Block Party Ideas For a Great Street Party

Friday, July 1st, 2022 @ 5:03 am, Parties, Tips

National Night Out is coming on August 2, and it’s the perfect excuse to throw a block party. We really encourage it, since it’s a chance to do what many of us have never done before: meet and communicate with your neighbors.

This can be intimidating if you’ve never thrown one before, so we’ve got some fun ideas to share.

What does a block party consist of?

Most block parties include:

• Lots of free food and soft drinks. If you don’t want to pay for it all, you could set up a potluck table. Other block parties do it as a BBQ, a picnic, or even an ice cream social.
• A lot of promotion in advance: people need to know about your block party if they’re going to go!
• Plenty of tables to hold food, and kegs or ice chests to hold drinks and ice.
• Music, if local ordinances allow.

Block parties help you have fun and meet people you’d never met before. They’re a great way to make friendships with people who live right where you do.

What can you do at a block party?

You can do anything you’d do at a normal party. Most block parties are kept family-friendly and allow space for the kids to show up and have a good time.

Most will include food, music, and some light games to help people get to know one another. You can block off an area for dancing as well, though you don’t want to blare the music too loudly. Ultimately, you want your neighbors to talk to one another.

How do you throw a small block party?

You may be having overwhelming visions of 40 to 50 strangers showing up to your event, but in truth you can control the size of your block party.

First, use old-fashioned methods to advertise your party. Don’t jump on Nextdoor or Facebook. Pick a few streets, perhaps the street above and below yours, or even just your own street. Hang a few invitations on people’s doors or send them through the mail after taking a walk to gather the addresses.

If you want to let people invite friends, family, or relatives, say so on the flier. If you want to restrict it to people who live on your street or block, you can say that, too.

Block Party Games

While the words “block party” can evoke images of wild parties, they can be family-friendly events, too. In fact, we encourage it, especially for National Night out! Here are a few ideas.

• An egg toss.
• A bean bag toss with canisters of different heights and widths.
• Office chair races with helmets.
• Hold a simple best dog contest: let people enter and show off their dog’s tricks and award points for loudest clapping.
• Hold a pet costume contest.
• Get local businesses to donate prizes and hold drawings or give them out as prizes for pet contests.
• Think old time games: musical chairs or Red Rover can offer good, clean family fun.

Tips For a Good Street Party

Here are a few tips to get you started.

1. Check with your neighbors. They may be planning block parties too. You can team up or if more appropriate, choose another date.
2. Advertise at least 4 weeks in advance. You might want to send out reminder fliers two weeks in advance.
3. Parties should be finished before 9:00pm, especially if there are kids or seniors on your street.
4. Keep it on the lawn but keep your garage as a rain-out option, or, if you can get a permit, reserve the whole street. If you’re not comfortable having people wandering around your home you can keep the party on your back and front lawn.
5. Make food fun and accessible. For example, renting a cotton candy machine, a popcorn machine, or both can make outdoor-accessible food easy and fun.
6. Check your local regulations before you put on a party, as there may be ordinances that impact you. You may, for example, require a permit.
7. Set out balloons to mark entrances and exits. This shows it’s an organized activity.
8. Use colorful signs to direct people to the party-accessible areas, and the off-limits areas.
9. Get some volunteers! You’ll need people to help you post signs, advertise the party, serve food, and even circulate among the crowd making sure everyone has someone to talk to. Some might even be amateur entertainers who will be willing to make your block party even better.
10. Set out a sign-in book so you can get contact information for your neighbors. This can come in handy for future block parties, but can also help bring your neighborhood together in a crisis.
11. Encourage security. Remind neighbors to lock up doors and equipment while they’re at your party.
12. Don’t forget to clean up after your party. You won’t endear yourself to your neighbors if you leave trash all over the street after it is done.

You’re ready to meet the neighbors!

Don’t stress out too much! If you get some people joining in and having a good time with food and fun, you’ve done more than most. And after two grim Covid years most people will appreciate an opportunity to have some fun.

Don’t forget you can come on down to Paper Plus to get balloons, disposable flatware, table cloths, sign supplies, game supplies, and more. Our shelves are fully stocked and we’ve got great prices. Come on down and see us! We like meeting our neighbors, too!