I think most people are sad when favorite neighbors move away but usually the new neighbors are just as nice! Our neighborhood has about 60 homes and we have annual events and get togethers. We have a social committee that arranges welcome baskets for new neighbors as well as our annual picnic and Halloween Parade. This year we have 3 new families! Time to roll out the welcome wagon!
Our annual picnic is coming up next month so the social committee is in full swing arranging the food and entertainment. We have a wide range of ages so we try to cater to each age group with appropriate activities. This year we have three new families in the neighborhood so we want to welcome them to the area and invite them to the picnic! A friend of mine in the neighborhood and I volunteered to handle the gift baskets this year.
We started by visiting several local vendors and businesses and asked for brochures, menus, samples, etc. We’ve also gotten copies of the neighborhood directories for each family. The directory has each neighbor’s names, address, contact information and ages and names of their children. This way the new folks can find new playmates with similar ages to their own children. We got a map of the borough, local nursery magazines, coupons and some goodies from the local farmer’s market. A few specialty shops donated small bars of soap or gift cards and our gym donated a month’s free gym membership for the entire family. So generous!
We have a $50 budget for each basket so we were able to buy nice keepsake baskets. I found the brown willow scoop wicker baskets at Cost Plus World Market for $6.99 each. I bought a clear plastic basket bag to wrap each filled basket for $1.99 each. The basket filler was $3.99 each and I bought two. I think it will be fine to spread between the three baskets. The filler is brown, tan, blue and green. So pretty and organic! World Market sells kits with the basket, filler and plastic wrap for about $9.99 but I didn’t like the baskets as well so this will be the same amount, only more custom and prettier.
We have some pizza coupons coming in today and a few other goodies. We will fill the baskets later today. I am donating a jar of candy with a “Welcome to the Neighborhood” label printed online and made from a pickle jar of course! 🙂 Pictures coming soon! Have a great day, friends!
