Happy Hour in London: All Fun And Games

Last updated: January 19, 2023

Big cities attract sharp, smart, entrepreneurial people.

Exactly the kind of people I like to meet.

On the night of 30th August 2018, I hosted a New Friends Cocktails and Icebreakers Party at Thompson’s Gallery in Marylebone, London.

Lots of sharp, smart, and entrepreneurial friends were made!

People in an art gallery for a cocktail party in London
Enjoying one of my favorite activities – making new friends! At an art gallery in London

Video Welcome

The preparation

So how did I manage to get this bunch of people – from artists to business-owners, linguists to start-up big-shots – together in one place?

It started with my friend Kelsey. She kindly offered up her funky art gallery as our venue.

Three people in front of an art gallery
L to R: Me, Megan the owner, and Kelsey in front of Thompson’s Gallery in London.

I took things from there: I reached out to some pals in and around London, plus a whole host of new contacts suggested to me in a preliminary Instagram post.

And people showed up!

Friends in a gallery space standing around and me on the far right
Guests arriving to the Happy Hour in London, including my friend David Karp

The power of social media to connect people from all over the world is pretty extraordinary, huh?

Getting into the groove

So how do you get a bunch of strangers talking to each other? And talking something other than small-talk?

The recipe is simple.

You a) give them name tags, and b) make some fun ice-breaker games.

People are often a little dubious about structured sessions like these, ESPECIALLY the Brits.

Name tags? I thought we’d grown out of those in, like, primary school?

But after the first round or two… everyone got into the swing of things. They began to open up to people they’d never met before. It was a beautiful thing.

People outside against a white wall
Me leading an icebreaker activity in the garden

It’s all fun and games

One of my new favorites is a trick I learned from Kelsey: serving drinks in cups with numbers written on the bottom.

Every number had a pair, which meant that people had to go find their match. It brought people together who’d otherwise never have struck up conversation.

Two people doing a hi-five inside an art gallery
Me and Kelsey doing a hi-five because we’re excited to host a cocktail party together

The guests

Now let me introduce you to my colorful cocktail of guests! You can see a full list of RSVPs on our Splash page. Here are just a few:

List of names, black letters on a yellow background
Screenshot from the Splashthat page of the guest RSVPs for the London party.

The venue

The art gallery was beautiful inside, as you can see in this photo.

Art gallery with paintings on the wall and a sculpture
The inside of THOMPSON’S GALLERY in London where we had our cocktail party

Thanks to Megan and Kelsey for letting us have a party in their gallery.

The agenda

19:00 Cocktails kick off!
19:05 First round of icebreakers
19:45 Introduction to the awesome artists displayed at Thompson’s
20:00 Ice-breakers: Round 2!

Two attractive people inside a London art gallery
Daniella and me at the gallery. THANKS to Daniella for help with the party, photos, and this writeup!

Conclusion

After a couple of hours of ice-breakers over cocktails, heart-to-hearts, and new friendships, the party came to a close – but continued into the night at a nearby pub (couldn’t have found a more British way to end it!)

This was such a great night – and so much fun.

Getting a group of smart, motivated, funny people together is really inspiring. And what better way to attract a bunch like this than to host a cocktail party?

I hope to do it again soon – drop me a line if you want to come (and let me know why) to my next cocktail party in London!

Testimonials

“Thanks for hosting Nick! I met some really great people tonight” Linh Chi, marketing

“Thanks for the fab night!” Atalanta Xanthe, artist

“I met some really cool people! Thank you, Nick!” Seonaid Beckwith, linguist

What you should do next...

1.Subscribe to my free Friends Newsletter.

You'll get exclusive life hacks, business research, top tech gadgets, and see new productivity tips. See why 18,000 people say it is one of their favorite emails.

2. Get your 2-page Party Checklist from my book, The 2-Hour Cocktail Party

With over 19 things you can do right now to improve your next party. Plus an Executive Summary of the key lessons inside my book.

3. Read this list of my 21 favorite home gear items.

See my favorite electronics, kitchen toys, and even bathroom toiletries in one of my most popular blog posts ever.

4. Follow me on my social media.