Tuesday, December 8, 2015

The Toy Swap

I hosted a Toy Swap.



  
Inspired by a man who hosted a community wide clothing swap earlier in the year, I decided I'd do the same for toys.  My house is full of toys that are in great condition that are outgrown or just not appreciated at our house anymore. 

I sent out an interest email.  I was half expecting to get no responses, but the opposite was true.  People were really excited so I decided to go for it.

The general idea was that I'd invite over a bunch of my mom friends.  We'd all bring our excellent conditione (fully functioning, all pieces present) toys.  We'd drink wine and trade toys.  

So we did!


I had about 30 RSVP.  My kitchen filled with friends and my entry filled with toys.

I decided the best way to organize the event was to have everyone write their name on a slip of paper, I put all of the names in a vase and drew the first name.  As soon as that person chose her toy, she came back and selected the next name.  I continued until everyone had a turn and then I dumped the names back in the vase and started again. It was a great system because it was fair, easy, and allowed people to hang out and enjoy conversations. 

It was amazingly fun.  It's hard to capture in words the feeling of a house full of good friends laughing and sharing.


I wanted to keep things simple, but at the last minute I did decide to add a prize for 'best toy' and for last mom to choose.  A giant stuffed giraffee won best toy.


At the end of the night, there was a small collection of toys remaining that will find a new life at a Children's home nearby.


The event was incredibly successful.  Everyone found a few new to them things, but more importantly we strengthed relationships and had fun.  I'm planning to make this a yearly tradition!


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