Your Opinion Matters to Us

Okay y’all. I need your help. Well “need” is a funny word. I would like your help greatly.

1. I’m likely starting a new feature on Parenting.com each week where I will highlight great posts from blogs written by parents. I know I’m not aware of all the great blogs by moms and dads out there on the internet so I’d love some suggestions. Which blogs big and small should I be reading to find the most entertaining, insightful writing in the blogosphere? (It could even be yours.) Just leave a comment with the URL.

2. What are your favorite get-to-know you party mixer games? I’m hosting this party with a bunch of women who’ve never met before and I’d like to break the ice in some way other than yammering on and on about my kids’ dental health. I mean, a good kiddie toothpaste anecdote is always a big hit but I’d like to step outside my box for one night. Hit me with your best ideas.

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64 Responses to Your Opinion Matters to Us

  1. Amy R. says:

    “Because I Said So” is a funny blog written by a mom of 6. You may have heard of her now-infamous Ebay listing where she talked about taking 6 children to the grocery store. http://mom2my6pack.blogspot.com/

    As far as party games, I have a Christmas cookie exchange every year and last year we played a fun “left-right” game. You wrap up a couple of little prizes and all sit in a circle. Give each prize to somebody, then read a story like the one under “Right Left Christmas Gift (Ornament) Exchange” on this site: http://www.robinsweb.com/cookies/games.html
    It is a story with the words “left” and “right” repeated frequently. Each time the guests hear the words, they have to pass the prize in that direction. Whoever has the prize at the end of the story gets to keep it. It is not a getting-to-know-you game persay, but it gets people laughing. Have fun!

  2. Kerry says:

    We just had a gathering and played Apples to Apples. What a hoot! It took up the whole evening, but we call got to know one another fairly well and it was SO MUCH FUN!

  3. Carrie says:

    My favorite ‘mommy blogger’ is found over at http://www.antiquemommy.com. She’s hilarious and insightful! πŸ™‚

  4. Kimberly says:

    Hmmm…will have to give this some thought.

  5. Sharon says:

    My favorite is http://www.inthemidstofit.blogspot.com/. Sarah has written some beautiful insightful posts. I also love Antique Mommy!

  6. lifeasamama says:

    i have too many favorite mommy bloggers to count, but i second the vote for apples to apples. another great game is “two truths and a lie,” where everyone says two true things about themselves as well as one made up one, and everyone has to guess which is fake.

    for example:

    1. I lived in Austria for a while.
    2. I am double-jointed in my knees and can walk like a bird.
    3. I won an award for being the best needlepointer at the state Latin convention.

    (#2 is fake.)

  7. Kirsten says:

    I have a blog…not sure if people think its funny or not…i’m just getting started with it

    a game we have played is where you pass around a bowl full of M&M’s and tell the women to take as many as they way…they atleast have to take 5, but dont tell them what its for. After everyone has their M&M’s, you tell them they each have to stand up and tell one thing about themselves for each M&M they have…thats the best I can do

  8. Liz says:

    party mixer game … have the ladies pair off, one is blindfolded and has to put on a pair of socks on the other lady without looking.

    very fun.

  9. Summer says:

    Why, you should be reading my blog of course. πŸ˜‰

  10. Checkers says:

    My favorite blog to read is http://www.hollywoodflakes.blogspot.com. Absolutely hilarious! (Check out the Sugar Monster post. My hubby and I were on the floor laughing!)

    We played a really fun game with a beach ball. You blow up the ball and with permanent marker write a bunch of getting to know you questions on it. Then you have to throw the ball around and when you catch it, you have to answer the question your right pointer finger was touching. I wish I could remember the questions, they were unique and fun. If I think of any, I’ll report back. πŸ™‚

  11. Ann says:

    http://dandelionmama.wordpress.com/
    She’s my favorite. Besides DYM, of course!

  12. Kateastrophe says:

    http://twas-brillig.com

    Brilliant writer + hilarious lady = great blogging.

  13. Suzi says:

    Two truths and a lie is fun.

    Also ask the ladies to bring one thing that is special to them and have everyone talk about the things.

  14. Annie says:

    Truth be told, I basically hate most get-to-know-you games. Makes me sound like a grump, huh? I think the best get to know you is good food and a few really social people to introduce and mingle with the crowd to get them talking.

    I do agree with the Apples to Apples comment above, that is a really fun game.

  15. Lisa says:

    I second the Apples to Apples recommendation. It’s easy to learn and really fun. I’ve yet to meet anyone that doesn’t like it.

