Block Party Planning Essentials
With summer in full swing, what could be more fun than planning a block party?! It could be a perfect end of summer bash, or the perfect excuse to plan something fun with your friends!
Planning the perfect block party may seem overwhelming, but with enough time and organization it will turn out incredible! Here are some of our tips!
Plan a date with plenty of notice! To have an event like this turn out, you want as many participants as possible! Having lots of neighbors participate can help you delegate out tasks as well!
Find Volunteers. See if you can find a couple of neighbor friends that are willing to help you sort out the planning details!
Figure out any details that may need to be made for you to use your street for this activity (permits, city rules, etc) If you can’t use your street for this, try planning ahead and reserving a park or something similar. If you do get a permit from the city, they will occasionally provide barricades and trash cans which is one less thing for you to worry about!
Make a sign up sheet! Some easy things people can sign up for are: games, crafts, cotton candy or cookie stand, drink tastings, DJ, finger foods, bounce houses, etc. Maybe consider adding an “other” section where people can add in the things they feel they would rather contribute! It is truly amazing the creativity and talents others can share with us!
Delegate! Send that signup sheet out via text or neighborhood FB page and watch the magic happen! This will take a huge load off of those planning and will add variety and diversity to the activities and food provided!
Choose your boundaries. How much of your street are you wanting to utilize? How many houses? This is important, especially if you will need a permit! It might be good to get a group of people you know will be participating together as soon as possible after planning a date to ensure you can have the space you will want/need for this activity!
Determine if you will need to rent anything for your event. Bounce house, DJ, tables/chairs, etc. If you want to go big and plan catering you could do that, or just keep it simple with more of a potluck type event! Both are great and work well!
Promote! Send out lots of reminders or post a sign on your street! You definitely don’t want people to forget about the party! Be sure to mention the fun things that will be there like, “music, food, friends and fun!”
Organize a clean up crew. Find volunteers that plan on staying after that will help with the clean up! You don’t want to be stuck with that alone at the end of a fun evening. Remember, “many hands make light work!”
HAVE FUN! Enjoy an evening with your friends and neighbors. Make new friends, talk with old friends and try something you’ve never done before! Enjoy your community and maybe even start making plans for your next party!
We hope these tips helped and if you plan a block party this year we would love to know how it goes or any tips and tricks you have up your sleeve!