How to Nail Your Vision Board Party Invitation

When I started on my goal-getter journey, I wanted a community to share it with. I wanted to help friends (and myself) reach goals with support along the way. I wanted people I could lean on in difficult times and I wanted to be that same type of support for others.

That’s why I decided to host my very first vision board party for my friends.

I sent out a few text messages, telling them to show up at my house with their favorite choice of food for a potluck vision board party.

That strategy for inviting people was apparently not very effective because I had a total of three attendees…. including myself. #FacePalm

Although we had a great time, three attendees was not ideal because I wanted to make a larger impact. I wanted to help LOTS of people change their live, but I could only do that if LOTS of people showed up.

Over the past few years, I’ve learned how to host a vision board party where people are excited to show up and share their goals, connect with other women, tell their stories and start a new year - refreshed.

It all starts with inviting the right people who will be interested in your message, and inviting them in a way that gets them really excited to attend.

What to Include In Your Invitation

When you're creating your invitation for the vision board party, you want to make sure you include all the necessary information.

WHAT A VISION BOARD PARTY IS

Vision boards have become popular in recent years, but many people still have never heard of them. If your friends don’t know what a vision board is and what it does, it’ll be harder for them to get excited about coming to the party.

EVENT INFORMATION

• Date

• Time

• Location

WHAT TO BRING

If you’re asking your guests to bring anything to the event, then make sure you let them know that right in the invitation.

For example, if you’re hosting a potluck, then make sure they know to bring a bottle or dish, ask them to send over any dietary restrictions and make a public list where friends can add in their selections.

You might also want guests to bring their own magazines to the event because a large number of magazines might be difficult to come by for a larger group.

Related Content: What Kind of Food Should You Have at a Vision Board Party

Related Content: Where to Buy Magazines for Your Vision Board Party

PRICING

If you have spent money up front to rent a large space so that lots of friends and family can attend, or if you are providing the food and drink, or purchased vision board materials, it might make sense to ask guests to pay a small fee to come to the party.

In your invitation, make sure guests know what they need to pay in order to attend the event and let them know exactly what they’re getting for their money. Finally, give them a way to pay for the cost of the event.

ANY PRE-WORK YOUR GUESTS SHOULD DO PRIOR TO ARRIVAL

Sometimes hosts like to give their guests a workbook to get them thinking about the goals they want to set for the New Year. If you plan on giving your guests some pre-work leading up to the event, include the link to the pre-event materials in the invitation or let them know how to access them.

When you include all of the necessary information upfront, then your guests won’t have any confusion about what the event is, and they’ll know why they should be excited about attending.

Delivering Your Invitation

The next thing you need to think about is exactly how you are delivering this invitation to your guests.

In my experience, texting your friends is not always the most effective way to show that this event will help them reach a new level of success.

The invitation is a direct reflection of what the event will be.

When your guests receive an invitation that feels special, well-thought-out, organized, and warm, they’ll believe that the event will feel that way as well.

Over the years, I’ve seen some great invitations, here are my favorites:

CUSTOMIZED PRINTABLES

When I’m looking for something specialized and adorable, I head straight to Etsy. Here, you can get creators from all over the world to customize a beautiful template of your choosing with your specific information on it.

This is a great option for people who do not have the time or design skills to edit their own invitations. You simply choose your template and send over your event information to a creator and viola!

You have beautiful invitations that you can print out and send to friends or download and email in a few days.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Vision Board Party Invitation by Aurora Graphic Studio

Vision Board Party Invitation by Blue Bird Designs

CANVA PRINTABLE

If you have some experience with Canva, you can also purchase vision board party designs that you can customize on your own.

This gives you a lot more flexibility with what information is included in your invitation, what pictures you use (if any) and you can even add your own event colors.

Customizable Canva Printables by Vision Board Shop

FACEBOOK EVENT

I’m a huge fan of the simple Facebook event. Most people are on Facebook anyway so having your event information there makes it super easy to invite friends to attend.

Here’s an example of the vision board party I hosted in 2019:

Facebook Event Invite

EVENTBRITE LINK

Eventbrite is a well known website for finding local events. Anyone can go onto Eventbrite and create their own event and it will immediately become available to your community.

