Hosting events in your Homeowners Association (HOA) is an excellent way to build a sense of community and bring neighbors together. However, it can be challenging to come up with ideas that will appeal to everyone. Here are 100 event ideas that can help create a fun and welcoming neighborhood.

Potluck Dinner: Organize a dinner where everyone brings a dish to share.

Outdoor Movie Night: Host a movie night under the stars with a big screen and projector.

Wine and Cheese Party: Bring your favorite bottle of wine and enjoy a cheese tasting.

Game Night: Host a game night where neighbors can enjoy board games or card games.

Barbecue: Organize a summer barbecue with grilled food and outdoor activities.

Ice Cream Social: Treat everyone to a delicious ice cream party.

Talent Show: Showcase the talents of your neighbors with a fun talent show.

Holiday Cookie Swap: Host a holiday cookie exchange where everyone brings their favorite cookies to share.

Chili Cook-Off: Host a chili competition where neighbors can compete for the best chili.

Neighborhood Block Party: Bring everyone together for a fun neighborhood block party.

Brunch Potluck: Host a brunch with everyone contributing their favorite brunch dishes.

Charity Walk or Run: Organize a walk or run to support a local charity or cause.

Costume Party: Dress up and enjoy a themed costume party.

Game Tournament: Organize a tournament for ping pong, pool, darts, or other games.

Arts and Crafts Fair: Bring together local artists and craftspeople for a neighborhood fair.

Car Show: Host a car show where neighbors can display their cars or admire others’.

Fitness Classes: Offer yoga, aerobics, Zumba, or other fitness classes for neighbors to enjoy.

Pet Parade: Show off your furry friends with a pet parade.

Movie Marathon: Host a movie marathon featuring Harry Potter, Star Wars, Marvel, or other movies.

Garage Sale: Host a neighborhood garage sale to declutter and make some money.

Food Truck Festival: Bring in local food trucks for a food festival in your neighborhood.

Science Fair: Showcase the scientific talents of your neighbors with a fun science fair.

Pool Party: Host a summer pool party with swimming and pool games.

Scavenger Hunt: Organize a scavenger hunt for neighbors to participate in.

Storytelling Event: Gather around for a night of storytelling with neighbors sharing their stories.

Karaoke Night: Sing your heart out at a fun karaoke night.

Trivia Night: Test your knowledge with a trivia night for neighbors.

Book Club: Host a book club where neighbors can discuss a chosen book.

Fashion Show: Show off your style with a neighborhood fashion show.

Community Garden Project: Work together on a community garden project to beautify the neighborhood.

Poetry Slam: Share your creative writing skills with a poetry slam.

DIY Home Improvement Workshop: Learn new skills with a DIY home improvement workshop.

Wine Tasting: Enjoy a night of wine tasting with your neighbors.

Concert in the Park: Host a concert in the park with local musicians.

Cultural Festival: Celebrate the diversity of your neighborhood with a cultural festival.

Children’s Talent Show: Let the kids showcase their talents with a children’s talent show.

Cooking Class: Learn to cook something new with a fun cooking class.

Open Mic Night: Share your talents with an open mic night.

Family Game Day: Host a day of games for the whole family to enjoy.

Flea Market: Host a flea market or community garage sale where neighbors can sell and trade items they no longer need.

Craft Fair: Bring together local artists and crafters for a neighborhood craft fair.

Neighborhood Clean-Up: Work together to clean up and beautify your neighborhood.

Ice Skating Party: Host an ice skating party during the winter months.

Painting Party: Have a painting party where neighbors can express their creativity.

Board Game Night: Host a night of board games and snacks.

Movie Trivia Night: Test your movie knowledge with a trivia night focused on film.

Cocktail Party: Host a cocktail party with drinks and hors d’oeuvres.

BBQ Cook-Off: Compete for the best BBQ with a cook-off event.

Summer Camp Out: Camp out in your backyard or a local park with neighbors.

DIY Holiday Decoration Workshop: Create your own holiday decorations with a DIY workshop.

Winter Holiday Party: Host a holiday party during the winter months.

Paint and Sip Party: Paint and sip while enjoying a fun evening with neighbors.

Photography Contest: Show off your photography skills with a neighborhood photo contest.

Hiking Trip: Go on a neighborhood hike or nature walk together.

Brunch and Learn: Host a brunch with a speaker or expert sharing their knowledge on a topic of interest.

Wine and Paint Night: Sip on wine while creating your own painting.

Board Game Tournament: Organize a tournament for your favorite board games.

Cornhole Tournament: Host a cornhole tournament with neighbors competing for the top spot.

Costume Swap: Swap out your old costumes for new ones at a neighborhood costume swap.

Farmer’s Market: Host a farmer’s market with local produce and goods.

