Reality check: from company holiday parties to ugly sweater parties with friends, your residents have no shortage of holiday parties to attend this season. Here are a few tips to make make sure your holiday resident events stand out.
1. Have a Theme and Pick a Cool Name
Seriously, DO. NOT. CALL. IT ‘holiday resident events! Pick a name that excites residents – e.g.
Mistletoe & Margaritas OR Cocktails & Candy Canes
“Sleigh Hello to My Little Friend” Secret Santa Party
“Who’s Your Santa?” Secret Santa Party
Merry Little Christmas Party
Miracle on {Building Street Address}
A Not-So-Silent Night at {BuildingName}
Pancakes & Pajamas
The 12 Tastes of Christmas (12 appetizers/treats/drinks)
Holiday Ho-Ho-Hoedown (country themed)
And the rest – Jingle Bell Rockout, Winter Wonderland, Santa Soiree; A Very Tipsy Christmas, Wacky Tacky Sweater Soiree
2. Pick the Right Day and Time:
A weeknight or weekend morning is probably your best bet. Consider hosting in the off-season like the first week in January. If you do host it in December, make sure residents are aware of the day and time early so they have it on their calendars before it gets filled up.
3. Market Like Your Life Depends On It
If you’re ever held an event where few residents attended and the feedback you received from those that didn’t attend was: “I didn’t know about it”, then you probably know the importance of marketing. It’s why after 100 years of being around, Coke still spends billions of dollars every year to market their sugary drink. Emails, Elevator Flyers, Digital Signage, Push Notifications, etc. Make sure you cover all your marketing channels. Even have your front desk remind every resident that walks through the lobby. Get a free branded app from Flamingo and our free digital signage solution to completely automate all your marketing.
4. Take RSVPs
This one is a given. If you don’t know how many residents are coming, it’s very difficult to plan for food and drinks. You don’t want to end up with hungry and thirsty residents because more people showed up than you planned for. You also don’t want to end up wasting food and drinks because not as many people attended as planned for. Get a free branded app from Flamingo that will make RSVPs easy and also provide you with historical attendance data so you can plan better.
5. Invite Prospects
Work with leasing to invite some or all the prospects that have recently toured the community. This is a great way for them to get to know your building and their potential future neighbors. Even if a prospect doesn’t move in, you’ve created an amazing brand impression on them.
6. Have Residents Host
Instead of stressing your team out, find 5 to 12 residents willing to host in their unit where each unit is a different theme. E.g. one unit hosts cocktails, another unit hosts egg nog, another unit hosts appetizers and so on. [hint a “The 12 Tastes of Christmas”]
For more holiday resident events and ideas, check out our events marketplace!
