Valentine Banquet Games

My husband and I have always enjoyed our annual task of hosting the games portion of our church's adult Valentine Banquet, so I thought I'd share a few of our favorites:

1. Newlywed Game -- I think everyone is acquainted with this Valentine Banquet game possibility, but it's always fun as well as hilarious. Choose three married couples, send the guys out of the room, and seat the ladies up front. The object is to ask them several questions before sending them out and asking their guys the same questions, finding out how much they really know about each other. Some good questions: What color sheets are on your bed now? What brand of deodorant does your spouse wear? What would your spouse do with 500 extra dollars? If you could go anywhere on vacation, where would you go? Which of the following hair styling products does your spouse use? It's fun to throw in a few multiple choice questions with some silly possibilities, too. I think we've used some variation of this game at every Valentine Banquet we've had.

Another variation is to send all of the men out and ask the questions to both groups before bringing them back together. That way, everyone gets to participate in the Valentine Banquet game.

2. Bobbing for Donuts -- For this game you need a donut and a piece of string for each couple attending the Valentine Banquet. Have the ladies string up the donuts and stand behind their men, who are seated. She must hold the donut over his head while he eats it ~ no hands ~ off the string. The trick is to not let it fall in his face! We did this with chocolate covered donuts (too bad we forgot the baby wipes)!

3. Shoe Scramble -- For this Valentine Banquet game you will have the ladies seated in chairs in a circle and the guys on the other end of the room or against the walls with their backs to the ladies. Have the girls deposit their shoes into the center of the circle. Mix the shoes up. On your "Go!" command, the guys must enter the circle, locate their wives' shoes, and get them on the proper feet. First couple to succeed wins.

4. Baby Feed -- This Valentine Banquet game is not for the faint at heart! Select three good-natured couples (particularly the men) from the group and seat the guys at the front of the room. Don the fellows with a bib and allow their blindfolded wives to feed them baby food from behind with baby spoons.

5. Candy Hearts Conversation -- Allow the couples attending your Valentine Banquet to form sentences using candy hearts. Best sentence wins the game.

6. Romantic Poetry -- Select a romantic poem and have three of the fellows at the Valentine Banquet read it aloud to their wives. Allow everyone else to vote with their "applause meter" for the best, most heartfelt and dramatic reading.

7. Team Work -- Allow the couples present at the Valentine Banquet to wrap a gift together. The catch is... each one must have one hand tied behind their backs! Another funny variation is to have the couple cooperatively eat a bowl of jello with their spoons tied together.

8. Guess the Nose/Foot -- Select four or five women and hide them behind a curtain (may be made from an old sheet). Have holes cut out for them to poke their noses through, and allow their husbands to identify them. Or... allow the guys to stick their bare feet out from under a curtain while the women pick out their man's toes.

We enjoy our Valentine Banquet very much each year; the games really add a lot of fun. I hope you glean some good ideas!