4 Ways to Engage With Your Residents After the Holidays

This time of year sure is magical.

You know what the best part of the holiday season is? When the relatives have gone home, the house is cleaned up, and you can do your normal shopping at Target instead of almost having a panic attack in the toy aisle trying to grab one of the last LOL Surprise Dolls while listening to Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” on an infinite loop.

You might think it’s a good idea to have a resident event while people are in jolly moods.

Don’t.

The holidays are stressful, especially for apartment residents who might be hosting festivities in a small space. It’s not the time to try to put on an event for your residents.

After, though. After the holidays your residents might be looking for a way to relax and recuperate. That’s when you can make your move! Here are some suggestions for events to hold at your communities after the holidays.

Host a relaxathon. That’s not a real word. You know it, I know it. Just be cool, OK? Anyway, help your residents chill out after all the endless shopping, the frantic baking and the endless, endless stream of family. You can hire a masseuse and have him or her set up in a common area, and offer free massages. Host a yoga class in your gym. Also, serve flavored water and play some relaxing music. Soon the holiday stress will just fade away.

Offer babysitting. Yes. One hundred percent! Do this! Have someone watch the kids in the common area. They can watch movies. Do crafts. Make friends. Let their parents get, like, five minutes to themselves. It doesn’t have to be for a long period of time—it could even be an hour or so. The kids will have fun. The adults will appreciate it. Everyone wins.

Have a dud-gift exchange. Even though we’re all super grateful for all our gifts, there are always a few that…aren’t…good. (Excluding that homemade orange sweater from my mother-in-law that I definitely love. Yup, have big plans for that bad boy. Unless the dog accidentally tears a hole in it and I have to throw it out. Yeah, that would be a shame…) But, as the saying goes, one man’s ugly homemade orange sweater is another person’s treasure. Have a party and encourage people to bring a gift they were just going to return anyway, and people can exchange them with each other. Pick a charity, and then everything left over can be donated.

Booze. That’s the winner. Just give out booze. No pretense. [Note: make sure no one is driving or drinks over the limit, of course.] Trust me, it’ll be successful.

What are some other suggestion for resident engagement after the holiday season? Post your comments on our Facebook page or send a tweet to @MHNOnline or @jfiur. And I hope everyone has a nice holiday and a happy New Year!