Pre-COVID, after uprooting our lives from our dream house near the beach to an older home in the mountains of the Blue Ridge, we decided we wanted to start off on the right foot with our neighbors. We wanted them to know that we had an open door. We were friendly and accessible.
So, we hosted an “Open House Social.”
Not only did we enjoy this opportunity, but we surprisingly received rave reviews from our neighbors. And it didn’t have to do with our Harris Teeter pre-made cookies… The feedback we heard was a little surprising but in retrospect makes sense.
We tend to live in a pretty isolated society these days. Sure, we spend hours (literally) on our phones each day. But we are swiping and liking. We aren’t actually talking to anyone or engaging with anyone. We all know this, and we all feel it on some level, even the most introverted among us.
Yet humans are hard-wired to live in connection with others. Okay, we’re not going to like all of our neighbors. We’re going to disagree and see life differently. But, we’re neighbors. We choose to live in community, and we can choose to live connected through the threads that bind us. I believe life is richer if we allow the threads to be there, and even moreso when we cultivate them.
Life has changed a lot from the days of my childhood (ahem ahem, which was not that long ago). My street meant everything. It was where my mom went to Tupperware and Mary Kay parties. It was where the families stood outside, sharing sad news about a dissolving marriage. It was where parents shared notes about where to get the best deal on a hot pink Huffy 10-speed bike for Christmas. And it was where us kids had a considerable amount of free range to be headed up and down the block, safe yet also left to our own devilish devices. There were significant learning opportunities in all of these interactions.
Admittedly, there are some very pleasant things about distance (as a friend of mine said, she didn’t want to feel like she had to talk to her neighbors every time she went outside to get the trash can in her pajamas). But there are many more pleasant things about at least knowing the names and faces of the people we’ve fallen into life beside. Plus, sometimes, we just need neighbors in times of crisis.
So, we decided to lean in.
We held our open house social.
Our old-fashioned block party!
Our neighbors loved it, wishing we did this more often. And I would argue that post-COVID, neighbor connection may be needed more than ever.
We did this block party/open house social in the easiest way possible. This connection-building experience doesn’t have to take a lot of time or break the bank.
Here are some tips on hosting the easiest Open House Social (or Block Party) ever:
1. Pick a time in the early evening that isn’t dinner but also isn’t likely to interfere with kids’ sports.
We did our social during a three hour window on late Sunday afternoon, pre-dinner.
2. Make it a window of opportunity and don’t require RSVPs.
Sure, it makes determining how much food to offer a little hard, and it can feel like a risk since you won’t really know if anyone is showing up, but keep it easy.
3. Keep a gentle theme, a nod to the season, but don’t go crazy.
Your neighbors are coming for company and cheer, not a magazine shoot. Keep it really simple. We did ours in the fall so we had decorative gourds (obviously), some cute fall napkins and plates, and some store-made fall cookies.
4. Offer some nibble and bites, with different diets and allergies in mind.
We kept things really simple with charcuteries, homemade zucchini muffins (no nuts!), olives, and pre-cut veggies with dips. Oh, and pigs in a blanket because we’re a kid-friendly home that doesn’t put on airs. Consider only serving food that does not require utensils.
5. Offer different beverages for consumption and let folks serve themselves.
We made a beverage area with a few types of wine already open, local beers on ice, sodas and bottles of water.
6. Have some light music in the background and a stock of questions to jumpstart conversation, but then just relax.
We found that people were so genuinely excited to see each other (there were some neighbors that had lived next door to each other for years yet hadn’t spoken in months), that they didn’t require much prodding to mingle. Remember that this group already has something in common: the street where they chose to live!
As the world starts to emerge again, as we’re in yet another transition, I encourage you to reach out to your neighbors this fall. Try opening your front door wide – it doesn’t have to be stressful or take a lot of time.Â
It is highly likely that many of our neighbors struggled with isolation and loneliness this past year. It is highly likely that we ourselves struggled with them. So as we get to craft what we return to, let’s return to each other and connection.