How to Plan a Block Party to Meet New Neighbors

 Less than one-third of Americans know most of their neighbors. If you’re looking to break that statistic, a block party is a way that you can get involved in your community and meet your new neighbors.

Whether you’ve recently bought a home or you’re just trying to make some new friends, these ideas can help you get started. The hardest part about moving for your kids can be meeting new friends, so these block party ideas can start them off on a positive note.

Use Your Amenities

Take advantage of your surrounding environment for your block party ideas. If you have access to a pool, everyone loves a good pool party! If you have backyard space, games such as tag, freeze dance, and limbo are fun for all ages and require very little planning.

Even if you just have sidewalk or street space to work with, you have plenty of options for block party activities. Grab some sidewalk chalk for doodling or tracing out games like hopscotch and four square. 

If you live on a quieter street, you can even set up a game of kickball. Just be sure to have a couple of adults on the lookout for any approaching traffic.

All these activities require minimal planning, so you can focus on grabbing some snacks and enjoy meeting your neighborhood.

Plan Around Food

Everyone loves a good barbecue. To make sure that no one walks away hungry from your block party, plan a little grilling competition to see which family makes the best burgers.

The kids can sample and judge their favorites, which gets even the little ones who can’t help out with the cooking involved.

Finish off the night with a campfire and s’mores! They’re easy to put together and campfires are always a good bonding experience.

No matter what you plan to do for your block party, download these printables below to get you started. This block party pack includes a welcome sign, game location sign, and name tags so that you’ve got the decor covered.

It’s difficult to adjust to a new neighborhood, especially for kids. After the stressful process of buying a house, now you’ve got to start building a new routine in an unfamiliar neighborhood. 

These tips will help ease you into your new community and relax after you’ve finally finished unpacking all those boxes. These block party ideas will help make those first connections with your new neighbors to build lasting friendships.

Socially-Distant Printables to Welcome Your New Neighbor

Moving to a new place is not only a lot of work, but it can be lonely. Last year, people were buying up houses taking advantage of the historically low mortgage rates. Chances are, you had a new neighbor or two who moved in around your neighborhood. While we all have to keep safe and manage the number of people we come in contact with, there are still ways to make the new kid on the block feel welcomed.

Creating a welcome gift and leaving it on their doorstep is an easy and safe way to make someone feel welcome. Something as simple as writing down a few of your favorite recommendations for restaurants and coffee shops in the area can go a long way. Alternatively, bake a bath of homemade cookies and add a neighborly welcome card for a personal touch. It's probably a good idea to skip the nuts and other common ingredients that may cause allergic reactions!

If you're not much for baking, but you noticed they have little ones while they were moving, grab a coloring book or paint by number activity. Busy moms will appreciate the gesture, and it'll keep the kids occupied long enough to make acquaintances. Grab one of these four adorable printables to spice up your gift for your new friends, but don't forget your old friends while you're spreading the joy to your new ones! These acts of kindness can perk up anyone during the difficult time, and let's face, we've all had a few of those in the past year!