This past Christmas, inspired by Pinterest and creativity, my sister-in-law and I threw a Pinterest party with some of our in real life friends and fellow pinners.
Now that spring is rolling around, many of us (and more!) are ready to get together for another night of Pinterest projects. Throwing a Pinterest party does not require an excessive amount of effort, but some level of planning is necessary. Here are a few helpful tips if you plan to throw a crafty bash this spring:
The Basics
The two main things you need to tackle first are a place to have the party and a guest list. The two of these go hand in hand because once you decide to have it, you know what size space you’ll need and vice versa. My sister-in-law happens to have the perfect set-up for parties like this with plenty of room and a great kitchen to lay out all the edible goodies. We also knew we couldn’t possibly invite everyone we follow on Pinterest, so we narrowed it down to a group of people that we knew loved pinning as much as we did and that we knew better than just a mere acquaintance. We ended up with a group of about 10 women and that seemed to be the perfect size for us.
Where & Who?
Deciding which pin to do can be a difficult decision. However, after some discussion, I introduced some basic simple pins we had all seen floating around Pinterest to get the creative juices flowing. Eventually, we decided that everyone would bring the supplies for their own pin, but that tables, chairs, pens, pencils, scissors, and glue guns would be available for everyone’s use. We also wound up sharing different supplies such as ribbon, yarn, buttons, jingle bells as we saw how they fit with each other’s projects.
One other possibility is to decide on the pin ahead of time, one person buys all of the supplies, collects the money at the party, and then everyone makes a variation of the same pin. This type of party is great because you can see a pin that everyone loves, but in a bunch of different ways! It all depends on what direction the group would like to go in!
Food: Simple is Best
What else would a Pinterest party be without some delicious recipes that we had pinned? When people began to RSVP, we encouraged each person to bring either an appetizer or a dessert of their favorite pin to share with the group. Someone offered to bring a punch, so we then supplied just coffee and hot cocoa. The food was the perfect amount and we all were able to sample different recipes (and know which ones we wanted to add to our own pin boards!) I made Pizza Dip which was a hit. I have repeated that recipe for other parties.
Final Tips
Invites – We kept things simple and sent out an invite over Facebook. People could RSVP, write on the wall, and link to pins that they planned on creating or making.
Simplicity – Do not get overzealous when choosing what to make. Don’t plan on bringing supplies for four different pins. From experience, laughing, talking, and eating will probably ensure that you get much less done than you anticipated!
Ask Opinions – Having a craft night with your friends is the perfect chance to get their opinion on what does or doesn’t work with what you are working on, so don’t be afraid of constructive criticism. And just remember, criticizers, be nice!
Plan a Repeat – If everything goes the way you had hoped (and even if it doesn’t), plan another get together with new projects!
Would you ever consider throwing a Pinterest party? What are some of your favorite pins to possibly do in a group? We’d love to hear from you! You can also follow me on Pinterest here or Chicago Parent here.
