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My favorite thing about vision board parties is that you don't really need much to have a successful event. Once you get a bunch of people in a room and ask them to talk about their goals, the party pretty much hosts itself.
If you want people to be super comfy and ready to enjoy the endless inspiration around them, make sure they aren't hungry. (That pretty much works for any situation, right?)
For a vision board party, people are mainly there for the artsy craftsy creator time where they're fingering through magazines and building the boards so you should keep that in mind when selecting your food options.
Here's a short list of things you should consider while choosing the food for your vision board party.
Decide On Your Event Layout First
As the host, the layout of the event is totally up to you. You can invite speakers to talk about their life experience and inspire the group, you could also have different activities that people can do or conduct a workshop on how to build a vision board.
Think about where the food will come into the agenda because this will contribute to the overall flow of the event.
Eating Before The Creation
If you structure the event so that the good comes first, your attendees will have time to talk before creating the boards. This creates a networking or community oriented vibe to your event. People will start chatting and getting to know each other far before they start working on their vision boards.
Eating During Creation
At some events, people are encouraged to chat, eat, drink and be merry. If you plan on having people work on their vision boards while they eat, then you'll just want to make sure the foods aren't too messy.
Do's
AT least One Salad
I really don't do salads, but some people really like them. Make sure you're serving all of the people that are in attendance by having at least one salad option.
Have a Dessert
OK - this is totally my thing because I LOVE a good cake or pie, but I think it's totally necessary. Working on your goals for the new year is a big deal. Give people something for their sweet tooth at the end of all that networking, collaborating and creating. :)
Cover the prevalent food allergies
You don't have to hit every random food allergy in the world, but definitely make sure you hit the more frequent preferences: gluten, dairy, vegetarian and vegan. It could also be helpful to ask people what types of allergies they have when they RSVP that way you have a good idea of how much you need to supply at the event.
cater to the time of day
The time of day you're hosting your event should provide direction for what types of food to provide.
For a morning/early afternoon event, you should provide more breakfast-friendly foods like pastries, fruits, yogurts and granola. For a lunchtime event, you can easily provide finger sandwiches, cookies and chips. If you're hosting an evening vision board party, stick with foods that give a dinner party feel like wine and cheese or charcuterie plate and other light snacks with a more savory feel to them.
Don'ts
greasy/messy foods
At our first vision board potluck, one of the attendees brought barbecue chicken. As delicious as it was, we had a difficult time eating and building magazines at the same time. We were constantly cleaning our hands and then cleaning the napkins off the tables. It's a huge distraction from the reason you came to the party - creating your vision.
smelly foods
I'm a giant fan of all things fish, crabs, shrimp and mussels but the smell can really take up an entire space. Be conscious of the food you're serving at your event. Make sure that people don't leave with their clothes smelling like white wine and garlic shrimp.
Heavy Foods
We've all had that after Thanksgiving feeling where we finish eating grandma's sweet potato pie and mac-and-cheese and turkey with a side of ribs, stuffing and gravy. All you want to do is head to the bed and rest for the rest of the week.
While food is a necessity at an event, don't feed people so much that they start to feel drowsy. You won't get nearly as much conversation between guests who are full and tired.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Cyrene is a fun and accomplished workshop facilitator, learning and development guru and Human Resources professional. Being at the helm of Thrive Lounge has been a long-time dream. Through vision board workshops she plans to accomplish two-way learning. Sharing her vast years of knowledge to motivate and encourage others; while simultaneously getting the reward of great energy, ideas and questions to ponder back from each group. A super win-win. Please join our Thrive Lounge community so you too can benefit!
