeched as my sister and I dissolved into a pile of giggles at the lyrics. I’ve never been one to take the holidays too seriously, preferring silly Halloween costumes to spooky ones, Galentine’s Day to Valentine’s Day, and birthdays full of mirth. That’s why I’m obsessed with the funny, frenetic Yankee gift exchange game that I play with my friends and family every chance I get. While I love a classic…

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tips for new years eve party
Tips and Tricks for Throwing a Last Minute Party for New Year’s Eve

Tips and Tricks for Throwing a Last Minute Party for New Year’s Eve

Impromptu—it’s one of my favorite words, but funnily enough, impromptu gatherings always throw me for a loop. I prefer to plan and prepare for everything well in advance, but that changed last year when my husband and I decided to throw a last-minute party for New Year’s Eve. A day before the big countdown, we ran into a friend who asked if we had any New Year’s plans. I tried to change the subject, as I was looking forward to…

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Christmas party games for adults
Quirky Christmas Party Games for Adults

Quirky Christmas Party Games for Adults

My mom and aunt were dancing the Macarena. The catch? They were doing the right dance moves, but to the song “All I Want For Christmas is You,” all while wearing flashy elf hats.   Our family holiday party had been a bit dull, so we decided to split into teams and have a dance-off. We thought the kids would be most excited about the game, but to our surprise, they went into the other room to watch a movie…

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New Year's Eve party games for adults
Inspiring New Year’s Eve Party Games for Adults

Inspiring New Year’s Eve Party Games for Adults

I’m not one for wild and crazy New Year’s parties. Instead, I like to slip on a cozy pair of slippers and spend the night at home with my husband, a few close friends, and a a bunch of yummy snacks. Every year, as the clock ticks closer and closer to midnight on December 31, we take some time to reflect on all the wonderful things the last year has brought. As we flip through photos of our adventures, our…

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