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For me, a big part of hosting is thinking about each guest's personality and what puts them at ease. The social ones will find their way to the kitchen. The quieter ones might want a walk around the block, a nap, or a book and a chair in the corner. Both should feel equally welcome. The mix of people matters too. Most of our guests are family, but a few arrive knowing only one or two people, or no one at all. For them especially, I make introductions, keep a few good questions in my pocket, and make sure there's always something for people to join or quietly slip into.
The game on TV, flag football in the yard, a lively board game after dinner: all of those have their place. But not everyone enjoys shouting out answers, acting out movie titles, or being quizzed on trivia in front of a room. So I like to leave a few quieter screen-free games out around the house, the kind a guest happens upon between conversations and settles into without anyone having to organize a thing. Over the years I've noticed that even the people who usually disappear when someone suggests a game will happily lose an hour to one of these.
Each one is beautifully made, with boards and pieces people can’t resist picking up. The rules are simple and quick to learn, but there’s enough strategy to hold an adult’s interest. The pace is relaxed enough that you can continue a conversation while you play, on your own or with a few others. And young kids and grandparents can play side by side.
These are the ones I keep out during the in-between hours, before and after the main meal. All are screen-free, easy to pick up, and lovely enough to stay out all season.
Marble Solitaire
A round wooden board, a groove around the edge, and a set of polished stone marbles. Technically it's a one-player game. It never stays that way: someone starts playing, someone else leans over to watch, and soon it's "let me try." Even half-played, it looks lovely sitting on a table.
The stone version (about $50) is the heirloom pick; I own this one and the marbles are the first thing anyone touches. For a gift under $25, a glass-marble board looks almost as good and is just as addictive to play.
Mancala
One of the oldest games in the world, and still one of the easiest. Two rows of cups, a handful of stones, and rules you can explain in a minute. My Mancala set is light, unfinished wood with little gemstone-like pieces, and it folds and locks shut, so it's the one I throw in my bag for the beach or a picnic.
Shut the Box
Legend has it that Norman fishermen were playing Shut the Box back in the 12th century, after a long day at sea. Roll the dice, flip down numbered tiles that add up to your roll, and try to close them all. It takes 30 seconds to learn. On your turn, you keep rolling until you can't make a move, then pass the box along. Each turn stands on its own, so people can join in or drop out between turns without spoiling anything. When the game's over, shut the box and it sits handsomely on a shelf until next time.
Wooden Jenga
The tower everyone knows. It needs no explanation, works for every age, and the moment before it falls pulls the whole room in. A wooden set looks warm enough to leave standing on the coffee table between rounds.
A Puzzle, and a Mat to Roll It Up
A puzzle left half-done on a side table is the quietest invitation in the house. People sit down "for a minute" and are still there half an hour later. Choose a scene that suits the season, like a snowy village or Galison’s Christmas in the City, and it becomes part of the decorating, too. Pair it with a felt, roll-up puzzle mat underneath, so when it's time to clear the table, you roll up your progress instead of losing it. The mat is the part most people don't think to buy.
Conversation Starters
A little box of wooden sticks or cards, each with a family-friendly question or subject on it. Leave it near the drinks. Nobody has to run it; someone just pulls one out, reads it aloud, and the table takes it from there.
Christmas Crackers
If you didn't grow up with them, Christmas crackers are a British tradition: a paper tube twisted shut at both ends, with a paper crown, a joke, and a small gift tucked inside. Two people each grab an end and pull until it splits with a little snap. The cracker is credited to Tom Smith, a London confectioner, back in the 1840s. A brand I like that’s easy to find here is Robin Reed, a British company making them since 1975, whose sets often include a game for the whole table.
A box of crackers turns the start or end of dinner into something everyone can do together. Pull one with the person next to you: a snap, a paper crown, a terrible joke read out loud, and the whole table is laughing. No skill, no rules, every age. Some sets come with a group surprise: little wind-up racing toys (Robin Reed’s Thanksgiving set comes with racing turnkeys: wind them up, line them up, and see which one crosses the finish line first), or my favorite, Robin Reed's musical crackers. Every cracker includes a tiny instrument like a whistle, a hand bell, or a single xylophone key, each tuned to a different note, plus a numbered badge to wear. One person takes the baton as conductor, follows the numbered song sheet, and points at each player when it's their turn. Nobody needs to read music, and the result is either a recognizable tune or hilarious chaos. Both are great.
They travel well, too. I've sent crackers to my family and my in-laws when we couldn't be there in person, and when the photos come back — everyone at their table in colorful tissue-paper crowns with big smiles — for a minute, it feels like being there.