Local Art Show: Show off the art talent in your neighborhood with a local art show.

Neighborhood Food Drive: Work together to gather food donations for a local food bank or pantry.

Outdoor Adventure Day: Host a day of outdoor adventures like hiking, canoeing, or zip-lining.

Parent’s Night Out: Provide a night of free babysitting for parents to enjoy a night out.

Beer Tasting: Enjoy a night of beer tasting with your neighbors.

DIY Home Decor Workshop: Learn to create your own home decor with a DIY workshop.

Talent Exchange: Host an event where neighbors can exchange their skills and services.

Poetry Night: Share your favorite poems or original works with a neighborhood poetry night.

Kids’ Craft Day: Host a day of crafts and creativity for the kids in your neighborhood.

Breakfast for Dinner: Host a breakfast for dinner-party with waffles, pancakes, and eggs.

Environmental Clean-Up: Work together to clean up the environment in your neighborhood.

Food and Wine Pairing: Learn to pair food with wine with a fun food and wine pairing event.

Neighborhood Talent Show: Showcase the talents of your neighbors with a neighborhood talent show.

Volunteer Day: Volunteer together as a group for a local charity or organization.

Outdoor Fitness Bootcamp: Host a fitness boot camp in the great outdoors.

Travel Night: Share your travel stories and experiences with a neighborhood travel night.

Dessert Potluck: Bring your favorite dessert to share at a dessert potluck.

Canning Workshop: Learn to preserve your own food with a canning workshop.

Neighborhood Sports Day: Host a day of sports and games for neighbors to enjoy.

Hot Cocoa Party: Warm up with a hot cocoa party during the winter months.

Art Workshop: Learn a new art skill with a neighborhood art workshop.

Neighborhood Walking Tour: Take a walking tour of your neighborhood and learn about its history.

Book Swap: Host a book swap event where neighbors can exchange books.

Talent Show: Showcase the talents of your neighbors with a neighborhood talent show.

Block Party: Host a block party for your entire neighborhood.

Wine Tasting: Organize a wine-tasting event with local wines.

Yoga Class: Host a neighborhood yoga class in a local park.

Game Night: Organize a game night with board games or video games.

Cultural Fair: Celebrate the diversity in your neighborhood with a cultural fair.

Ice Cream Social: Enjoy some delicious ice cream with your neighbors.

DIY Workshop: Learn a new DIY skill with a neighborhood workshop.

Trivia Night: Host a trivia night with questions on various topics.

Storytelling Night: Share your favorite stories or personal experiences with a storytelling night.

Themed Party: Host a party with a fun theme, like a 1920s speakeasy or a Hawaiian luau.

Karaoke Night: Sing your heart out with a neighborhood karaoke night.

Picnic in the Park: Host a picnic in a local park with your neighbors.

Neighborhood Art Walk: Take a walk and appreciate the art in your neighborhood.

Game Show Night: Host a game show-style event with fun challenges and prizes.

Film Screening: Host a film screening with a movie that everyone can enjoy.

Charity Event: Host a charity event with proceeds going to a local cause.

Interested in planning an event for your community? Let our GoodLife team help you execute it flawlessly. They can provide expertise in event logistics, marketing, and execution, ensuring your event is a huge success and doesn’t break your budget. By outsourcing event planning and coordination, you can save time and effort, and host an event that is enjoyed by all. To learn more about how GoodLife can help you plan your next community event, contact our team at goodlife@goodwintx.com, and let’s put together an event to remember!

2020 has been a year of social changes due to our country’s adjustments to the COVID-19 pandemic. Even Halloween has become impacted by social distancing mandates with many traditional happenings like haunted attractions and trick or treating being hampered or canceled as a whole.

While we believe that it’s important for your association to follow its local health guidelines to quell the spread of coronavirus, we also feel that you and your communities deserve to have some fall fun.

Here are some socially distant ideas that can serve as fun substitutes for traditional Halloween events.

Schedule a Remote Movie Night

Everyone loves to watch a good spooky movie at this time of the year. While we would usually recommend a community lawn viewing with a blow-up screen and projector, this isn’t the year to do that.

Instead, your community can come together via social media and enjoy the camaraderie of a shared movie experience. While this may take some more footwork on the association’s end, your team can create an event that involves participants watching a specific movie at a planned time. They can then hop on a chat application like Zoom and have a blast talking about all of their favorite parts after the movie ends!

Create a Pumpkin Display Lane

One of the biggest Halloween traditions is pumpkin carving. This is something that families can do from the comfort of their own homes without potential exposure to the virus.

Like the movie night, set a contest date for families to have their carvings completed, then put them on display outside of the home. Families can then enjoy the feel of Halloween as they leisurely stroll through their neighborhood and take in a family friendly fall experience. Looking to guarantee involvement? Make it a contest and provide a gift card for the house with the most votes!

