Tips for hosting and enjoying events provided by Rachel Moldstad.
Over the years, I have hosted, helped with, and attended many events for church, for singles’ group, for family and friend get-togethers, and the like. When we host or attend an event, we want it to be the best time ever—the bash of the season—and although each event can’t be perfect, here are some tips to ensure it at least runs smoothly. As this is for the singles’ group, my tips are geared in that direction.
In this day and age of social media and cell phones, it can still be a real pill to ensure that everyone has a way of contacting the host. As we now have a plethora of social media sites to choose from, if you are organizing/hosting, I recommend always listing an email address or phone number where those interested can contact you. Also, requesting an RSVP or répondez s’il vous plaît, French for “please reply,” is vital to ensure the approximate number of people for which to plan. Many of the regular attendees to events that I plan now have my cell phone number, which makes things so much easier on the day of the event. If your event is for a ton of people, considering a signup on a site like signupgenius.com might work better.
If the event requires buying tickets or anything in advance, make sure to indicate that in your ad. If you have room, list all approximate costs or at least share the website for people to check prices for themselves. If the cost of the event is very expensive, consider if this is something worth doing and perhaps having a fundraiser for it in the future.
If the event will require a longer drive, make arrangements for ride-sharing, account for the weather, and consider there may be a lack of cell service. I had an event in Minnesota to a park I’d never been to before and asked people to meet at the front entrance. However, the “front entrance” was actually a bit of a drive into the park and cell service was spotty. I therefore had trouble connecting with one of those attending as we were both from a distance and neither of us knew exactly where to meet. It got sorted, but it was a pain at the time.
List as many specifics in your ad for the event as you can: What kind of event it is, where it is, what date(s) and time(s). Specifically ask people to RSVP. Indicate whether food may be involved, and if the event is not food-related, consider having an option for people to meet up for food or drinks after. Depending on the size of the group, it may not be feasible for everyone to stick together at, say, a county fair. Plan an initial meeting time and place, and also either a halfway check-in or ending check-in. In your ad, list the meet-up place and time, including a way for people to recognize you. I haven’t gotten to the point of making a sign for people to meet me under, but that’s always a possibility.
As host/hostess, it is not your job to make sure everyone has a good time, but it is on you to encourage a warm and friendly atmosphere. You are responsible for welcoming new people and drawing stragglers into conversation as well as keeping an eye out for anyone who might need help during the event. If you are not great at or comfortable doing this, enlist some friends to help you. I am definitely guilty of too often gravitating to my friends while hosting an event instead of taking the time to get to know visitors or new people, and I have to remind myself that these events are an outreach in nature and that I can always talk with my friends later on.
Have I mentioned this already? Oh, I have? :) If you plan to attend an event and are asked to RSVP, please be courteous enough to do so. If there is anything you need for the event or if you have any questions, please ask well before the event starts to give the host(s) time to consider if they can accommodate your requests or not. If no RSVP is suggested in the ad but there is contact information, I recommend contacting them and RSVPing anyway. It’s just common sense to do so.
If there is no meet up place or contact info listed for the event hosts, please attempt to request both, if possible. If the ad is in the church bulletin, contacting the church secretary is a good option. When contact information is listed, please, reach out to the hosts to ensure they know you are coming and should wait for you. Again, I would do this well in advance of the date of the event. If you are comfortable doing so, I would even give an email or cell phone number to the hosts, especially if this is your first time meeting them or attending an event.
Be prepared to come and likely be out of your comfort zone. Be prepared to talk to new people, introduce yourself, and more importantly, to ask your new acquaintances all about themselves. Do not leave the conversations all up to the host(s). Even for extraverts, it can be exhausting. Even if you are attending with friends, try to be open and welcoming to other attendees, especially those who are clearly there alone. Everyone can participate in fostering a welcoming spirit for the event. And you never know who you might meet.
Perhaps this sounds silly, but simply deciding to have a good time at an event helps so much. Especially for single people, attending things like a wedding can be, well, anxiety-ridden, but if you’re simply up for having a good time, keeping and praying on that attitude, it makes a world of difference. Be grateful God has given you an event to host or to attend that involves meeting people. You might meet someone who will become a best friend, a future business partner, a future partner in romance, and the list goes on and on. God so often blesses us through the people in our lives, so every instance of meeting someone new can be a real adventure.
Attend an event and end up getting great ideas for other events or things to do? Yes, please pass on the ideas to the hosts, but consider hosting an event yourself sometime. Most hosts started out just like you, just attending, but eventually had the courage to set up events themselves. In our current age of technology, there’s really no better time to be a host. Plus, hosting boosts confidence, and confidence is endlessly attractive.
When planning or attending an event, one can’t have too much planning. Any bad experiences or things that didn’t work for me almost always have come down to a lack of planning. Even a cooking event I did recently for our local singles’ group could have gone a lot smoother with better planning from myself.
Not only is taking the time and steps to host an event a great feat of ingenuity and assertiveness (am I tooting my own horn?), but it is a way to grow, a way to grow in how you connect to people, a way to show others what you can do, and a way to build skills that can be helpful at work and in everyday life. If you’re trying to impress someone, hey, this might be a way to do it. For attendees, attending an event such as this and, again, planning to have a great time also builds skills: Being pleasant company, showing appreciation and gratitude, and maximizing your scope of imagination. Sometimes God’s trying to show us a world of possibilities out there, but we have to get out in the world to see it. He is God, but He can only do so much if all we do is stay at home and stare at a screen.