We stumbled upon the concept of “mermaiding” on a recent radio story, which said that the sport/activity was rapidly growing across the country. Apparently, mermaiding, the art of swimming like a mermaid, has captivated the imaginations of both children and adults alike. While we can’t verify those claims, it sounded just strange enough to potentially make a unique resident event! As you can imagine, mermaiding is essentially using a monofin to do the dolphin kick in swimming, and I would bet that most of us have tried this as a kid at least one time in our lives. But now, it has grown to include mermaiding classes and instructors. Bizarre, right? Well, we at ResidentEvents.com think that the more bizarre sometimes means the most memorable, so it might be fun to find a local mermaiding instructor to provide lessons at the community pool. Here’s a few tips and some more information about mermaiding to help you create an amazing event: 1. Embrace the Magic: Mermaiding lessons offer an extraordinary opportunity to step into a mythical realm. By donning a mermaid tail, you can channel your inner mermaid or merman and experience the joy of embodying these legendary creatures. 2. Fitness with Fins: Mermaiding is not just a whimsical fantasy—it's also a fantastic way to get fit! The art of mermaiding requires core strength, flexibility, and cardiovascular endurance. 3. Explore Underwater Creativity: Mermaiding is a unique form of self-expression that encourages creativity. With each graceful movement, you can express your individual style and flair. Mermaid tails come in a wide range of colors and designs, allowing you to personalize your aquatic identity. 4. Safety First: While mermaiding may seem like a magical experience, it's crucial to prioritize safety. Mermaiding lessons typically include instruction on proper swimming techniques, breath control, and water safety. Experienced mermaid instructors will guide you through the basics, ensuring that you feel confident and comfortable in the water. Additionally, it's essential to swim in designated areas and follow any local regulations to ensure the safety of both yourself and marine life. And lastly, make sure you use inclusive verbiage so the mermen of your community feel included, too! So, why not take the plunge and embark on an extraordinary journey of mermaiding? Immerse yourself in the magic, embrace your inner mermaid, and let the waves carry you to new adventures!

Are you doing anything cutesy for St. Patrick’s Day? Members of the Multifamily Sharespace Facebook Group shared some of their ideas:

• We will also have them enter to win a prize of scratch off tickets! -Jacqui Nielsen Stewart

• I am OBSESSSSSSSSED with this. This rainbow is so cute and then you could add gold coins at the bottom if you want. If you are extra lazy, you can do skittles instead.-Rebecca Ross Gilinsky

Members of the Multifamily Sharespace Facebook Group shared some of their ideas:

•A sham-rock hunt! Spray paint easily visible sized rocks green, have your office and service team hide them on property. As residents find them, encourage them to turn them in as a chance to win a surprise at the end of the week. As soon as rocks are turned in they can be recycled and put back out for more opportunities. On small and large communities I have had great success with this event with hundreds of found rocks and thereby hundreds of positive points of resident contact. I usually start with about 30 rocks and place them is relatively easy places to be found, but it’s always fun to hide a few more difficult ones. -Erik Husa

•Top of the Morning Breakfast on the go. We are handing out single serve lucky charms cereal and milk! – Kristen Mooney

•We do something called "Pop Your Luck" where we get scratch cards off amazon (St Patty’s Day themed) and we tape balloons to them then tape them to a wall. We get gift cards and make gift baskets as prizes. In the pack there are 5 total winners, two grand and three special prizes; for the other cards that aren't winners we get a bunch of candy, and the residents get candy even if they don't win a prize. They come in, pop a balloon, and scratch the card to see their prize. It's a big hit!! – Jordan LaRusso

•If you want something super easy, I love the idea of doing something like this (candy bags). My team and I put this together as an example. Maybe do some gold chocolate coins mixed in or at the bottom. -Rebecca Ross Gilinsky

Members of the Multifamily Sharespace Facebook Group shared some of their favorite Resident Events:

