The December Adventure Theme is “Neighborhood Game Night or Tournament”
It’s a new month, and December’s recommended library adventure is “Host a Neighborhood Game Night or Tournament!”
Maybe some of you out there already do this, or maybe you even have regular neighborhood barbecues or potlucks. Maybe (probably “likely” for many of you) you live out in the country or on the far edge of town and your closest neighbor is a solid mile away at least (and that’s how you like it). But for those of us in the middle who are neither super-social nor happily isolated, there’s some wiggle room to grow and explore new options. Hence, Adventure!
Here’s some tips to get you started:
1. Do a knock and talk around the block and extend the invitation in person. It’s more personal than a card or letter (better yet, hand deliver an invite card so they have the date and time already written down).
2. Plan a pot luck or snack buffet everyone can contribute to.
3. Pick easy to learn or broadly familiar games that can be taught in 5 minutes or less and preferably games best suited for groups of 4-8 players.
4. If you have enough players to split into even(ish) groups, try dividing them equally and then mix up the groups one or two times through the event to keep the conversations fresh and the participants mingling.
5. Keep in mind, and perhaps remind your guests, this is about getting together and getting to know your neighbors better. This is not the time to discuss property line disputes, HOA complaints, whose leaves are going into what yard, or whose dog is doing their business where. A potential benefit of an event like this is it might actually humanize the neighbors to each other and improve any trivial bickering that might normally be (at least for a while).
With wild weather and wilder people out and about these days, knowing your neighbors is more important than ever. Better to find out who they are over a game of “Apples to Apples” than when the next “gust-nado” puts your favorite tree through their living room window. It also becomes easier to call them direct and ask if the stranger doing a lookie-loo through their shed is supposed to be there or if the police need to be called.
