You Could Win This Cheese Board!
Photo: Ralph Anderson
The patina of this hand-built artisan board ($120) from Rockwell, Texas-based Vintage at Heart looks even better in person! Made from reclaimed French wine barrels, on the top it is stamped with the barrel-maker’s seal and on the bottom it is stained a deep red from the wine. Pile it with meats and cheeses for pretty presentation of party appetizers.
Enter to win the artisan board, by telling us your no-fail, ice-breaker for starting dinner party conversation in the comments section below. The winning answer takes home Vintage at Heart’s artisan board. The contest begins now and ends November 30. Click here for official rules.
Let the conversation get started below!
Other giveaways from the November’s Southern Made:
Win a Pewter Coffee Service from Tennessee Pewter
When we have friends over for dinner parties, were all so close that no ice breaker is needed! We are all chatting with each other from the second the first couple walks in the door to when the last couple leaves, and even then we’re still talking on the porch and trying to extend the evening as long as possible!
A great ice-breaker, especially after a little wine, is “Name your guilty pleasure” – usually a food, but you never know!
I have the ultimate ice breaker at my house, she is my 80 pound bundle of joy and she loves people so much that she “introduces” herself to each and every guest as quickly as she can. My four-legged baby can melt anyone’s heart and they all get to talking about her and how sweet & lovable she is….she is half lab and half English bull dog and to look at her she looks “big and bad” but she insists on letting everyone know her true self.
My favorite way to get someone talking is to ask, How did you two meet?
I print off major headlines from the past and put one as placecards, then everyone gets the chance to say where they were when this occurred and what they remember about it and how old they were (if they want to share this). Ex: Beatles on Ed Sullivan show, etc.
Great icebreaker, what is your favorite joke, always works! Nettie
aluminstroy.su
Politics or religion are my go-to ice breakers
Just kidding! “Two Truths and a Lie” works well at the dinner table. Each guest states three facts about himself, but the catch is that only two of them are true, and the third is a plausible lie. Other guests have to vote on which is the lie. It helps to get everyone mingling and interacting, especially if the party contains guests who do not know each other!
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True, genuine laughter:)
fact or crap!
Wear your favorite socks to my house. That’s what I tell everyone because I expect my guests to pull off their shoes and cozy up on the sofa, chairs, pillows on the floor and just get comfy. So when you tell your guests to bring or wear their favorite socks the conversation starts as soon as the door opens. I always tell them my guests as a child we were not allowed to go barefoot so I am a connoisseur of socks. For me, nothing is more pleasing than to see a guest slip off their shoes and cozy up in conversation with another guests. Besides you get to see a lot of fun socks.
I do not necessarily have a go-to icebreaker. One of my favorites is “If you had to use an alias what would it be?” This works best with a talkative crowd. With a group that does not like to talk as much asking “What was your first pet?” is a great way to get people talking. If it’s a younger crowd, I like to play a game.
“Enough about me, what do you think about me?” It always gets a good chuckle and starts things off, well, about me!!!
Sometimes just giving your guest a job to do–slice the bread, or open a bottle of wine, perhaps–is enough to get everybody talking in the kitchen!
For an ice breaker I like to ask a person what his or her dream job was as a child. It gets people talking and laughing about wanting to paint the lines on the street (my brother!) or becoming a mermaid/doctor.
[...] giveaways from the November issue: Win a Pewter Coffee Service from Tennessee Pewter Win an Artisan Board from Vintage at Heart Win a Serving Bowl from Louisville Stoneware Win Hand-Painted Table Linens from Oxford & Company [...]
I love people – there is no one particular ice breaker but if you are at my house, I can promise you my “baby” has greeted you and broken the ice within minutes of your arrival. Though she looks tough and mean (all 80 lbs of her) she is the sweetest, cheerful greeter you will ever meet.
[...] giveaways from the November issue: Win a Pewter Coffee Service from Tennessee Pewter Win an Artisan Board from Vintage at Heart Win a Serving Bowl from Louisville Stoneware Win Hand-Painted Table Linens from Oxford & Company [...]
since people are always in the kitchen–right where they should be—its always been my way to have “helpers”. I always try to put people next to each other doing something from getting ice for drinks or plating the first appetizer for me. Nothing breaks the ice better then food and friends!
I ask about what they were doing before coming here. Then I give them something to do like bringing out more napkins or appetizers. By giving them a mission, it gets the people flowing in the right direction.
Tell a funny story from the day or week.
I always ask people what they have done for themselves lately. It has encourage friends to take special classes, read a book, ask for babysitting. At a party it leads to a number of ideas that gain us all new experiences.
I like to ask people what their most memorable vacation was.
First, everyone is greeted with a hug. Tell something funny about a cooking mishap and all of the sudden everyone is sharing and laughter fills the room! New “remember when’s” begin! Can hardly wait for the next party…
What is the one thing you’d wish you’d done in college and didn’t have the courage to do at the time?
Not really a dinner party ice breaker, but for larger gatherings that pull folks from many parts of your life…. We learned this from dear friends Up North.
We love to have Mardi Gras beads handy in many colors. Depending on how the guests know the guest of honor (or us) we ask them to put on a certain color. Say red for family, green for neighbor, purple for college, gold for one company, silver for another, etc. … It’s a great way to let folks mingle and begin telling stories.
Get ready to turn down the music and hear some stories you have definitely forgotten- or better yet never even heard!!! (-:
What is your favorite or oldest cooking memory-successes or failures make great dinner talk
Ice breakers are a fun way to learn something about your guests. I like the two truths and a lie game. Playing this one time, I learned that a friend was almost kidnapped as a baby. Of course everyone guess this was the lie!
Seen any good movies lately? That generally starts a good conversation that can ebb and flow for a long time and lead to other conversation threads.
I guess my icebreaker would vary depending on what time of the year it is. In the fall, the conversation always centers around football and usually begins with “How ’bout those Vols?”. You really don’t want to hear the answer right now since our coach just got fired last week. During the holiday season it’s always, “What’s Santa bringing you this year?”. Hopefully the person being asked the question has been nice and not naughty, and is willing to share their wishes!
Since it is a dinner party I would ask…”What is the wierdest food you have ever eaten?” and move around the room…