• A long time ago, the property owners were Travelers insurance. We had $1000 budget per resident event. That's translates to about $2500 today. We had some amazing parties. A full Halloween carnival on the tennis courts, a full spaghetti dinner for Mother’s Day, rented a big screen TV and a double header baseball game with hot dogs and a keg of beer for Father’s Day. (Anyone old enough that remembers the days you could serve alcohol at resident parties?). A Santa Claus with photos at Christmas, Easter bunny costume for Easter. And the list goes on. I miss those days! -Kathy Winfrey Chaney
• Courtyard rooftop musical guest event. 90 minutes of live music from a local artist live streamed on our social media pages. Folks could watch from the apartments (back in quarantine pandemic days) and it was such a hit! -Nichole Lipka
• Casino/ poker night: table games and everyone can dress up, roaring 20’s. -Angel Decker
• I used to make an annual Thanksgiving meal. We would provide all the food and fixings and residents could bring something if they wanted. My residents loved it, and we always had a really great turn out. Staff would bring their families too. -Katie Butler Roncadori
• We did an inflatable movie screen at our pond pavilion. We let the residents vote on which Christmas movie we showed. The Grinch won! Our maintenance tech wore the grinch costume and headed out candy canes during the movie. We had a food truck, a hot chocolate bar, popcorn, and candy. We also roasted marshmallows over the fire and made s’mores! It was awesome! -Tiffany Naomi Smith
• We did a farmers market. Filled baskets with vegetables, handed out medium size bags and let them pick what they wanted. We also had bouquet flowers in vases and they could grab a bouquet too. Big hit! -Mindy McDaris
• I had a lot of fun designing this event idea. A grazing station for a fall movie night outdoors or in like with hocus pocus, practical magic, or into the woods. You could set up blankets with pillows for people to get cozy. -Rebecca Ross Gilinsky
• A "senior prom" at a senior living community. BUT-do not crown a queen and king of the prom. Seniors got mad at whoever won when they didn't! –Patricia Ivie
• We would do a fall ball with a theme each year. We did masquerade, roaring 20's, country chic, winter white, and my favorite was Alice in Wonderland. We called it Down the Looking Glass and where the finger foods were set up it was decorated like the Mad Hatter's Tea Party and where the dancing and bar was set up, it was decorated like the queens court. The property was The Metropolitan Downtown Columbia and we called the event our annual Met Ball. -Kristy Kendrick Myers
• When I was a Property Manager it was New Year's Eve and our Open Mic Nights to highlight local amazing artists –Virginia Georgeson
• We had a ladies night years ago. It was a hit. Wine and purchasable items. -Sonja K Nieves
• Thanksgiving ? At an old high rise I managed. Catered in on the Tuesday before the actual holiday. ? We would also have a table set-up for residents to bring their favorite dishes and we would provide pumpkin pies from Costco typically. A long-time resident would also dress-up as Santa for the kids. We would take photos and send to parents after the event or they’d take their own photos. After year three, we had up to almost 200-residents attend. A lot of single residents who didn’t have family for the holidays so they really enjoyed it. -Jeremy Van Winkle
• Wine tasting and charcuterie board. We adding a table for pumpkin carving contest. Whoever won got a nice bottle of wine and a gift basket to be able to make a board at home as well with a gift card. Resident byob to share with the other resident's. Great way to get to know your neighbors and friends. -Brittany Rogers
• We did a property Idol like American Idol. Complete with auditions, regular and guest judges and a surprise performance by leasing and our service manager the night of the finals. -Amy Smith Owens

Some other great resident event ideas:

• Cinco de Mayo
• Movie night
• Fall festival
• Chinese New Year
• Any with Free food
• Sip and Paint
• Breakfast on the run
• Formal holiday party with a 4 string quartet and fancy hors d'oeuvres.
• Resident Appreciation Week
• Pet Parties
• Beetle Juice outside movie
• Oktoberfest
• Karaoke night
• Drag Queen Bingo
• Tacos & Tequila Pool Party
• Crayfish boil
• Murder Mystery Night
• Trunk-or-treat
• Neighborhood Watch Safety Fair
• Harry Potter Halloween party & Grinchmas
• Happy Hour
• 12 Days of Christmas

The weather is getting warmer, and Spring slowly but surely calls everyone back outdoors.

