Plan a social activity with friends

 

Check out the step-by-step guide below to get started.

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human connection | ▲ difficulty | ⏳ 2 hours

Step-by-step guide

OK, let’s get started.

Step 1: Brainstorm the social activity

The first step is to think about what type of social gathering you want to plan and organize with friends. 

  • Do you want to do something outdoors or indoors, or perhaps a combination of both? 

  • Do you want to keep it to a small group or invite as many people as possible? 

  • When do you want the social event to happen? 

Here are a couple of ideas to help get the creative juices flowing:

Outdoors/Active

  • Picnic in the park - A picnic in the park is the perfect outdoor activity with friends in the spring. Think: snacks, beverages, and lawn games.

  • Go hiking OR biking - A great outdoor activity to do with a small group.

  • Outdoor play - Adults can play, too. Plan a fun outdoor game to play with friends—softball, dodgeball, or kickball are all fun competitive  games for a group of eight or more. 

Food-centric 

  • Potluck & game night - Ask friends to bring a dish or dessert to share and then play a game afterwards. 

  • Dinner & drinks - A good ol’ fashioned night out on the town at a nice restaurant and drinks afterward. 

  • Food tour - Good to do with a small group of friends in the city. Brainstorm a theme (i.e. tacos, pizza, dumplings) and then pick out 4-6 of the best spots for that item/cuisine.

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Step 2: Gauge interest 

Once you’ve narrowed down one or two options, get input from a couple of your closest friends to see what they would be most interested in.

Step 3: Get the logistics in order

Once you’ve landed on the social activity, it’s time to start thinking about the logistics. A good rule of thumb for planning is to consider the 5 W’s: Who, What, When, Where, Why

  • Who is invited? Is there an optimal group size for the activity you’re planning? Who would be most interested in this social activity? 

  • What are the plans for the activity? What should people bring on the day of the event? What should people wear? People appreciate when expectations are set, so make sure to share any relevant details. For example, if you’re planning an active social event, perhaps you recommend activewear and tell friends to ditch the jeans. Or if you’re planning a night out on the town and the restaurant is a little fancier, give your friends a heads up.

  • When is this activity happening? Lock in a date and time. Friday night? Saturday during the day? Throw out a couple of dates & times to the group to check and see if it works for everyone.

  • Where is this happening? Where should people expect to meet on the day of?

  • Why are you planning this activity? Just for fun? Vaccination celebration? Someone’s birthday? Housewarming? It’s nice to celebrate something specific, but sometimes “just because” works too.

Once you’ve got your 5 W’s in order, you may consider asking “How?” as well. This is all about finalizing the last logistics. 

For example, if you’re planning a biking activity but none of your friends have bikes, you may ask yourself, how are we getting bikes?

Or if you’re planning a food tour, you may ask, how are we getting from one place to the next? Walking? Taking an uber?

It’s important to think through the how when finalizing the plans to make sure things go smoothly throughout the social activity.

Step 4: Send out the invite

It’s up to you how you want to send out the invite — creating a group text or WhatsApp thread usually does the trick. If you want to formalize the invitation because you’re celebrating a special occasion, you could create a digital invitation and send it to your friends. Paperless Post is a great option for digital invitations. 

When you send the invitations, ask friends to confirm if they can make it so you know how many people are going to participate. If it’s a formal invitation, ask them to RSVP.

Step 5: Gear up for the social activity 

As you approach the day of your planned event, make sure to walk through the logistics one more time. Additionally, ask yourself the following questions: 

  • Is there anything you need to get ahead of the event? 

  • Have you sent out a reminder to those attending? Does everyone need to be on time? 

  • Are there any potential things that might go wrong? (i.e. rain if it’s an outdoor activity) What’s the backup plan?

  • Do you have anything planned after the event? Sometimes it’s good to have a couple options to throw out to the group in case people want to hang around afterwards.

Step 6: Be proud 

We get it: planning can be stressful. On the day of your planned event, people may see you as the leader or host. 

Embrace the moment. Enjoy it as best as you can. Take a moment to be proud. 

Look around at the smiles and laughs and connections being made and embrace the fact that you did this. You brought people together and helped brighten up their day.

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