Dating: Lock and Key Parties
The
prospect of mingling at a singles-only happy hour can leave even
the most outgoing types feeling wallflower-y: What do you say? How
do you strike up a conversation without resorting to cheesy lines?
One cool new solution: Lock-and-key parties, which can help you
break the flirting ice.
Here's how they work: If you're a woman, you get a lock-a standard-issue brass padlock, which you can wear on a cute chain around your neck. If you're a man, you get - you guessed it - a key. Then you make the rounds of the room, with nothing more original than "Let's see if we match!" as your opening line. If you find your match, great! You chat, see how well you get along-and, afterward, you get a new lock and key so you can mingle some more. Even if you don't get "locked up" during the event, you are guaranteed a chatty, fun hour or two.
"I was throwing ordinary singles events, and I realized I needed to provide a way for people to make a connection and get talking," says Christan Marashio of www.lockandkeyparties.com, which hosts a few of these shindigs every month in cities across the country. "People's biggest fear is rejection, and having a lock or a key as an excuse to talk really helps to take the pressure off."
How did Marashio come up with this idea? She decided to update the fondly remembered "nuts-and-bolts" parties of her college days. "I thought locks and keys would be a little less suggestive," she laughs. Indeed, the sexy subtext of fitting a key into lock is tough to miss... but very easy to banter about.
Amy Keyishian writes for a variety of magazines, including Redbook, Stuff, and Breathe. She fears the lock around her neck may be the combination kind.
2005.11.01,
9:40 PM