A few reasons why I love outdoor events:

• They fit more people (higher ROI per event)
• It makes for a unique experience (more memorable than a regular event)
• You can show off your amenities and outdoor grounds
• Natural lighting makes everyone happy and relaxed
• They are COVID-friendly!

These outdoor resident events are becoming increasingly popular for us; check 'em out and get inspired!

• Have residents bring their own mat or order community branded mats (swag!)
• After the class or video, provide brunch and mimosas

• Invite residents to bring blankets and picnics to enjoy a live band or DJ

• Rent a blo-up movie screen and invite residents to come enjoy a movie outside!

More Ideas:

If you're not doing workshops as part of your Resident Engagement strategy, you're missing out. BIG TIME.

Workshops are interactive, educational, and fun. They bring your residents together to learn a new skill they're interested in or discover something new, creating strong memories and impressions on all who assist.

When planning a workshop, go for a trendy, cool topic, like the Charcuterie Board. It's gotten a ton of attention lately and has quickly become very popular among residents!.

You’ll Need a Variety of these Essentials: 

• Meats: salami, ham, summer sausage, prosciutto, etc.
• Cheese
• Hard: cheddar, parmesan, gouda, etc.
• Soft: cream cheese with jelly, goat cheese, brie, etc.

• Nuts: almonds, cashews, macadamia nuts, etc
• Pickled or marinated: dill pickles, olives, pepperoncini
• Dips and Spreads
• Veggies

• Fresh fruit and berries: strawberries, oranges, apples, etc.
• Chocolate: dark or chocolate covered nuts
• Sweet spreads: blackberry jam, orange marmalade, etc.

Arranging The Board:

• Pick out your board
• Start with the cheese and place around the board
• Add the meats
• Add the accompaniments
• Fill in the spaces with crackers

During The Event:

• Make sure to chat with your residents at least once throughout the party.
• Select a member of your team to be the photographer at the event. Make sure they take photos on their phone, but also encourage them to offer to take photos for your residents on their phones. If you have the photo backdrop, take photos there and encourage residents to tag you on social media so their friends will see how awesome you are!

A few events you can try out or book:

Valentine's Day Wine & Cheese Tasting
Valentine's Day Shortbread Cookies Cooking
Valentine's Day Wine & Paint
Valentine's Day Romantic Outdoor Movie
Valentine's Day Wine & Chocolate Tasting
Valentine's Day Casino Night
Single's Mingle

Other resident experience boosters

Valentine's Cards & Chocolates: Simply printing out a nice Valentine's card and passing it along with some Kisses (the chocolates!) goes a long way.

Pet Treats: People love their furry friends and they'll be super appreciative if you show their pets some love. Plus, the only thing cuter than a heart-shaped cookie is a bone-shaped cute. I don't make the rules.

Brownie Cake Pops: They’re fun, delicious and so cute! Brownie cake pops are the perfect Valentine’s Day snack to go. Put them out in the lobby and enjoy the smile on your residents’ faces.

Put Up a Photo Area: Get balloons (heart-shaped? YES!), flowers, and maybe even glitter! Residents can take pics and upload them to Instagram. You’ll get a ton of mentions and tags! Remember, the cornier, the better.

Looking for some exciting Halloween events to host for your residents? Here are a few ideas to help entertain your ghosts and ghouls! 

Reverse Trunk-or-Treat
Have residents dress up and meet outside of their buildings. Then decorate a golf cart and drive from building to building passing out candy.

Pumpkin Carving Contest
Residents carve a pumpkin and set it at the walkway of their building with their information on the back. Staff go around and judge them.

Drawing and Coloring Contest
Have residents turn in drawings, then decorate the windows of the clubhouse with them. Ask residents to come by and judge the drawings in the different age groups, yes even adults! Each participant receives a bag of candy and winners receive a prize.

Halloween Scavenger Hunt
Hide skeletons, pumpkins, and other things around the property and have prizes and treats awarded for residents who send selfies with all the hidden objects.

Check out below for even MORE fun ideas!

• Trunk-or-treat
• Candy baggies
• Scream on the Green (outdoor movie night)
• Spooky weenie roast
• Cornhole tournament
• Puppy plunge
• Carnival games
• Costume contest
• Haunted Open House
• Pumpkin Chunking Competition
• Halloween parade

These ideas were compiled from a collaboration by Nicholas Clayton and the Multifamily ShareSpace community.