This is a great option if you’re hosting a larger event in an event space because anyone in your community looking for events can find you. If you’re asking for a payment to attend your event, eventbrite does have a very simple payment system that collects your payments and deposits the money into your account right after the event.

Here’s an example of the vision board party I hosted in 2018:

Eventbrite Vision Board Party Invitation

Vision board parties are a great way to get your friends and family thinking about their goals. The invitation is the most important piece of the puzzle because it’s the first impression that people have about the quality of the event.

Make sure you always send out an invitation that truly reflects the beauty, inspiration, and positivity of your upcoming vision board party.

Want To Start Planning Your Vision Board Party?  

1. Download the FREE vision board party planning checklist.

2. Craft your inspiring vision board workshop talk with our FREE High Impact Storytelling Journal Prompts. 

3. Plan, promote & host your first (or next) professional & profitable vision board workshop with our signature course, Sold Out Vision Board Parties.

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This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

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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!

How Do Vision Boards Work?

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

The first time I created a vision board I honestly did not think it was going to work.

I was in a place where I needed to change my life - struggling with depression, working too many jobs and paying way too many bills - when a good friend invited me to a vision board party.

I didn’t believe in “the power of vision boards.” In fact, I probably rolled my eyes at the concept entirely. However, my life was definitely sailing in the wrong direction and I was willing to try anything to turn that ship around.

So I attended… I am so glad that I did.

That year marked the year of change for my mindset, my personal strategy and rejuvenated my optimism.

Just a few years after creating my first vision board, I was able to go back to school, get a graduate degree, land my dream job, start saving money, and start getting out of debt.

Many people, like me, are skeptical of the whole idea of creating a vision board. You might be wondering how a vision board actually works. You might be wondering what in the world these magazine clippings are really doing and why people swear by them. (Trust me, I was certainly wondering my first time around!)

The entire process around creating a vision board provides insights, encouragement and motivation for you to continue moving towards your goals. Here’s why:

A Focused Time To Reflect on the things you want to change

Before I created my first vision board, I worried about everything I was going through in my life ALL THE TIME.

I worried about my exhaustion from working multiple jobs. I worried about paying rent, a car note and buying food for my family. I worried about debt collectors calling me daily for bills I couldn’t afford to pay.

The time I spent creating a vision board was a silent time where I could reflect on my negative feelings and not see them as infinite. I could FINALLY see them as things I had the power to change.

Related posts: Why Ruining My Credit Was The Best Decision Of My Life

Space and opportunity to think about your goals

When you create a vision board, you think about the changes you would like to make in your life.

Before my first vision board, I was always on the move. With three jobs, endless worrying, and one get rich quick attempt scheme after another, I did not have a free moment to stop thinking about today’s problems.

I didn’t have the time to think about what I wanted for tomorrow.

Creating a vision board gave me a designated time to pull myself out of today’s challenges and think about my future.

Simply focusing on the changes I wanted to make was an opportunity to brainstorm about what I’d need to do to get there.

Dream about the possibilities

Vision boards help you dream about things you didn't think were possible.

The idea behind a vision board is to think about the things that you don't allow yourself to think about on a daily basis.

For example, you might want to be a writer but you as soon as you start to dream about your life as a writer, you also consider:

• The bills you have to pay

• The family you have to feed

• The things your parents, friends, job expect of you

Those realities can disable your ability to dream because you immediately tell yourself things like:

• “Now is not the right time to pursue because I have a small child.”

• “I can’t take the time to write because I have a demanding job”

• “Once I finish this work project - then I’ll worry about pursuing my dreams.”

A vision board may feel more like a dream space than reality.

That blank canvas, made especially for dreaming big, gives you enough flexibility to re-discover those passions you left by the way-side, those hobbies you’re ignoring, those innate talents you don’t give yourself enough time to use.

Related post: Why Your Dreams Need A Home (and how to create it)

Creating a visual accountability partner

After you create a vision board, you’ll have a daily reminder of your goals an aspirations.

If you put it in a space where you will see it everyday, you can reflect with your vision board on a daily basis. This will also serve as your constant motivator and source of inspiration as you work through your goals.

