For a thrifty event with friends, consider hosting a swap party. I host these parties every season to keep the clutter items from piling up in my house. It’s an economical way to clean out your closet, and it’s way more fun to have a party like this with your friends!
The space
Throwing this party is pretty simple and only requires an event space (like a living room or backyard) and excess items that are ready for swapping.
The invitation
I’ve hosted swap parties at my home and invite my friends and close co-workers about 2-4 weeks in advance. I’ve learned the simplest way to create an invite to is make a Facebook event so it’s easily noticed by my friends.
Items to bring
Ask your friends to bring items they’re wanting to get rid of but that are still in good quality. So, no torn up shorts or missing pieces of a game or jewelry. If you have a clothing rack, hang up some of the nicer apparel on here, or use clothing hangers to post the clothes on doors in the room.
Boxes and bins also come in handy to organize items, as well as cleared-off tables. Keep the areas as organized as possible. Have a box or area for hodgepodge items, too. We generally have an area for accessories like scarves, clutches, wallets, and small purses. It helps to lay our jewelry so you can see all of the parts.
Food and drinks
As a host, provide some small bites and drinks (like lemonade, water, soda or some alcoholic beverages if you’d like), to keep your guests happy. Choose easy appetizers that aren’t messy and keep a hand free for browsing through items. If you’re tight on a budget. ask a couple of your friends to pick up an appetizer from the store or make something if they’re up for it! We also generally ask guests to bring a bottle of wine for share.
Remaining items
At the end of the party, everything that didn’t get picked up can be donated or sold. You can donate the items to Goodwill, Th Salvation Army or CCA, or even try to sell them at a local consignment store. We always take suggestions on where we should donate items.