The “Not Your Mom’s Dinner Party,” box features questions like, “What habit would you like to break?” and, “What alcohol can you never drink again?”

Definitely a fun ice breaker, Table Topics has questions for all types of occasions from family gatherings to bachelorettes to dinner parties with friends.

Each box retails for $25 and is filled with 135 cards each featuring a question for guests to answer.  Available online and at select retailers across the country.

PHOTO CREDIT:  Courtesy of Table Topics

EXCLUSIVE GIVE-AWAY:  Leave a comment below with one of your favorite “conversation starting” questions and be entered to win a, “Not Your Mom’s Dinner Party,” box by Table Topics (retail value: $25).  Winner will be chosen at random on Wednesday, November 25, 2009 and prize will be shipped by mail.

The key to any casual get-together is making sure your guests feel relaxed and at home. Make sure to serve comfort food that is easy to eat and simple to make. Grilled cheese is always a crowd pleaser, especially when you use artisan cheeses, freshly baked bread and unique toppings for a gourmet touch. We like to make our sandwiches on a panini press like the Breville Ikon, which leaves the most amazing grill marks on your bread. Place the grilled sandwiches on a loosely covered cookie sheet at 275 to keep them warm before serving.

Besides the classic cheddar melt, try interesting flavor combinations such as Brie and Pear on Brioche or Green Olive and Mahon cheese on Sourdough. One of our all time favorites, the French Onion Soup Grilled Cheese with Spiced Jus comes from Tillman’s Lounge in New York. (For the secret sandwich recipe, courtesy of owner Lesly Bernard, click here)

Check your local grocery store or farmer’s market for ingredients or order online from Fresh Direct, which is a great resource for gourmet cheeses, fresh breads and prepared catering platters. If you want to save time, order the Crudite Masterpiece, which is a beautifully presented tray of celery, red and yellow pepper strips, baby carrots, grape tomatoes and broccoli florets. Just make sure to transfer the blue cheese and ranch dips from the plastic tubs into glass or ceramic containers before serving.

And, no Game Night would be complete without a wide array of sweet and savory snacks that can be placed around the party. Try one of the gourmet popcorn combos by Dale and Thomas, which has an assortment of amazing flavors including White Cheddar and Black Peppercorn, Frosted Gingerbread and Peanut Butter and White Chocolate Drizzle.

As for the actual games, the choices are endless. We like to play “The Name Game” or “Celebrity” because you don’t need a board and your guests can participate in creating the “names.” Here’s what you need to know…

The Set-Up:
Give each of your guests 20 strips of identical paper and a pen to secretly write down names of celebrities, personalities, well known public figures and fictional characters. Remind your guests to submit fun and recognizable names instead of foreign or obscure ones that no one will know. All strips are folded and placed in a bowl. Split your guests into two or more teams of three or more players.

How to Play:
The first team starts with one team member as the “clue-giver” who selects a name out of the bowl. That person has one minute to give his/her teammates clues so that they can guess the name on the paper. The goal is to guess as many names as possible within the allotted time. Once the time is up, the next team goes and so on. Make sure to give each team member the chance to be the clue-giver.

Once all the names are guessed, all the names go back into the bowl for Round 2 where the clue-giver can only say one word but allowed to use hand-gestures. In Round 3, the clue-giver is limited to hand-motions and gestures only like in Charades.

The Rules:
The clue-giver is not allowed to say any part of the name on the paper. Points are won on correct answers and lost on illegal clues. The team with the most points after Round 3 is declared the winner.

Don’t forget to have prizes for everyone so that all your guests go home a winner!

PHOTO CREDIT: Courtesy of Tillman’s, Fresh Direct and Williams Sonoma

Karwa has designed a variety of wine packages to suit novices as well as connoisseurs and to accommodate a range of price points from the “Because I’m Worth It” luxe tasting to “Savvy in the City” that features wines under $15. The interactive tastings are perfect for a housewarming, a bachelorette or even an office holiday party.

Here, we ask the entrepreneur about her friendly, fun approach to wine and the growing trend of tasting parties at home.

How did you come up with the idea for Swirl Events?
I organized a wine tasting for a group of girlfriends and asked everyone to bring their checkbooks so we could do some grassroots fundraising for an organization I support. Because it was Women’s History Month, I focused on all women wine makers and told my guests the stories behind the bottles. Maybe it was the influence of the wine speaking, but by the end of the evening, everyone encouraged me to create a company that did fun, “unstuffy,” but elegant wine tasting parties. And, Swirl was born.

