Lock and key party

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the record label, see Key Party Records.

A lock and key party is a form of party in which the guests, as they arrive, are given locks (females) or keys (males). The goal of such a party is for the patrons to find which key goes into which lock. It is often used as an ice breaker activity, as it provides an excuse for otherwise shy persons to talk.

[edit] Key party

One swinger variation of this, usually referred to as a key party, and popular during the 1960s and 1970s, involved all the male guests throwing their car keys into a hat, and at the end of the evening, the female guests each picked a set of keys at random, going home with the owner of the keys they chose. Another similar variation involves business men, in various fields, having a "guys night out" party, and ending with the 'mixed keys in a container' theme. In this situation, however, each man discovers whose keys they have randomly selected, returns to key owner's house, with the key owner's car, and sleeps with the wife (or live-in girlfriend). In some rare instances, the "new man" will stay and act as husband for the next day or so.

[edit] References in popular culture

An episode of The O.C. had husband and wife Sandy and Kirsten attend such a party (though it's done with watches), ignorant of its nature. They do not participate but return home and exchange keys with each other.
The motion picture The Ice Storm depicts such an event.
The November 5, 2006 episode of popular TV series Cold Case focused on a gathering of this type as well.
An episode of the BBC series Life On Mars features its lead characters going undercover at a key party
The upcoming movie Key Party, featuring Seth Meyers, features a key party as the central theme.
The 8 February 2007 episode of ER featured a comparison of a new kidney transplant program to a key party.
The 15 February 2007 episode of My Name Is Earl has a flashback scene in which Earl’s father attempts to initiate a key party.
The 2 May 2007 episode of CSI: NY included extended scenes at a key party - the last place a murder victim was seen.
The 12 November 2007 of Journeyman included a scene in which Dan Vasser finds himself at a key party in 1973.
An episode of That 70's Show depicts a key party in which Red Forman and his wife Kitty unwittingly attend a swingers party.
In an episode of King of the Hill during a clothes exchange party Minh accidentally lets slip, "Oh this is just like a key party...or so I heard."
In the movie The Grinch, when baby Grinch is hanging on a tree branch outside the window, the people in the house are having a key party.
In an episode of the BBC Three The Mighty Boosh, Kodiak Jack says, "Have you ever been to a key party with a herd of rhino? Well I have, and it ain't pretty."