Questions to ask at parties and gatherings

Who was a good friend to you this year, and what did they do?

Asking what the friend did turns a name into a story: she shared her snack, he waited at the gate. A child who cannot think of anyone may be telling you something too, and that is better followed up gently and alone than in front of the whole table.

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If your year had a theme song, what was it?

Make people say why, since the reason is the answer. If someone has their music app's year-end summary to hand, the real top track is often funnier than the one they would have chosen.

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If you were in charge of the family for one whole day next year, what would we do?

Expect pancakes for dinner and no bedtime. Underneath the silliness is a fairly accurate list of what they love, and one item from it is usually easy to grant.

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What do you want our weekends to look like next year?

Weekends are where a year gets spent, so this is more useful than asking about big goals. One of you wanting more plans and the other wanting fewer is common, and it is easier to split the difference in January than in the middle of a tired Saturday.

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What was the highlight of your year that never made it to the group chat?

Friends already know the headlines: the new job, the wedding, the move. This asks for the one they missed, which is often smaller and better, like a solo trip or a phone call that mended something. If someone says nothing much happened, ask for their best ordinary week.

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What did you learn last year that the rest of us should borrow?

Ask for something small enough to copy on Monday: a template, a way of running a handover, a keyboard shortcut. Collect the answers in one shared document, otherwise they are gone by the end of the meeting.

From: New Year Questions to Ask