Meeting up to do free things lowers the stakes in so many ways. Anything that makes it easier to say, hey, let's get together! is a good thing. Take a literal walk in the park. Go to a library event. Go to a museum that is free or has a free day or has a library pass.
My neighbor suggested a swap party where everyone brings gently used items from their house and do a free, exclusive garage sale. Whatever is left over, we donate together. It was a hit of an idea. I can't wait until the weather gets nice to do it.
I love these ideas! A random thought regarding bulk buying and swaps combined: have you ever bought a large amount of a snack that your kids don’t like? Or they did like it until you just bought a buttload of it? How about a snack swap? Or a big pantry items swap? Everyone gets new food!
Our town sustainability committee has started seasonal themed swaps - holiday decor, Halloween costumes, sports equipment, etc. It’s a great way to give things new homes and socialize.
I have done babysitting swaps with parents, where one set of parents takes all the kids. The kids have a fun time hanging out together and the parents get time to do weekend errands, dates etc!
When we want to go out with friends we’ll hire a babysitter to watch all the kids, it’s cheaper for each family and the kids get a playdate while the parents get a couples date.
Yes, all of this! I’ve been opting out of supporting large businesses more and more recently. I expected to make my tiny impact on the world. What I DIDN’T expect was just how much my life would be enriched by the work-arounds me and my friends come up with! We’ve all saved money, and we’ve all withdrawn a bit of our $$ from major corps. It’s been a blast!
a friend and i volunteer at our kids' elementary school every monday. we drink coffee, chat, help with our hands/time and build connects with kids/staff at the school. we love it and miss it dearly every summer.
Meeting up to do free things lowers the stakes in so many ways. Anything that makes it easier to say, hey, let's get together! is a good thing. Take a literal walk in the park. Go to a library event. Go to a museum that is free or has a free day or has a library pass.
My neighbor suggested a swap party where everyone brings gently used items from their house and do a free, exclusive garage sale. Whatever is left over, we donate together. It was a hit of an idea. I can't wait until the weather gets nice to do it.
ooh love this. let me know how it goes!
I love these ideas! A random thought regarding bulk buying and swaps combined: have you ever bought a large amount of a snack that your kids don’t like? Or they did like it until you just bought a buttload of it? How about a snack swap? Or a big pantry items swap? Everyone gets new food!
Great idea!
Our town sustainability committee has started seasonal themed swaps - holiday decor, Halloween costumes, sports equipment, etc. It’s a great way to give things new homes and socialize.
So many great ideas for building community! I definitely think if we leaned into more spontaneity we'd been way more social.
I have done babysitting swaps with parents, where one set of parents takes all the kids. The kids have a fun time hanging out together and the parents get time to do weekend errands, dates etc!
When we want to go out with friends we’ll hire a babysitter to watch all the kids, it’s cheaper for each family and the kids get a playdate while the parents get a couples date.
We recently did this and it was a hit!!
Yes, all of this! I’ve been opting out of supporting large businesses more and more recently. I expected to make my tiny impact on the world. What I DIDN’T expect was just how much my life would be enriched by the work-arounds me and my friends come up with! We’ve all saved money, and we’ve all withdrawn a bit of our $$ from major corps. It’s been a blast!
a friend and i volunteer at our kids' elementary school every monday. we drink coffee, chat, help with our hands/time and build connects with kids/staff at the school. we love it and miss it dearly every summer.