    And my blog ain’t bad sometimes πŸ˜‰

  16. If you haven’t read the Ghetto Pinata post over at Navel Gazing at Its Finest, you are missing out.

    Oh Judy is hilarious, check out her classic Our Lamanite Friends.

  17. I echo Summer’s comment πŸ™‚ !!

  18. Emily R says:

    I like 2 truths & a lie, and apples to apples is fun, but the vote for realsies and the vote for funnies might not get along. That sock one sounded hilarious, but my mom, who is sociable as can be, would never let another person touch her feet. Don’t know how many of my moms are out there.

  19. Becky says:

    Hmm. As to blogs how about ohthejoys.blogspot.com She is super funny.

    Games: “I’ve never” You need a mess of pennies and cups. Everyone is given a cup with pennies in it. Someone begins “I’ve never…” something true, and everyone who HAS puts a penny in that person’s cup. For example “I’ve never gotten a speeding ticket.” ” I never had braces.”

  20. Stephanie says:

    Oh, my blog, duh. πŸ™‚

    The dinner game is fun. But not a great get to know you, but still, hilarious.

    Hide and seek. Let’s play hide and seek.

  21. Or you could just check out my (mostly) daily feature called “Go Read It Today” where I highlight blog posts from big and small bloggers.
    http://plainjanemom.com/category/grit/

    I even featured you a time or two this week πŸ™‚
    http://plainjanemom.com/tag/daringyoungmom/

  22. Rebekah says:

    I am certainly not a funny blogger, I blog to keep my family in the states up to date on our life here in Hong Kong, but thanks SO much for this post, it’s giving me TONS of new reading material.

  23. marian says:

    Do you know my friend Mary at Owlhaven, Mom extraordinaire?
    http://owlhaven.wordpress.com
    How about Katherine?
    http://raisingfive.blogspot.com/
    Or her sister, Rachel Anne?
    http://homesanctuary.typepad.com/rachelanne/

  24. Novembrance says:

    I have to second Katastrophe’s vote. ‘Twas Brillig is an absolutely brilliant blog. No one is funnier, more articulate, further down-to-earth, or more gracious in all of Bloglandia than Brillig! http://www.twas-brillig.com

  25. cchrissyy says:

    if you go see blog.tendercargo.com I do some parenting posts. Not enough of them, but I’m building it up, and they’re tagged accordingly, so RSS me πŸ™‚

  26. Jill (CDPJ) says:

    I can’t help you with the party games, but one blog I know you need to check out for your Parenting.com feature is Just Eat Your Cupcake. Trust me…

    http://just-eat-your-cupcake.blogspot.com/

  27. party game: put a sticker on each person’s back that has the name of a famous person (or famous place, or something like that perhaps related to a theme) and then each person has to ask questions of the other people that will help clue them into the word/phrase/person on their back…in the course of figuring it out you have conversations. good for a cocktail party where you’re all milling around but lots of people who don’t already know each other!

    i think you should read my blog, of course:-)

    try:
    http://thriceblessedmomma.blogspot.com

    her story is incredible.

  28. Jenny says:

    The last ice breaker thing I encountered went something like this: each person gets 10 different colored jelly beans (everyone has the same 10 colors). You go around the room and play rock, paper, scissors… whoever wins that gets to ask for whatever color of jelly bean they want and gives away one they don’t want and also asks a question to whoever they’re playing against at the time. You keep going around playing rock, paper, scissors until someone gets 10 of the same color and is declared the winner. Hope my “directions” make sense.

  29. Thursday Next says:

    Spend some time reading Pioneer Woman! She’s a wonderful storyteller.

    http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/

  30. Cynthia says:

    I vote for 2 truths and a lie…you can’t beat it and really wouldn’t you rather hear crazy stuff about people (like I did security for NSync and the Backstreet boys – I weigh like 125 lbs) rather than I have 2 kids and I like Mexican food.

  31. Andrea says:

    My favorite parenting blogs are y’all at Parenting.com. So…I really have nothing to add here.

  32. Estee says:

    You could come and visit my blog! My husband thinks I am funny. πŸ™‚

    I love the Apples to Apples game. It is fun in a “let’s get to know each other without sharing something so mortifying that I won’t ever be able to look at you again” kind of way. Good luck deciding! πŸ™‚

  33. Tamara COsby says:

    CRANIUM! IT’s awesome!

