Throw a Block Party
- Four Weeks Before: Hold a planning meeting and select the event date and time. Some cities allow temporary permits to block car traffic on streets. Recruit a volunteer to contact your town for information. Also ask neighbors to sign up to help with event setup, decorating, activities, and food. Don't forget cleanup duty!
- Two Weeks Before: Ask a volunteer in charge of food to contact families to confirm which dishes they'll bring and determine how many people plan to be there.
- This party is casual, colorful, and kid-friendly. Buy balloons for neighbors to tie to mailboxes, lampposts, fences, and trees. Arrange food tables in a central location. Have children make table coverings with butcher paper and chalk. For a festive glow after sunset, set up garden torches and strings of lights.
- Kick it off with a parade. Let kids and their pets dress up and wear silly hats, and decorate tricycles and wagons.
- Invite the local police or fire department to visit and ask them to give safety demonstrations and tours of their vehicles.
- Play front-yard mini golf. Let families create their own holes and award inexpensive prizes for best designs.
- Rock the street with music. Hook up a CD player outside or splurge on live music that everyone will enjoy.
- A potluck picnic is the best way to share good eats with friends. Invite neighbors to bring their favorite appetizers, entrees, salads, and desserts.
