Holiday Event Ideas to Bring Your Neighborhood Together
There’s a reason winter is known as the most wonderful time of the year. Multiple holidays filled with good food, great company, gifts, and gratitude shape the season into something everyone should be able to enjoy. Looking for winter gathering ideas? We’re here to help. Check out these eight holiday event ideas and winter activities to bring the whole neighborhood together.
Holiday Decoration Contest
Wintertime is usually all about peace and harmony, but a little friendly competition won’t ruin the mood. For this community holiday event idea, encourage neighbors to decorate their homes and front lawns for the season with snowmen, candy canes, bright lights, and beautiful colors. Recruit homeowners as judges, scoring homes on categories like:
- Theme
- Creativity
- Craftsmanship
- Lighting
The winner can get bragging rights, or you can put a prize on the table to really spice things up. No matter what you choose, your holiday decoration contest will be a success as long as people are having fun. (Tip: If you live in a community with an HOA, remember to follow your holiday decoration rules.)
Merry Movie Night
Tell residents in your community to take a night off from making dinner, come to your clubhouse, and enjoy pizza, popcorn, hot dogs, and seasonal treats with a holiday movie. A family-friendly flick will get everyone in a merry mood. You can even put the picture you choose up for a vote based on a list of crowd pleasers like:
Holiday Sweets Swap
Set a date for neighbors to meet and exchange their favorite cookies, muffins, brownies, and other festive finger foods. Emphasize flavors like peppermint, cinnamon, white chocolate, and eggnog for a real holiday feel and consider elevating the experience with:
- A visit from a local baker with prep tips
- Forms to fill out recipes and put them on a bulletin board to share
- A blind taste test that rewards the favorite dish
Dessert Decorating
If you want to put an arts-and-crafts spin on a popular holiday activity, hold a dessert-decorating class. From gingerbread houses to cookies and candy canes, if you provide the ingredients and decoration kits, residents should be more than happy to get artsy and design amazing edible arrangements. Don’t forget the icing and gumdrops!
Santa Meet & Greet
Bring winter magic to life by giving younger residents the chance to meet the season's star. Arrange for Santa to visit from the North Pole or have a community member take the mantle if he’s too busy. Make sure all the kids in attendance get to meet Kris Kringle and tell him what they want under the tree.
Ugly Sweater Party
Holiday humor is an essential part of celebrating, and an ugly sweater party may be the best way to get laughs. For this winter event idea, everyone in the community should put on their most outrageous seasonal sweaters and mix and mingle over food and drinks. While everyone’s chatting, have them vote on superlative-based awards for every outfit, like:
- Best/Worst Dressed
- Most Colorful
- Most Creative
- Best Accessories
Wintertime Volunteering
At its core, winter is about the spirit of giving, and more than just gifts. Consider organizing a holiday event that’s centered around giving back. An easy way to do this is by doing a collection drive for things like:
- Clothing
- Toiletries
- Canned goods
- Toys
New Year’s Mood Board Making
Don’t forget about New Year’s! There are plenty of winter event ideas to celebrate the transition, including a countdown to midnight in a common area, but you can also get ahead of the big day by setting goals through mood board-making.
Invite residents to bring in old magazines and cut out pictures and words that symbolize the things they want to carry into the new year. Once complete, the collages will serve as a visual reminder of resolutions and intentions for the months to come.
Holiday Event Planning Tips
Planning these fun winter events takes time, but you can speed up the process by following these seven steps to event planning:
- Always define the purpose of your event before you start planning.
- Recruit volunteers to take the load off leadership.
- Set a budget.
- Solidify the details (date, time, location, etc.) well in advance.
- Plan out logistics and safety plans in detail.
- Promote the event on as many platforms as possible.
- Follow up after events for feedback.
More Winter Family Fun
Winter event ideas don’t have to be limited to your community. You can hit the road and cross off items on a winter bucket list with your family too! There are so many fun activities to choose from. Read “Oh, What Fun: Must-Try Winter Activity Ideas” to learn about some of our favorite options!