Not only will your residents love it, but it will help you generate more leads.

Have you ever wondered how you can throw an Instagram-worthy pool party without breaking your budget? Today is your day! A splashy pool party doesn’t need to cost an arm and a leg to make an impact. The key is to invest in the right items that will allow your residents to enjoy, and most importantly, SHARE the party online.

This event is SO easy. Fill your pool up with a variety of floats in all sizes, set up a table with refreshments that require ZERO effort to prepare, and use decor to create a photo-opp area. All that’s left is to transform yourself into your inner influencer and take photos like your life depended on it. That’s it!

You’ll need these essentials:

• Your Print & Digital Invitation
• For Your Pool:
• A Few Large Pool Floats: Flamingo Float or Ring Floats.
• Some Beach Balls and Pool Noodles
• Mini Drink Floats

• Table Cloth
• Plates & Napkins
• Cups

• Wall Decor
• Inflatable Decor
• Ring Toss Game

Bring It To Life:

• Use your electric air pump to blow up all your floats, beach balls, and other inflatable items.
• Scatter your floats throughout the pool to make a splash
• Set up your table with serving items, decor, and refreshments:
• Drinks:
• Non-Alcohol: Lemonade
• Alcohol: Canned Spiked Seltzer in Tropical Flavors

• Variety of Summer Fruits like Bananas, Oranges, and Peaches. Display these babies in a bowl for minimal effort, but big impact.
• Tropical Flavored Popsicles on Ice

During The Event

Make sure to chat with your residents at least once throughout the party.

Select a member of your team to be the photographer at the event. Make sure they take photos on their phone, but also encourage them to offer to take photos for your residents on their phones. If you have the photo backdrop, take photos there and encourage residents to tag you on social media so their friends will see how awesome you are.

Want to get this entire event done-for-you FREE? Sign up for Sprout’s pool party event giveaway by August 1st and we’ll send you everything you need to bring this event to life at your community.

Have you ever wondered how you can throw an Instagram-worthy pool party without breaking your budget? Today is your day! A splashy pool party doesn’t need to cost an arm and a leg to make an impact. The key is to invest in the right items that will allow your residents to enjoy, and most importantly, SHARE the party online.

This event is SO easy. Fill your pool up with a variety of floats in all sizes, set up a table with refreshments that require ZERO effort to prepare, and use decor to create a photo-opp area. All that’s left is to transform yourself into your inner influencer and take photos like your life depended on it. That’s it! 

You’ll need these essentials: 

• Your Print & Digital Invitation
• For Your Pool: 
    ○A Few Large Pool Floats: Flamingo Float or Ring Floats.
    ○Some Beach Balls and Pool Noodles
    ○Mini Drink Floats 
• For Your Table: 
    ○Table Cloth
    ○Plates & Napkins
    ○Cups 
• Other Fun Decor (Optional): 
    ○Wall Decor 
    ○Inflatable Decor
    ○Ring Toss Game
• Electric Air Pump (Recommended - We don’t want you passing out from blowing up a bunch of floats!) 

Bring It To Life: 

• Use your electric air pump to blow up all your floats, beach balls, and other inflatable items. 
• Scatter your floats throughout the pool to make a splash
• Set up your table with serving items, decor, and refreshments: 
    ○Drinks: 
       ■Non-Alcohol: Lemonade 
       ■Alcohol: Canned Spiked Seltzer in Tropical Flavors 
    ○Food: 
       ■Variety of Summer Fruits like Bananas, Oranges, and Peaches. Display these babies in a bowl for minimal effort, but big impact. 
       ■Tropical Flavored Popsicles on Ice
• Pick your preferred photo area and decorate with this Wall Decor.
• If you need to build your lead list, encourage residents to invite a plus one to the party! 

During The Event

• Make sure to chat with your residents at least once throughout the party. 
• Select a member of your team to be the photographer at the event. Make sure they take photos on their phone, but also encourage them to offer to take photos for your residents on their phones. If you have the photo backdrop, take photos there and encourage residents to tag you on social media so their friends will see how awesome you are. 

