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.
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!
This was a great event! Such a wonderful idea.
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