The meal is finished but nobody wants the evening to be. This is where a pack of cards and a tin of Summerdown chocolates earn their place on the table. These are the games our team plays after dinner, with the chocolates very much in play.
1. Who's got the mint?
An old parlour game, better known as Up Jenkins.
You’ll need: two teams and one wrapped peppermint fondant.
1. Split into two teams and sit facing each other across the table.
2. One team takes the fondant and passes it from hand to hand beneath the table, trying to keep a straight face.
3. The other team calls 'Hands up!' Everyone on the hiding team raises their closed fists and brings them down on the table together.
4. The guessing team calls hands away one at a time: 'Take away your left hand, Sarah.' Each hand called must open and leave the table.
5. Keep going until you find the mint. Whoever finds it keeps it. Then swap sides.
2. Last mint standing
You’ll need: a pack of cards (your Summerdown playing cards are ideal) and wrapped chocolates, one fewer than there are players.
1. Put the chocolates in the middle of the table, within everyone’s reach.
2. Deal four cards to each player. The dealer keeps the rest of the pack face down.
3. The dealer picks up a card and either keeps it or passes it face down to the left, always holding four. Everyone does the same, passing to their left as quickly as they can. The last player discards.
4. The aim is to collect four of a kind. The moment you do, quietly take a chocolate.
5. Once one chocolate goes, everyone grabs. Whoever is last to the middle goes without.
3. Tin Curling
You’ll need: an empty Summerdown tin and a handful of wrapped fondants or crisps for each player.
1. Place the tin at the far end of the table with its lid off.
2. Take turns sliding one piece along the tablecloth towards the tin.
3. Score three points for landing a piece inside the tin. Knock a rival’s piece out of the way if you can.
4. Once everyone has played all their pieces, the piece closest to the tin scores one bonus point.
5. Play three rounds. Highest score wins, and everyone eats their pieces.
It’s a proper use for the tin once the chocolates are gone.
4. Who’s in the tin?
You’ll need: an empty Summerdown tin, slips of paper, pens and a timer.
1. Everyone writes a few names on slips of paper, real or fictional, and drops them into the tin.
2. Split into two teams. One player at a time has a minute to get their team to guess as many names from the tin as they can.
3. Round one: describe the name without saying it.
4. Round two: the same names go back in the tin, but this time you can only use one word.
5. Round three: the same names again, this time in mime only.
6. The team with the most names guessed across all three rounds wins.
By round three, everyone knows the names. The fun is watching someone mime them.
5. The Peppermint Pause
You’ll need: a box of dark chocolate peppermint thins.
1. Everyone places a peppermint thin on their tongue at the same moment.
2. The table falls silent. No chewing, no biting and no talking.
3. Whoever lasts longest before speaking or biting wins.
It’s the simplest game here and possibly the hardest. It’s also the quietest the table will be all evening.