Want to get this entire event done-for-you FREE? Sign up for Sprout’s pool party event giveaway by August 1st and we’ll send you everything you need to bring this event to life at your community. 

 Get more great event ideas like this along with the caption templates, flyers, and social graphics to bring it to life. 

We recently asked the ShareSpace Community to share their best Pet Event Ideas and there were some great ones so we’d like to share some of those here:

1.       “I love doing yappy hour with pup cups of whipped cream & doggy treats! I want to hold an adoption event with the humane society in our area though!” ~ Jura Mikayla Clifford

 2.       “I always held a pet costume contest at Halloween on my properties!! We had more older folks and not many kids. The residents loved it!!! I always made about 15 lbs of bacon and served cheese (and crackers as well for the humans!) I gave away prizes of poop bags....new collars....dog treats and toys!! We had contests for best costume...and always had a first second and third place winners. When we called out the dogs name that won....they would prance up to the front for their prize...and bacon!! We posted pics for weeks after that all the residents loved. The dogs....would remember the bacon smell and come visit the office staff...and prospective residents!! Such fun!!!” ~ Tamari Riehl

 3.       “At the holidays this past year, we did a pet food drive for our local pet pantry” ~ Kristi Von Bender

Let’s be honest, no one likes cleaning. Especially not spring cleaning. But it’s simply one of those things that must be done, and the drastic shift in the weather is usually the best time to knock it out. So why not help your residents out by hosting a yard sale? It’s one of the main things you miss out on by living in a multifamily dwelling, but there are ways to help your residents get rid of that old junk and clean out their storage rooms! All you need are a few tables and signs, and you’ve got yourself the recipe for a fantastic yard sale.

Start off by ADVERTISING. This is the most important step. If you don’t advertise, you’ll get virtually no visitors and no visitors means no sale. You can advertise in your local paper, social media garage sale sites, and your property’s Facebook or Instagram. Any way you can get the word out, do it! The more buzz you create, the more visitors you’ll get, especially when the weather is perfect for those yard sale hunters that crave a bargain.

Get old fashioned with it! In the days before social media and Facebook pages, people used signs to guide thrifters to their sales. Grab a few signs from your local store, or make your own with some poster board and markers! Create something attention grabbing and informative and you’re sure to get a horde of Saturday morning early risers stopping by to see what your residents have to offer. Make sure to include the address, date and time in large, easy to read lettering. You can post signs at corners near your property, and guiding all the way up to your front door to make sure they know where they’re going.

Finally, make sure your residents have everything they need. Make sure to provide trash cans for clean-up. Tables can be rented inexpensively, and you can take a tally of who might need one for the big day. It’s a huge help to the residents participating at little cost to the property’s event budget. You could even set up a refreshments table for visitors with information about the property. That way, you might even get a lease or two out of the event.

No matter what, yard sales are always a hit. Giving your residents a place to clean out their old things makes room for the new, and also keeps them from overflowing their apartments and storage units!

We all know that everyone loves free food. In the summertime, you have plenty of residents that are home and take care of kids that are out of school. Whatever the case may be, providing a lunch during the summer can not only help out parents with kids at home for the summer, but those looking to save a few bucks in the current economic climate.

The best part is, it’s super easy to do with little prep work and little effort! You can do one big lunch where your residents can grab a lunch to go, or you can make it a weekly thing!

You can start with bag lunches filled with sandwiches and snacks, or you can have lunch catered if you have the budget for it. Kids are so easy to please if you’re providing an alternative to school lunches that aren’t present in the summer, and most of your adult residents will be so appreciative for a complimentary lunch.

If you choose to, you can even host a ‘Make Your Own Lunch’ bar, and provide different entrees (pre-packaged, of course), chip choices, and other snacks to throw together. You’ll get to converse with residents, and they’ll get to pick their lunch for the day! If you have lunch catered, it could be even more customized, and you could try a yummy new option every week!

Overall, this is a super easy event idea. All you have to do is find the food, and you’re done! Either way, you’re making lots of residents super happy, and it’s a really low key event to handle!