Deleted
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Aug 18, 2025 21:52:01 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 17, 2021 20:58:16 GMT
My neighborhood association is having a ladies luncheon. Last year people came, ate, and left. This year they are trying to have something to do to keep people around for a while. I’ve gone to silent auction luncheons but I think those are usually fundraisers of some sort. Has anyone been to dinners or luncheons with anything interesting going on besides chewing food?
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pinklady
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,653 
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Post by pinklady on Aug 17, 2021 21:07:36 GMT
How about a fun game of “mingle til’ you drop” to win a COVID diagnosis or free trip to the local ER. 😉
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Post by Linda on Aug 17, 2021 21:23:32 GMT
can't say I disagree with pinklady but post-pandemic I would suggest trivia (teams by table?), a speaker, entertainment of some sort (music, dancers, a talent or fashion show?) or perhaps combine with an art or photography or (some other visual art/hobby) display for people to wander around and look at while mingling |
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Post by Basket1lady on Aug 17, 2021 21:27:22 GMT
I don’t mean for these to apply to current times, but maybe ideas for the further. I was very active in the Officer’s Wive’s Club back when that was a thing on military bases. We raised a lot of money for charity and scholarships, ran a thrift shop to do the same, and got to know new people.
Bunco
Bingo to win prizes
Bring in a singing group
Chocolate fountain
Representatives from local businesses
Decorate Cookies
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Deleted
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Aug 18, 2025 21:52:01 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 17, 2021 21:35:57 GMT
How about a fun game of “mingle til’ you drop” to win a COVID diagnosis or free trip to the local ER. 😉 Wow. So hilarious. Bet you have a million like that. Everyone is vaccinated in order to attend, but thanks for your good wishes. |
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Post by MsChiff on Aug 19, 2021 3:13:05 GMT
My large group of friends recently had a luncheon and a fun thing we did was a dishtowel swap. Everyone brought a dishtowel, wrapped up. We swapped them Yankee style. Everyone picked a number from a bag. The person that got number 1 picked first; she opened her package and showed it to everyone. Then the person that had #2 could take her towel or open a new one; if she took the towel from #1, #1 opened a new package. Number 3 could take any previously opened towel or open a new package. In our swaps, #1 gets the option to swap her towel with anyone else after all packages have been opened. One rule we had is that a towel can only be swapped twice. We had a blast doing it. We chose dishtowels because they're relatively inexpensive and pretty much every household uses them for something, even if it's not the woman using them.  You could really swap pretty much anything. You could also have a speaker, preferably speaking to something that pertains to your neighborhood or to women's health issues. For my bridal shower, my Mom prepared 6 gift baskets and each had a theme. She gave each person 10 tickets and they were to place however many tickets into the small bowl next to the basket(s) they would like. During the shower the baskets served as centerpieces. At the end of the shower, she drew tickets to determine who won which basket. You could do something similar. Maybe ask people to bring a canned good to redeem for tickets then donate the food to the local food bank. A simple craft project for everyone to do. Trivia or Bingo Performances (maybe a volunteer senior performing group, church group or school group) |
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Post by magellen on Aug 19, 2021 3:42:22 GMT
If you want more mingling, have small bites spread out on different tables and small tables
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Post by magellen on Aug 19, 2021 4:00:19 GMT
An easy craft project? I have been wanting to make this wired ribbon roses that are on Instagram. They look super easy and don’t require a lot of supplies
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Post by dewryce on Aug 19, 2021 4:08:08 GMT
How about a fun game of “mingle til’ you drop” to win a COVID diagnosis or free trip to the local ER. 😉 Wow. So hilarious. Bet you have a million like that. Everyone is vaccinated in order to attend, but thanks for your good wishes. I don’t agree with the presentation, but do agree with others that this is a bad time to hold the luncheon. Vaccines do not stop the spread if someone is positive, masking and social distancing are needed. And I don’t think that is the intimate feel you’re probably going for. The trivia sounds like fun, and depending on the group I can see people enjoying bunco or bingo as well. I love doing crafts in group settings as well, but in my experience most people don’t tend keep the things they make. |
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Post by Eddie-n-Harley on Aug 19, 2021 4:08:13 GMT
My neighborhood association is having a ladies luncheon. Last year people came, ate, and left. This year they are trying to have something to do to keep people around for a while. I’ve gone to silent auction luncheons but I think those are usually fundraisers of some sort. Has anyone been to dinners or luncheons with anything interesting going on besides chewing food? Can I ask what the purpose of the luncheons is? Networking? Meeting the neighbors? (And why just the ladies?) My aunt used to belong to a group of "ladies who lunch" and it was a bunch of retirees who just wanted a social engagement, so I think the eating was the activity, which is why I am asking more about your group.  |
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Post by smasonnc on Aug 19, 2021 9:00:37 GMT
I'm in a club that has a monthly luncheon/business meeting (pre-pandemic). We have a social hour, then lunch for 1/2 hour, then announcements and a speaker. We have a wide variety of speakers like authors, environmental activists, the conductor of the orchestra, the sherriff, etc.
If you want to mingle more, bunco is perfect. It's designed just for that.
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Post by craftedbys on Aug 19, 2021 13:48:40 GMT
Our ladies group had someone come in and speak about flowers and gardening. It was spring so she talked about getting beds prepped and what plants liked full sun vs partial vs shade.
It was very informative, especially for those of us who are the "dig a hole and drop it in and hope it grows" type of gardener.
We gave all of the attendees a small bedding plant.
Since we are going on into fall, you could have someone discuss how to winterize flowers and plants before the first cold snap.
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Deleted
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Aug 18, 2025 21:52:01 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 19, 2021 13:59:24 GMT
Thank you very much to those who shared suggestions; I passed them along to the planning committee and they are very appreciative. I'm working now on getting a guest speaker and another committee member is going through the game and craft suggestions to plan something.
The lunch was booked and paid for in the spring and is non refundable. It's being held outside and people attending need to show proof of vaccination. It's a 55+ community; older adults, like everyone else, need some socialization for their mental health, as many are otherwise fairly isolated. Some of the single women in the development requested a women's lunch in order to meet new friends; they aren't comfortable attending events that attract couples or men only.
For myself, DH and I are very cautious re covid; we barely do anything outside the home right now. My daughters are nurses on the front lines and we have all been facing this scourge since the beginning ... so I GET that this doesn't seem like the best time for a group lunch, but it's being done as safely as possible.
I appreciate those who made thoughtful responses and gave helpful suggestions. I think we are all set now.
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Post by dewryce on Aug 19, 2021 14:02:23 GMT
Our ladies group had someone come in and speak about flowers and gardening. It was spring so she talked about getting beds prepped and what plants liked full sun vs partial vs shade. It was very informative, especially for those of us who are the "dig a hole and drop it in and hope it grows" type of gardener. We gave all of the attendees a small bedding plant. Since we are going on into fall, you could have someone discuss how to winterize flowers and plants before the first cold snap. I really like this idea! |
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You could really swap pretty much anything.
