• Fill a jar with candy and place it near the front entrance so that they have to go past it. Have each guest write their name on a piece of paper, with the number of pieces they think are in the jar. The one with the closest number to the actual number wins the candy.
• Place a number of items in paper bags or boxes and let each guest feel inside and guess what the contents are. You could use items such as plastic toys, jelly candies, rubber balls, sandpaper, marbles and anything else you can think of.
• Ask everyone in attendance to supply baby pictures of themselves and then try to match up which photo belongs to whom.
• As each guest arrives, give them a small card and the name tag of another person at the party. The idea is to circulate and ask questions about the person on the name tag, jot down the clues you’ve collected. At the end of the activity each person will use their notes to introduce the person on their name tag.
• Use a dictionary and use an unfamiliar word and ask each guest to write down what they think the word means. Everyone then takes turns to read out their definition. The closest one to the correct meaning is the winner.
• Ask each guest to write down three things about themselves. Two will be the truth but the third one is a lie. Each person reads their own statements and it is up to the guests to figure out which one is a lie.
• Gather in a circle and have everyone take off their shoes, tie them together and place them in the middle of the circle. One at a time each guest comes forward and picks up a pair of shoes and makes statements about the owner of the shoes based on the condition or the characteristics of the shoes. The owner of the shoes then stands up and either acknowledges that the information is correct or refutes it. They then pick up the next pair of shoes.
• Play a variety of songs and ask the guests to identify the title, artist and date it was from. You could total up the number of correct answers and the person with the highest number wins a prize.
• Pick a selection of dates or years and give each person a chance to tell everyone what they were doing at the time.

There are many different games you can use as ice-breakers and it’s a great way to meet your new neighbors while you’re all having fun.

House Neighborhood

You’ve been waiting to go on vacation for a whole year, and now the time has come. But, before you leave, you have to make sure that your home is safe and secure. Remember that burglars don’t take vacations!

Spend some time looking around your home to see if there are any points of entry that need securing. Don’t forget to lock a doggy-door if you have one, as burglars will use any means to get into your home. If you’ve got a house key hidden somewhere which is normally a place you would look for it, move it to a more secure place.

If you’re friendly with the neighbor next door, ask them to hold onto your spare key in case of an emergency. Be sure to give your neighbor details of where you’re staying and a phone number so they can call if there are any problems. Ask your neighbor to empty your mailbox of junk mail and to pick up any local newspapers left for you.

You need to give your home that lived-in look. If there isn’t any activity around your home for days on end, people in your community will notice, and the problem is that you really don’t know what all the people in your neighborhood are like.

If your car is normally parked outside your garage, then leave it there and ask your neighbor to keep it clear of snow or leaves, depending on the time of year. If you live in an area which gets a lot of snow, ask your friendly neighbor to keep your driveway clear. Leaving your car parked for days on end with snow built up all around it, is a sure giveaway that nobody is home.

Have your neighbor put your bins out as usual on collection days, and bring them back inside when they’ve been emptied. If an emptied bin sits out for days on end, you are giving the burglars a “no-one’s home” signal. Do you have a dog? Leaving a dog, especially a noisy one, in their own environment, is a great deterrent to burglars. If anyone comes near your home it will set your dog off and hopefully the neighbors’ dog as well. Ask your neighbor to make sure your dog is fed and is given water and shelter. This can sometimes be a better arrangement than putting your dog into a doggy vacation home!

Asking your neighbors to do everything for you while you’re away can often work well, but sometimes it doesn’t and it can cause friction between you. If that is the case, then why not get a relative or friend to houses it for you? This takes all the responsibility off your neighbors and gives you peace of mind knowing that someone is in your home. This also works well if you don’t want to place your pets into a kennel. If you are an avid gardener and don’t want your plants to die while you’re away, then you also solve that problem.

Whatever you decide to do before you go away, be discreet and don’t tell anyone who will listen that you’re going on vacation. You may just tell the wrong person and you may find out on your return home, that your home has been burgled. Keep your home safe while you’re on vacation, so that you know you’ll be coming back to it the same way you left it.