Are all of your Swirl-ettes trained sommeliers?
Yes, at a minimum, each of our “Swirl-ettes” has an Advanced Certification from the Wine & Spirits Education Trust, an internationally recognized and respected board. But that’s the minimum. On top of their extensive wine knowledge, they are all dynamic, personable people that are passionate about wine, but not at all pretentious about it.

Besides your wine tasting events, do you host educational wine classes?
We’ve just started our series of courses as we learned our clients wanted further education on wine in the Swirl way. Our first class was about “Decoding a Restaurant Wine List” and it was a hit! We’ve hosted other classes this Fall including, “Organic Wine” and “Best Wines for your Buck.”

Are you finding that more brides/grooms are looking to host wine tasting parties?
Bridal wine tastings are big right now. Brides and their friends are really eager to have an alternative to the typical and somewhat dreaded bridal shower where the only activity for guests is watching the bride unwrap presents for 3 hours! It’s also a welcome change for the bride who wants a bachelorette party at home that is a bit more elegant yet fun.

Swirl Events is available for private and corporate wine tasting events throughout the 5 boroughs, Long Island, New Jersey and Connecticut. To set up a wine tasting (for 6 or more guests), contact Anu Karwa at 917-463-3994 or via email.

SPECIAL OFFER: Readers of Notes on a Party get a 10% discount on a private event.

PHOTO CREDIT: Courtesy of Swirl Events

With some original ideas borrowed from one of her recent corporate bashes, Kalman shows us how to channel our inner child and have some fun, even on a budget or in the city!

Go With Brightly Colored Décor
For this party, we used hundreds of beach balls (of all sizes from 5” to 24” rounds) as our general inspiration. If you hang them in clusters, it makes a great visual and sets the “fun” tone of the event. Table clothes were rented in a rainbow of colors from orange and yellow to blue and green. Striped umbrellas were placed indoors as well as outdoors on old-fashioned picnic tables.

Use Everyday Items as Accent Pieces
Beach pails come in all sorts of sizes and colors, which can be used for flowers, drinks or ice. Beach towels can be rolled up and used as bolster pillows or laid down overlapping on the floor like a rug. Fresh citrus like oranges, lemons and limes are inexpensive and reusable decor items. Limes look chic in tall minimalist vases with single blooms.

Serve Classic Summer Favorites
Always a crowd pleaser, we served mini burgers decorated with pickles on top. If you have a larger budget, serve steamed lobsters and clams. A raw bar is a great option for a buffet. We set up rows of shot glasses filled with chilled Bloody Mary’s next to the oyster bar. Watermelon can be marinated with flavored vodka by cutting a hole in the watermelon, pouring vodka inside and letting it soak in. All you need to do is slice and serve for a cool, refreshing treat that has a kick.

Give Kids Stuff an Adult Twist
Give you guests a dose of nostalgia by bringing in items from their youth. We found these faux fireflies in mason jars that reminded us of our childhood. Surround each glowing jar with some amber votives and you have an elegant and interesting centerpiece. For something really kitsch, set up a do-it-yourself snow cone station, which can be rented from Party Rental LTD or purchased from Snowie with all of the different syrups and cones. Add a splash of alcohol for the adults!

Play Childhood Games
Part of having fun is getting your guests to goof around. Water guns, bubble blowers and even a piñata can get everyone in a playful mood and create some great photo opportunities. If you have a backyard, try a game of Bocce Ball or set up a make shift lawn in your apartment with a strip of AstroTurf from Home Depot.

Opened in 2001 by Maya Kalman, Swank Productions (231 West 29th Street, Suite 605, 212-643-3211 x111) began as a boutique wedding coordination company which, over the past eight years, has evolved into planning different types of social occasions and corporate events. Voted “Best of the Best” Event Planner NYC by the Knot Magazine in 2007, Swank Productions has clients including CBS, Bloomberg and Bride’s Magazine.

PHOTO CREDIT: Courtesy of Swank Productions

For more Lazy Hostess tips, click here.

Jimmyjane, the luxury collection of erotic accessories and lifestyle products has upgraded our favorite game of youth, “Spin the Bottle.”

Spice up your next get together by playing, Spin Me ($35), which comes with a custom designed bottle filled with paper strips inscribed with provocative messages that range from G-rated to X-rated activities.

The game, as you well know, is best played with two or more (mischievous) people.

Available at uber cool retailers like Selfridges in London and Fred Segal in LA, Jimmyjane products have won awards for their innovative design and packaging.

PHOTO CREDIT: Courtesy of Jimmyjane