Prepare Fall Treats With the Family

Another way your community members can play it safe this fall is to stay inside and create traditional fall goodies for the family. Halloween themed treats like candied apples, pumpkin bread, and Trick or Treat Trail Mix are all fun, simple recipes that can keep the festive spirit in the air.

Trick or Treat…Safely

Let’s face it, trick or treating is a true tradition, and unless your location mandates that it’s forbidden, your kids are likely going to want to show off their costumes door to door for candy. As a board member, all you have to do is apply stricter guidelines to your community.

Some suggestions can be:

• Everyone participating must wear a mask
• Social distancing must be in effect
• Encourage residents to leave a bowl of candy at the doorstep and/ or individually wrap little goodie bags of a candy assortment to further decrease transmission risks.
• Request signs that ask trick or treaters to sanitize before dipping their hands in the candy bucket

Keep Your HOA Fun with the Help of Goodwin & Company

Being a leading member of your association comes with a slew of responsibilities that can easily consume your time and prevent your board from properly planning fun events for your community to enjoy.

Goodwin & Company can help lift some of the weight off of your board member’s shoulders by taking over complex responsibilities like financial collections, legal obligations, and vendor services. This frees up your board’s time to create a true community with safe and fun events that bring neighbors together. Contact us today to learn more about our services.

Friendsgiving has quickly become an often celebrated holiday in conjunction with the traditional Thanksgiving feast. Not everyone has family in town to enjoy Thanksgiving festivities with, and a Friendsgiving celebration can help keep everyone in your community in on the fall fun.

If your HOA loves hosting events that bring the community together, now is the perfect time to gather around the table and enjoy an American tradition. Here are some helpful tips that will ensure your Friendsgiving goes off without a hitch.

Set a Date at a Meeting

The art of getting attendance at a Friendsgiving is to set a date that everyone can work with. Our suggestion is to get with your fellow board members and discuss what potential dates would work that lie outside of the actual holiday.

Although Friendsgiving can be celebrated on the 27th, since you’re hosting an Association event, it is best to steer clear of interfering with your community’s family plans. Once you’ve nailed a date shortly before or after actual Thanksgiving, bring it to a vote amongst your peers and announce the date at your next HOA meeting or by e-blast to all your residents.

Nail the Specifics Over Social Media

Now is the perfect time to make use of your community social media account. Create a group page that helps you keep track of the specifics surrounding your Friendsgiving. This is a great forum for finalizing:

• RSVPs
• The event menu (Is it pot luck? Are there neighbors with food allergies or intolerances?)
• The location of your event
• The length of your Friendsgiving celebration

With thorough planning, your association can ensure that all of the potential loose ends for the celebration are tied up and your Friendsgiving goes off without a hitch.

Touch Up Your Event Center

Since you’re most likely hosting a slew of guests, you’ll want to reserve a community center in your neighborhood for the event. Make sure your guests eat and celebrate in comfort.  Work with your HOA management team to organize maintenance on your community centers.

Fall leading into winter is the perfect time to handle HOA maintenance responsibilities. So why not take care of these while planning for your event.

Two of the biggest maintenance necessities you can arrange before Friendsgiving should be:

• Ensuring plumbing works through winterization efforts
• Clearing up your landscape of any fallen leaves

Keep the Event Obligation-Free

Thanksgiving is usually a holiday that comes with feelings of obligation to attend. No one wants to be guilted for not being able to attend your event. Make sure you emphasize the event is obligation-free and is simply a chance for neighbors to get together before the big holiday rush.

This will help quell any added stress on neighbors who can’t or choose not to participate in the Friendsgiving festivities.

Be Responsible! Set Your Limits

Thanksgiving is a holiday that is notorious for family drama when the alcohol starts flowing. Nip any potential neighborly disputes in the bud by setting strict limits on appropriate beverages for your event. We recommend keeping your Friendsgiving a family-friendly and dry event. It’s only a couple of hours, and the presence of alcohol isn’t worth risking the harmony of your neighborhood activities.

Get Your Association Through the Holidays with Goodwin & Company

If your association needs some guidance from a professional management team going into 2020, turn to Goodwin & Company to meet your community needs. We know how to handle the behind the scenes details of your HOA and let your board enjoy the benefits of making the decisions that impact that happiness of your community. Contact us today to find out how we can make your HOA a true home.

 

 

 

 

 

Halloween is just around the corner for your community and HOA management companies can help with the festivities! It’s time to break out the pumpkins, buy up the candy and have a fantastic time celebrating the night with your friends and family.

While this is a celebratory time for those young and older, everyone deserves to have a happy, safe and stress-free Halloween. Here are some simple ways your neighborhood can keep the night spooktacular!

