25 Community Association or Tenant Party Event Ideas

June 15, 2023

25 Tenant & Community Events that Build Spirit

With so many weekends in the spring and summer just ahead, your tenants or association members are looking for fun times and some social outings.

Photo by Paige Deasley.

This is the season when a landlord or association manager can help bring tenants together just for relaxation and seeing everyone have a good time. Barbecues, charity events, and parties help you convey important values and aid in achieving community association goals.

A party or celebration is a rare opportunity to build the festive spirit to ensure your community members and tenants feel good and encouraged to enjoy life and not let it pass by. Spring and summer are about more than seasonal inspections.

From Pinata or wine and cheese parties, to nature walks and barbecues, here’s a list of 25 party themes and ideas to help you get started. See more on how you can plan your parties strategically for best results.

Building Connections and Trust

These events for fun, activities, entertainment, food and drink and even learning are a powerful medium for community spirit. You might want to go further with a complete social plan for your community. Take it as a separate project with no distractions.

To begin your social plan, it might be a good exercise to create a profile of your tenants, their lifestyle, demographics, and other info. Then find brainstorm some event ideas that would appeal to them specifically (if there are plenty of kids, then kid events will work well). Make your events special and unique, as something that’s about enjoying the moment to the fullest. Don’t forget to let tenants contribute if they wish.

The more you bring into these events, the more you can make them overcome their reluctance and inertia, so that each event every year gets better and better. You can make it happen!

Pool parties for kids! This might even beat Halloween!

A Reminder of the Benefits of Social Events in Multifamily Developments

For landlords and property managers these events will help:

increase lease renewals and reduce vacancy
reduce resident complaints
keep tenant behavior friendlier and more considerate
reduce calls to police
reduce evictions, legal and court costs
create a pleasant community that residents cherish

The spectrum of social event opportunities is vast, but here are 25 party and get-together events you might find useful for your community:

1. 1. Music in the Park – people love music and they can meet others who have the same tastes. Create your own Jazz in the park evening to let people mingle and talk.
  2. Foodie Extravaganza – invite food trucks and food vendors to an event that showcases local eateries and cuisines
  3. Barbecue — people love barbecues and they’ll even pay to attend a barbecue event. Buy the food and give them all fun tenant appreciation food event.
  4. Fitness Classes – use your fitness area to get fitness lovers together
  5. Pool party for Kids – great way to gather the kids and give parents a break.
  6. Pinata Parties for Kids – a super fun way to shower kids with attention and let them win prizes.
  7. Eco-Friendly Day – perfect for bringing members into a meaningful spirited event where they can also have fun.
  8. Gardening Party — bring in a local gardening/greenhouse owner to showcase plants and flowers and educate on property care and growth.
  9. Outdoor movies on the lawn – a movie in a relaxed environment is a common event today.
  10. Wine and Cheese Party: Supply some quality wines, invite a local winery to offer up their favorite bottle of wine and organize a cheese tasting.
  11. Build the Community garden – very popular in seniors developments as it promotes caring and participation.
  12. Halloween Party – let them dress up and compete for some cash prizes or gift cards!
  13. 4th of July Party – celebrate the nation’s birthday with some authentic Americana and cuisine
  14. New Year’s Party – ring in the New Year with a get together that lets them toast their neighbors.
  15. Labor Day fireworks get together – if you have a suitable location, buy the fireworks and put on great show
  16. Professional networking evening – business and professional connections are valuable and sometimes profitable
  17. Ask a techie event – bring in some tech service companies to answer tech questions on devices and new technology
  18. Kids costume party day – just give the kids an excuse to have fun and let them compete for some prizes.
  19. Casino game night – bring in the roulette and blackjack tables and let them play for some nice prizes.
  20. Cook offs – let them show off their cooking skills in timed competitions via popular meals.
  21. Art exhibition night – people love good art, so invite various local artists to exhibit their creations.
  22. Nature Walks – residents might enjoy a trip to a park or nature reserve, since may have no one to go with.
  23. Antique Car Show: Let car afficionados bring their autos in to display.
  24. Dog Show – let members bring their dogs in to run a course or play games — pets need fun too!
  25. Car Wash for Charity — provide the tools and resources for a high quality hand car wash, great for teenagers.

Tips on Organizing Tenant Events

Make your events special, so they don’t come to seem trivial or a source of annoyance. Announce the event well ahead so you can arrange the location, gather vendors, and give everyone time to promote it themselves.

Promote the event in a fun way via your property management software. Ask for brief feedback in a subtle way, such as “How likely are you to attend the event?” Ask tenants what other events they’d like to have.

Don’t just announce. Use the opportunity to gain insight into your tenant base. Ask if some residents would like to participate in organization.

Good luck with your social event plan, and do let us know how it’s turning out!

ManageCasa for Community Associations and HOAs