Top 10 Holiday Resident Events
Hosting holiday events at your multifamily community can help create a sense of belonging and festive spirit among residents. Not all residents have a family to spend the holidays with or afford to travel to see family and friends. Consider hosting events throughout the holiday season to keep your residents engaged with each other and their spirits bright. Here we’ve laid out 10 great holiday ideas you can incorporate into your resident event calendar.
10 Holiday Events For Apartment Residents
1. Holiday Decorating Contest
Encourage residents to decorate their balconies or doors with festive decorations. Organize a contest with categories such as "Most Creative," "Best Use of Lights," or "Most Festive Theme." Offer small prizes or certificates for the winners. For an added bonus, ask them to post their decorations on social media and tag your property.
2. Cookie Decorating Party
Set up a communal space for residents to decorate holiday-themed cookies. You can get festive-shaped precut cookies at most grocery stores, then provide a variety of icing, sprinkles, and other toppings. This is a fun and tasty way to bring people together.
3. Gift Wrapping Station
Create a designated area with wrapping paper, bows, and tags where residents can wrap their gifts. You can also organize a gift-wrapping workshop to share tips, tricks, and instructions on how to make their own beautiful bows.
4. Charity Drive
Organize a charitable event such as a toy drive, food drive, or clothing collection. This not only promotes community spirit but also helps those in need during the holiday season. Set up a donation box or corner in your leasing office and be sure to communicate about the event with your residents via eblast, text message, and social media.
5. Gingerbread House Contest
Host a gingerbread house decorating contest. Provide the basic gingerbread house kits and let residents showcase their creativity. You can display these gingerbread houses in the leasing office through the holiday season and have residents come to cast their vote for the best gingerbread house.
6. Pet Parade
If many of your residents have pets, consider organizing a festive pet parade. Encourage pet owners to dress up their furry friends in holiday-themed costumes and parade them through the property and/or around a local park within walking distance of your property.
7. Craft Workshop
Host a holiday-themed craft workshop where residents can bring their kids to create ornaments, wreaths, or other festive decorations. Simply provide crafty materials and maybe some hot cider or cocoa.
8. Ugly Sweater Contest
Host an ugly sweater contest, either in person or virtually. Encourage residents to get creative and have a panel of judges or let the community vote for the winners. Extra points if they post their picture and tag your community on social media.
9. Holiday Movie Night
Set up an outdoor or indoor space for a holiday movie marathon. Provide blankets, popcorn, and hot cocoa. Consider a vote for the featured films or have themed movie nights.
10. Secret Santa Gift Exchange
Organize a Secret Santa gift exchange among residents. Set a budget to ensure inclusivity, and have a designated time for the gift exchange, either in person or virtually. Have residents register to participate in the event to ensure everyone who wants to participate gets a gift. Get a few extra gifts just in case someone has to cancel at the last minute.
Remember to consider the diversity of your community when planning holiday events. You may want to incorporate a Hanukah- or Kwanza-specific event in your resident calendar. Additionally, be sure to promote the events through various marketing channels to ensure maximum participation.
Visceral Ore can help your in-office team organize holiday events through marketing on social media, creating your sms or email blast copy, creating flyers, and more. Contact us today to learn more about how we help communities fill gaps in their marketing strategy for one flat monthly rate.
