9 Fresh Ideas for Resident Events This Spring

Spring is the time for growth and renewal. Jump into season this year by refreshing your resident calendar. From indoor workshops to outdoor excursions, these fun ideas will give you fertile ground to plan your next community events.

1. Hold a plant care workshop

Spring marks the start of the growing season for many plants, and it’s the perfect time to inspire residents to create their own indoor garden.

Partner with a local garden store to host a workshop on plant care. Unless your community is home to a community garden, you may want to focus the workshop on indoor plants. Popular choices include succulents, pothos, and spider plants. Other options include herbs and veggies that can be easily grown on a windowsill, like basil, green onions, and mint.

What should the workshop cover? Consider these useful topics:

• How to select the right plant for your apartment. Consider factors such as sunlight, humidity, and hardiness. If your community welcomes pets, address which plants are safe for cats and dogs.
• When and how to repot indoor plants. Repotting can be essential to keeping your indoor plants thriving. Walk residents through the ins and outs of doing this successfully.
• How to keep plants healthy. Identify common pests that can affect indoor plants and how to avoid them. Explain the best practices for watering some of the most popular houseplants.

Depending on the level of interest among your residents, you may want to follow up the workshop with a plant swap later in the season. Or, host a photo contest on social media for residents to show off their green indoor oasis.

2. Celebrate spring cleaning

Spring cleaning doesn’t have to be a chore. Make an event out of it by organizing a community day for spring cleaning! While your onsite staff focuses on sprucing up landscaping and common areas, encourage your residents to freshen up their apartments.

Try these strategies to get the whole community involved:

• Designate a specific day or weekend for spring cleaning. Highlight the event on your resident calendar, and promote it at least a few weeks in advance.
• Share tips on decluttering. Post flyers in common areas with ideas from organizational gurus like Marie Kondo, or include best practices in your resident email newsletter.
• Hand out popular supplies. Stock up on useful cleaning supplies, like sponges, spray bottles, and rubber gloves. Offer a cleaning kit to residents who RSVP, as supplies last. 
• Prepare your waste removal strategy. Put out extra garbage and recycling bins in convenient locations to make it easy for residents to dispose of their trash.
• Offer drop-off bins for donation. Help residents clear out gently used clothes, surplus furniture, and nonexpired food they no longer need. Partner with a nearby nonprofit, thrift store, or food bank to donate the items to others in your local community.
• Host a before-and-after contest on social media. Encourage residents to share photos and videos of their apartment transformations.

3. Host a chocolate egg hunt for kids

Bring out the children in your community for a spring-themed scavenger hunt!

Designate a specific area within your community to hold the event, such as an outdoor greenspace, a community room, or your resident clubhouse. Hide chocolate eggs and other tasty treats throughout the space. Get creative — you can stash chocolates behind cushions, under furniture, in flower beds, on tree branches, and along windowsills. For added excitement, include written and visual clues to help kids track down the loot. Invite kids 12 and under to join in the fun.

To get an accurate headcount and ensure you have sufficient chocolates for all participants, ask parents to RSVP ahead of time with the number of children who will be attending.

After the event is over, encourage parents and staff to search for any remaining items that kids may have missed.

4. Throw an international potluck

There’s nothing like a community potluck to bring residents together and create a sense of belonging. Host a potluck lunch or dinner, and invite all your residents to bring a homemade dish.

For a multicultural flair, think international. Encourage residents to bring an appetizer, main course, or dessert from their home country — or any cuisine they choose.

Ask your residents to RSVP, and don’t forget to provide lots of plates, cutlery, napkins, and serving utensils.

5. Host a baseball watch party

This springtime, gather the sports fans in your community for a baseball watch party. Decorate your clubhouse or community room with balloons and team colors, and invite residents to wear their favorite caps and jerseys. Set up a big-screen TV and offer ample seating options, from folding chairs and couches to cushions on the floor. For snacks that will hit it out of the park, offer concession-stand classics like peanuts, popcorn, and hot dogs.

And it’s not just baseball! If your local hockey or basketball team is in the playoffs, a resident watch party is a great way to show your support.

6. Invite residents to a spring brunch extravaganza

Celebrate spring with a brunch party for all your residents. If the weather is warm enough in your area, host a picnic onsite or at a local park. If the weather is too chilly or wet for an outdoor event, throw a party in your community room, and decorate with flowers and balloons.

Try these fun springtime refreshments to kick your event up a notch:

• Fruit juice. Offer refreshing homemade lemonade and orange juice from freshly squeezed fruit.
• Mocktails. Toast the new season by serving up refreshing non-alcoholic drinks like strawberry-ginger faux-jitos and berry spritzers.
• Egg-based appetizers. Mini quiches and deviled eggs are always a big hit. For a spring twist, serve up frittata made from seasonal spring veggies.
• Yogurt parfait. Set up a DIY parfait station with yogurt, fresh fruit, granola, and an assortment of fun toppings like chocolate chips and cinnamon.
• Finger sandwiches. For fresh flavor, provide sandwiches made of cucumber, fresh cheese, and smoked turkey.
• Delicious desserts. From lemon tarts and lemon-poppy muffins to strawberry shortcake, desserts with a fruity flavor are the perfect way to celebrate the season.

7. Put on a spring wellness fair

Partner with local businesses to host a spring fair all about wellness. Dedicate an indoor or outdoor space within your community to hold the event, and encourage residents to visit workshops, booths, and tables to learn more about the local resources available to them. Create a welcoming environment with spring-themed décor.

Which local establishments might be interested in participating? Consider fitness studios, grocery stores, and restaurants. And don’t forget about local health professionals, from physicians and dentists to therapists and dieticians. You can also connect with nonprofits and government organizations, like local clinics and health departments, emergency responders, youth support services, and environmental organizations.

Once you have a list of participating businesses and organizations, work together to set up tables and booths where they can offer your residents information and giveaway items.

Depending on the size of your event and the space available, you may want to expand the invitation to residents outside your community. This can serve as an opportunity to boost your brand recognition and attract new residents.

8. Celebrate Earth Day

This year, Earth Day falls on Monday, April 22. Start celebrating the weekend before by hosting a tree-planting or beach clean-up event for residents to attend. Whether it’s trash pick-up or park beautification, identify an environmental need in your local area, and work with nearby nonprofit organizations to host the event.

For more ideas to promote sustainability, check out more ways for apartment communities to go green.

9. Organize a walking tour of the neighborhood

Did you know that May is National Physical Fitness & Sports Month? Encourage residents to get outside with a walking tour of the neighborhood. Besides getting in some steps, this is an excellent way for new residents to familiarize themselves with the area and for established residents to meet their new neighbors.

An easy, low-cost event, a walking tour just requires some planning. Identify a few onsite team members — or even long-time residents — who know the neighborhood well to help lead the tour. Advertise the event in advance, and ask your residents to sign up to get an estimate of headcount beforehand.

To make sure your tour reflects all the best the neighborhood has to offer, encourage residents to submit their favorite neighborhoods spots — like nearby restaurants, murals, and parks — through your social media channels or in an online survey.

Plan resident events for all seasons

Looking for more ideas? Check out these tips to keep your residents engaged throughout the year:

• 5 Unique Ideas for Summer Resident Events
• The Do’s and Don’ts of Hosting a Community Movie Night
• 5 Fun Fall Events for Your Residents
• How to Host a Football Watch Party for Residents
• 11 Fun Winter Events for Your Community
• How to Celebrate Valentine’s Day in Your Community