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One major key factor to any party’s success is entertainment, and a block party is no different! If you do not provide a few things to do you are certainly setting yourself up for an awkward, unsocial, flop of a gathering. After all you may hardly know half these folks and a few fun activities will certainly facilitate conversation and having fun together is what any gathering is all about really.
The first thing to consider when planning entertainment is you will need things that appeal to a variety of age groups. Think of a few things for the little kids to do, a few things for adults to do, and one or two things that the oldest generation may enjoy as well.
I like to set up stations when planning the logistics of things. Try to group the items together- think kids area, adult area, and a few quieter activities staged away from the kids area.
Here I have put together a few ideas that you may want to try at your next block party!
Ideas for the ‘Kids Zone’:
- Bubble station- lots of bubble solution and a variety of wands and tools to blow different bubbles.
- Sidewalk chalk- because drawing in the street is so much more fun.
- Face painting- recruit a few pre-teens to be the creative painters (they usually love to be in charge).
- Water balloons or squirt guns- make sure they all know the rule- NEVER SHOOT AN UNARMED MAN- this will hopefully stop them from bombing the sweet older couple who are not interested in getting wet!
- DIY water park- Set up a bunch of sprinklers- different varieties if you can. Slip and slides & kiddie pools. Just let them know to bring their swimsuits and towels.
- Arts and craft table- pile it up with scissors paper, glue, and glitter- let their creative juices flow or better yet instruct them to make decorations for the party, it will keep them busy for hours!
- Bike decorating station- streamers, ribbon, garland, whatever else you can think of to decorate their bikes and have them show off by riding them in a parade afterwards.
- Bounce house- if you want to splurge on a rental or know someone who may have a small one you can borrow.
- Relay races- again recruit a teen or two to be in charge and coordinate three-legged race, egg relays, or sack races. Adults will be entertained just watching the craziness of the competition I promise!
- Scavenger hunt- make a list of outdoor items each kid has to find and the first one back with all the items win. Simple things like a rock, a pine cone, a yellow flower etc… and throw in a few harder ones like 4 different types of leaves, a feather, or maybe a worm! Providing each kiddo with a brown lunch sack will help them to carry all their findings until the end.
- Easter egg hunt- who says it has to be Easter?! Hunting for eggs throughout everyone’s backyards will require permission and a little help from the homeowners but I am sure it would be so much fun and worth the effort upfront.
Adult and/or whole family activities:
- Beer or wine tasting- have everyone bring a bottle or a few cans of their favorite libation and everyone can sample to vote on a favorite. Perhaps offer a small gift card for the local liquor store to the winner.
- Create some friendly competition with a game of basketball, baseball, volleyball or kickball-all ages welcome but try to even out teams with skill level and age- or play kids against grown-ups!
- Board games and cards set out for the quieter crew.
- Karaoke machine for those who love the spotlight.
- Yard games such as bean bag toss, ladder ball, or washers are always a hit no matter how young or old.
- Oversized games- like giant Jenga, yard Yahtzee, or giant checkers are always a BIG hit (pun intended).
- Raffle Prize(s)- A few years ago I put together a bunch of different baskets to raffle off. Most of it was stuff my neighbor and I already had (think re-gifting those Christmas items that are collecting dust) We had a kitchen-themed basket, a movie and candy theme basket, a duffle bag and a water bottle, you get the idea. Everyone got one ticket just for coming and got another if they made a donation to help cover other costs we incurred throwing the party. This was a huge hit for all the neighbors and we will definitely do that again!
- “All You Can Eat” challenge- post a sign-up sheet for anyone wanting to participate. It can be all-you-can-eat hotdogs, jumbo marshmallows, watermelon slices, etc… anything you can think of really. Simply set a time limit and whoever eats the most in that time wins. (for fun make the prize related to the food like the winner of the watermelon challenge wins a giant watermelon-but don’t tell them that until the end!)
Other suggestions:
Good music is a must and I suggest playing a variety of all genres and definitely keeping it rated PG as to not offend anyone. Or better yet do you know a budding artist willing to come play for free or cheap if you promise to help promote their name in the community? Worth asking if you can help each other out!
Food bars and buffets– food always brings people together! This is the perfect opportunity to do something special like build your own trail mix station, snow cones, homemade ice cream, or smores station.
Name tags– they seem cheesy but are really helpful, especially for the newest members on the block trying to remember everyone’s name is a challenge so help them out a little and label everyone!
Invite your local fireman & police officers! Ask them to bring a fire truck or squad car for the kids to tour and sit in. This was a huge hit for all ages at our block party. The fireman were great at explaining everything about the trucks and letting the kids touch everything. You may get to see them at other events and festivals but this smaller setting was great because it allowed us all time to ask questions and learn way more than we would have in another setting.
For more block party planning, tips be sure to check out my blog post “How To Plan Your First Neighborhood Block Party”
I hope these idea have given you some inspiration to plan some fun activities during your next neighborhood party. No matter what you plan the biggest piece of advice I can give is to be sure to mingle and encourage other to do so as well! Try to bop around to all the groups and chat for a little while. Making sure to thank everyone for coming together for that day in the community is important too.
Don’t forget to take a moment to appreciate the wonderful group gathered there that day. Everyone came together to get to know each other better and bond in your little corner of the world because you made it happen! You are the reason your neighborhood village is a little closer and stronger this year so pat yourself on the back and go have fun at the block party!