Remind Homeowners About Decorative Limits

Halloween is a lot like winter holidays. Everyone has an artistic vision with their decorations. This makes now a great time to politely remind homeowners that their Association has decorative clauses for the exteriors of homes.

Emphasize that it’s great to be excited for Halloween but to consider your neighbors when operating lights, sound effects, or subjectively inappropriate decorations. Have your governing documents on-hand for questions about decor limits.

Host a Community Event

Keep in mind, Halloween is a great time to bring the community together beyond trick-or-treats! If it fits your budget, consider hosting an HOA sponsored event like a Trunk Or Treat, neighborhood haunted house, or Halloween-themed block party with a costume contest and all.

Halloween is all about letting imaginations run wild. Your Board or Social Committee can easily come up with some fun ideas that are compliant with community governing documents.

Trick-Or-Treating? Make Safety a Priority

If a community event isn’t in the cards, have your community management team create a notice that helps emphasize general safety precautions that all neighborhoods practice during the season.

Children should be encouraged to trick-or-treat in groups and have parents in attendance for extra safety. In celebration of the holiday, make sure children have a flashlight or glowstick hand to light the way as they walk to their candy-filled destinations.

If you aren’t a trick-or-treater, please make sure your yard is safe and free of debris or equipment that could result in a fall or hazard. Most importantly, if you run out of candy and have to leave the house, make sure to drive with caution. After all, witches and ghosts can be pretty hard to see at night.

Remember to Pack Up!

Pumpkins unfortunately rot, and cobwebs and bats aren’t generally the poster children for Thanksgiving and Christmas. While we aren’t saying your neighbors have to put their decorations away the night of, a friendly reminder that holiday decor should be taken down within the week is a smart idea. Not only does this keep the neighborhood in uniform, but it saves property value and allows for a fresh start during the upcoming holidays!

Need Association Help During the Holidays? Goodwin & Company has Your Back!

Even though we haven’t hit Halloween yet, the largest holidays of the year are creeping up on your planned community. Ensure your board members have the time they need to dedicate themselves to their duties as well as the holiday fun! Let Goodwin & Company help take over some of the more taxing duties of neighborhood management and let your board enjoy the perks of happy homeowners. Get in touch with us today and find out more about our services.

Even though your community pool may consistently be packed this summer, there is always room to throw an extra celebration for your association members. As the leaders of your community, the Board is responsible for organizing, approving, and executing Association-sponsored events.

This year, with the help of your association management team, throw a community event that will revitalize the energy surrounding your neighborhood. Here are some tips for hosting the perfect community block party for your neighbors!

Consider Your Community Members

During the planning stage of your event, think about the people who live in your community. As a Board, discuss the important questions like:

• Do you have lots of children in the community?
• How physically active are your members?
• What are some interests and social trends you notice about your neighbors?

Once you have an idea of who you’re throwing the party for, you can start to come up with themes, activities, and most of all, a menu!

Keep it Fun, Yet Affordable

Even with the fun of summer at the top of your mind, you’ll want to keep a close eye on the community budget. No matter how much you want to impress your community, no one is going to remember a smash block party when financial details can’t be taken care of in the long-run.

Usually, the biggest cost for a community throwing a block party is the food. If your event is for a smaller community, consider some affordable appetizers. However, if it’s a larger block party you’re planning, a potluck style gathering is a great way to not only have enough food for your event but to also bring your community together.

Think About the Important Details

While you want to make your event as enjoyable as possible, there are always the finer details that ensure your guests are all comfortable. This is the time to meet with your community management team and organize vendors that can handle:

• Event catering;
• Security if necessary;
• Tents for shade;
• Portable restrooms, and other details that could easily go unnoticed.

Take the Party Outdoors

Savor the hard work you’ve put into your community upgrades this summer! Enjoy the great outdoors with your neighbors. If the weather happens to be a scorcher the day of your event, host the daytime activities like food and games inside.

Then, when the sun goes down, plan a grand finale everyone will appreciate with a community movie on the lawn. Invite your community members to bring their lawn chairs and blankets. Let them enjoy the maintained landscape while they watch a family favorite from the comfort of the great outdoors. Inflatable screens and projectors can be found at reasonable prices these days, and your association management team will easily be able to help you determine if this idea fits your budget.

Manage Your Summer Budget and More with Goodwin & Company

At Goodwin & Company we believe in helping your association manage the behind the scenes details. This opens up room for your Board to host fun, interactive events that will encourage community trust during future endeavors. If your community association needs help with the management of maintenance tasks, bid solicitation, homeowner response, and more, it’s time to look into professional association management. Get in touch with us today to find out more about our services.

If you enjoyed these tips for hosting the perfect HOA sponsored event, you may enjoy learning some tips for turning your neighborhood into a community.