Offer your residents an opportunity to stretch their budget and recycle old Halloween costumes through a costume exchange party. This event is perfect for residents of all ages and will provide a unique pre-Halloween event that won’t conflict with their already scheduled Halloween parties.  

Today's activity is actually pretty easy, and frankly, it is just a way for us to show off an amazing idea we found recently! Drawing contests are always fun with the kids at a community because everybody can participate no matter the age and skill level. Plus, it's a cheap option with just some markers, colors, etc. Now, having the drawing be a "contest" can be a bit tricky, because you never want to make the kids feel like they did a bad job, so be careful that you navigate that part carefully. That said, we have found probably the best prize we have ever seen for a drawing contest: You can now have one of the drawings be made into a stuffed animal! We stumbled across this absolutely brilliant website that creates custom stuffed animals based upon the children's drawings! ...

One of the biggest challenges to any apartment party is simply getting more attendance. So why not create a situation where every single resident is not only invited to a party, but is actually needed at the party? This is a general scavenger hunt type party, where teams are created based upon their building number, floor number, or some other logical subgroup at the apartment community. Prior to the party, each resident is given part of a treasure map, maybe in their mail box, with instructions on how to find the scavenger hunt items. In other words, each resident has a vital piece of the puzzle, so there is an incentive for fellow teammates to get as many fellow residents to come as possible. So residents are driven to reach out to their nearest neighbors and convince them to participate, or at least...

Establishing an off-site monthly dinner group is a great way to offer a value-added event for your residents with absolutely no cash outlay. I’m a big fan of resident-led events, with the office only helping to facilitate and get the word out, so here are a few strategies to get residents involved: As you set up the group, ask if any residents would like to take the lead. If it works out, you will get one person, or a few people to act as hosts at the dinner parties, helping with introductions. Once the dinner group gets started, try having a new co-host for every upcoming event. This co-host gets the privilege of selecting the next location for the group. This helps get attendees to be a part of the planning stage, and also ensures that they show up...

Every little girl wants to be a princess, and this is your opportunity to let her live out her dream for a few hours. Invite girls to come dressed in their best princess costume or party dress and offer a “princess makeover,” complete with a tiara, and then host a small fashion show or photo shoot as the parents cheer their princesses on.