With the holiday season right around the corner, it’s a great time to start planning an event for your residents. A holiday party can help you connect your community, help increase resident satisfaction, and increase retention. However, throwing a holiday party people actually want to attend can be tricky. You need a fun and festive idea that works with the residents in your community. Start by thinking about what kind of residents you have. Are they families or singles? Are they seniors? Once you have an idea of who is coming, you can start thinking about what type of party to throw. Here are four ideas to get your creative juices flowing.

1. Cookie Decorating Party: Cookies are a holiday staple and a cookie decorating party can be a blast. Plus it is super easy to organize. Simply choose a room with a lot of tables. Then lay out some pre-baked sugar cookies, a variety of frosting and icings, and a selection of candies. If you want you can even do gingerbread houses. To take it up a notch have some hot cocoa, coffee, or other drinks available to go with the cookies. If sweets aren’t your thing, you can also decorate Christmas ornaments or make Christmas cards. The best part is this party works great for kids and adults.

2. Holiday Movie Night: A holiday movie night is a great way for your guests to get together, keep cozy, and enjoy the season. Find a room with a ton of comfortable seating and pick a holiday movie. You can also serve classic movie theater snacks like popcorn, candies, and slushies or a selection of holiday treats. The movie you pick should reflect your residents. If you have a complex with a lot of families choose something like A Christmas Story or How The Grinch Stole Christmas. If you house a lot of younger singles, opt for something more adult like Elf or Love Actually.

3. Holiday Karaoke: If your complex is known for throwing large, fun bashes, a karaoke party is perfect for you. Start by getting a karaoke machine or if you have the budget, hire a karaoke DJ, the offer a variety of classic Christmas songs and have your residents go for it! Make sure to serve food and drinks. Eggnog is a must at a holiday karaoke party to help get everyone in the spirit to sing. This idea can work for complexes with families as well.

4. Holiday Trivia Night: Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer? What’s the most popular Christmas song of all time? What was Frosty the Snowman’s nose made out of? Questions like these can help you easily put together a holiday trivia night. Set up is easy. Pick a common space with lots of chairs, serve food and drinks, and you are ready to quiz your residents. For added incentive, you can also offer a prize for the winning team such as a discount on rent or utilities.

Your residents will love these festive holiday party ideas. For more ideas to keep your residents happy, contact Occupancy Solutions. We work with property managers across the country to help create strong communities, keep residents happy, and ultimately increase retention and reduce vacancies.