    Also, take a peek at my blog…just to see if you like it πŸ˜‰

    http://www.cosbyfamily.wordpress.com

  34. Holly says:

    Oh and Notes from the Trenches:
    http://www.notesfromthetrenches.com/

  35. Wow, it’s late again…

    In answer to #2:

    At the Pensive/Scritchy household, we play lots of Death-Match Trivial Pursuit. The differences between death match version and regular trivial pursuit are:

    1. It’s all about team play. It’s amazing to see what some people know a LOT about, and talking amongst yourselves as a team to get the right answer is a good ice breaker – it gives you all a goal to work towards.

    2. First team to fill up the pie wins – none of this “have to make it to the middle” nonsense.

    3. You can get a pie slice on any place you land on.

    The game goes pretty quickly this way, and we’ve always had a good time playing like this with other couples and groups.

    Additional advantages:
    1. Trivial pursuit is well-known, so it’s not something that seems hokey, forced, or an obvious “get to know you” kind of game – it just happens naturally.

    2. Fond, fond memories of random statements from the game. (Our personal favorite – “wait, Ghandi’s dead? They had guns back then?”)

    3. Being part of a team of, say, 3-5 helps break the ice better than one person awkwardly probing another and vice-versa for information.

    Have fun!

  36. Jessica says:

    Toddler Planet is a blog by a SuperMom who is also fighting a rare form of breast cancer–this would be a great feature b/c she is insightful and amazing, but it would also raise awareness of Inflammatory Breast Cancer, which is so so crucial in improving the survival rate:
    http://toddlerplanet.wordpress.com/

    I also love Absolutely Bananas, she is HY-STER-ICAL:
    http://www.absolutelybananas.com/

    And, I think my blog is super-doooooper…of course! πŸ™‚
    http://www.ahugaroundtheneck.blogspot.com/

    As for icebreakers…I’m sorry, I must be anti-social because I don’t know ONE that would be fun.

  37. surcie says:

    I like the mixer in which everybody has the name of one famous person (celebrity, author, historical figure, politician, cartoon character, whatever) taped to his/her back but doesn’t know who it is.

    You discover the identity of the person taped to your back by asking the other players yes/no (and only yes/no) questions about that person. But you can’t ask the same person more than one question in a row.

    If you’re playing with strangers, you introduce yourself to a fellow player before you ask her about the person on your back. (You might think that’d be obvious, but it’s not.)

    The tricky part is coming up with names for everybody, but that’s fun, too.

    As for the blog suggestion: Mom thinks mine is hilarious. But she also says I’m gorgeous, brilliant, and perfect in every way. She’s probably not the most credible reviewer.

  38. Jana says:

    A fun game is to play Jenga, where there are questions written on each Jenga piece. It takes time to make the pieces, but who doesn’t like a good game of Jenga?

  39. Sarah says:

    One of my favorites is http://welovebigfamilies.blogspot.com/ in the insightful category. It’s a dad who is a very good writer and excellent at getting me to think beyond myself.
    I second the Apples to Apples suggestion also a tired old favorite that I do so love , the Two Truths and a Lie game or it’s oh-so-creative variation Two Lies and a Truth. (It seems obvious but each person tells those three things and the other people guess which one is the odd man out)

  40. Farm Wife says:

    While not insightful or inspring, strange things happen at my blog on occasion. Read at your own risk…especially today.
    I also love The Mominatior.

    Getting to know you games? My favorite was one my mom played at a ladies lunch. Everyone picked a penny out of a bowl and had to tell what they were doing the year the penny was coined.

  41. Kate the Great says:

    I like Boobs, Injuries, and Dr. Pepper. Yes, it’s a mommy blog, and a hilarious one at that.

    I also like Notes to Self http://www.notestoself.us/ for very different reasons.

    DesignMom.com is a mommy blog as well, but with a twist. I love her.

  42. Kate the Great says:

    (boobsinjuriesanddrpepper.blogspot.com)

  43. Hey, I got a mention up there, sweet!

    I like:

    http://somedaywewillsleep.blogspot.com – Sleepless Nights
    http://kaiseralex.com – Alex Year One
    http://www.dooce.com – Dooce
    http://www.joyunexpected.com/ – Joy Unexpected
    http://toddleddredge.wordpress.com/ – Toddled Dredge
    http://aweekinthelifeofaredhead.com/ – A Week in the Life of a RH
    http://antiquemommy.com/ – Antique Mommy
    http://frogandtoadarestillfriends.blogspot.com/ – Frog and Toad are Still Friends

    Um… okay, I’ll stop now.

  44. Elaine says:

    I think you would enjoy my pal Megan at: http://www.friedokra4me.blogspot.com

    She’s a fabulous writer.

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