I'm hosting a crop and want to make it super special...

The most important to me is table space, lighting, and low noise level. Conversation certainly but not shrieking, yelling out, loud raucousness.  Tell them right off the bat  where they can take phone calls, (to encourage them to step into another room for that) and where the bathroom is,make sure you have a plunger and extra toilet paper.

I don't think you have to give away your paper but maybe you could encourage others to bring things they don't want and have a swap/free area to find new homes for unwanted stuff. Being too generous with your own stuff can have its own problems. Trust me on that.  
Games and contests - no.  People do things very differently and it cuts into scrap time.

If you want to have a theme you can put a piece of cardstock and some enamel dots or something at each person's place - like for July - navy cardstock and some red white and blue enamel dots, or something like that.

Put your tools in an adjacent room so people can run the machines and use the tools away from the work space.

I don't know how often you want to hold it, if you are hoping to rotate houses or what, but I think it would be good to maybe have a little survey for people to fill out - do they want to bring snacks to share, do they want to take turns hosting, do they want to meet monthly, do they want to order out dinner, does everyone plan to leave 2 hours before you had in mind (I personally hate sitting there with one person when everyone else has left) ... Get an idea what will keep them coming back.  When you provide meals you run into people's food issues.  I scrap regularly with 2 vegetarians and 1 allergy to tomatoes.  One brings her own food, one tells us constantly that she can't be near salsa, pizza, salad with tomatoes, etc.  The other one keeps putting little things on her plate all the while saying "Does this have meat?  Does this have dairy?" 

I may come back with more ideas. It's one of my favorite topics!

One crop I went to they had cute little name tags attached to a small mason jar filled with candy. It was just a nice personal touch that I loved.

Make it very clear if kids are or are not allowed. As an attendee I would prefer 18 years and older. I know some teens and other kids are incredibly responsible and respect others, it still makes it hard if you want to have adult conversations.

I agree with everyone else that having enough space for working and having my stuff nearby is the top consideration. I always like getting a little treat at my space like some candy or a granola bar and a bottle of water, and it's fun if it has a decorated place card with my name on it if people don't know each other well.

I also agree with not being overly generous with your stuff. It's nice if you want to have a little freebie for everybody, but you don't want people to come to expect getting a bunch of free stuff every time. Having a free table is a great idea for people to leave stuff they're done with that someone else might be able to use.

oh, a crop with locals sounds so fun. I think the previous ladies have all given such good suggestions that I don't have any. Just wanted to say that I hope it goes well and wish you the best of times.

I appreciate a garage sale space. Where people can sell their unwanted stuff. Here people fill a box with things and have a small pot for cash. And its done on a trust basis.

I agree with others don't give away your stuff. You are already providing the space and other stuff.

Good luck and I hope you enjoy it.

One of the nicest crops I went to the organizer had a little box from Target $ spot and there were a few pieces of candy 2 little homemade embellishments and a glue runner. You could also do that and instead of glue runner get was how tape since glue runners are kinda spends. I would love a little embellishment with or without a name that went along with the theme. I have been to one where it was crop around the clock and hostess had 45 records decorated for us. Another was crop by the lake and she did large tags with Julie Nutting girls on them. Extra tables for tools and one for snacks. I bet you will have an awesome time.

That sounds fun! Good luck!

I love a crop with lots of space, and good lighting.
If I didn't know my fellow croppers, a name tag is nice.
I love getting a little favor at my spot. It doesn't need to be fancy, but a little candy or a small SB item is just fun to sit down to.

I'm not a fan of games, or contests. I hate having to stop when I'm in the groove. I will have to say that I went to a regular crop a few years ago, and they played a fun game that took under 5 minutes right before we broke for a meal. The hostess had a big jar full of papers with scrapbook supplies written on them. Simple things like scissors and glue dots, and then some specialty things like a bone folder or a picture with a dog in it, etc. Some things would even be non SB related like lip balm or tissues.

She'd pull out about 15 papers per crop and read them out. You went through your supplies and the person who had the most supplies handy won a small prize. There was a time limit to find all these things, so it was fast and easy. Since we played it every time we cropped it made you get a little more inventive on what you packed - but you still never knew what would get called.

I've played similar games with items in your purse at showers, but it was fun and just a fun quick break during a crop.