Unlike a list of New Year’s Resolutions that can easily be lost, or a journal entry that you can forget about, your vision board sits in a space where you have constant interaction with it.

You’ll have of all the promises you made to yourself, the unfinished dreams waiting to be completed, the goals that you are working towards right before your eyes every day.

Related: Create A Vision Board That Serves You (Not Just One That Looks Good)

By its appearance, a vision board might seem like a silly arts and crafts project.

In reality it is a space to dream, a canvas to wonder, a reminder of what you really want and a visual accountability partner to keep you motivated when times get rough.

Want To Start Planning Your Vision Board Party? 

1. Download the FREE vision board party planning checklist.

2. Craft your inspiring vision board workshop talk with our FREE High Impact Storytelling Journal Prompts. 

3. Plan, promote & host your first (or next) professional & profitable vision board workshop with our signature course, Sold Out Vision Board Parties.

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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!

How To Create A Couple's Vision Board

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

I've been single for pretty much forever.

If you ask my grandmother, it's because I run away from all the good guys who are chasing me down the street. Recently, I decided to take my “running shoes” off and settle down with a great man.

As an avid vision board creator, I knew that I wanted to carry that practice over into my relationship so that me and my new beau can get aligned (and stay aligned) right from the beginning.

Benefits Of Creating A Vision Board As A Couple

UNDERSTANDING EACH OTHER’S GOALS

A relationship is a union between two individuals with different backgrounds, perspectives, personalities and goals attempting to grow together for the foreseeable future. (A little scary, if you ask me.)

A vision board will help both partners understand each other’s needs and desires in a fun and engaging way.

FUN WAY TO COMMUNICATE NEEDS

As people grow and life changes, many turn to their relationship as a place for comfort, nurturing and support.

The vision board creation process is an effective medium through which both members of a couple have the space to talk about how the relationship will play a role throughout all of life’s changes.

NAVIGATING YOUR RELATIONSHIP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

Creating a couples vision board requires the couple to spend time reflecting on what they've done and where they want to go. That activity of choosing what direction you want to go in together will ensure that you both have input in the goals you set for the long term.

When you build your vision board, you create a safe atmosphere for each partner to share their thoughts openly without making assumptions or judgement.

Deciding What To Put On Your Couples Vision Board

Reflect on your year as individuals and as a partnership.

Each of you have had different experiences and have gone through different things over the last year. Your vision board is the time to communicate with each other about the feelings you’ve been experiencing.

Ask each other what changes you'd like to make going into the new year.

I'm sure you've reflected on your year and come up with some things that you want to change.

Whether you’d like to change yourself, the house, your job, your family dynamic or something else entirely, it's common for things to fall out of place over time or for people to take a look at their lives and want something different.

Spend some time talking with your beau about changes you'd both like to make. It's very interesting to see what the similarities and differences are in each of your desires.

Make sure that you both take time to listen and write down the other's wants. Try repeating your partner’s needs back to them to make sure you understand exactly what they’re trying to achieve.

Decide on the big goals you want to accomplish

Earlier you talked about the goals you set for yourself, now it's time to take a moment and think through the goals you want to set as a couple.

Maybe you want to work on repairing some damage that has been done to the relationship.

Maybe you want to save up for a large purchase such as buying your first home or acquiring an investment property.

Talk about the big goals that you would like to work on as individuals and then decide together which goals you'll work towards as a couple.

Think about all the other areas of your life and what can be improved

Now that you've set one goal, it's time to think about the other areas of your life.

All work and no play can make anything dull - even the most fun and vibrant relationships. There are several important areas in your life where you can choose to set goals:

·         Family / Friends

·         Spirituality

·         Fun / Adventure

·         Finances

·         Health and Fitness

·         Education / Career

You don't have to set a goal in each one of these areas.

In fact, you definitely shouldn't. Being pulled in too many directions takes your eyes off the prize and you might not be able to do what really matters most in your life. Only set goals in the areas that you really want to focus on this year.

You can always choose other areas of your life to focus on next year.

Creating The Vision Board

Once you have your ideas ready, it's time to look through some magazines and build your vision board! I’ve talked about creating your vision board several times on the blog, you can find all the technical stuff on vision boards in these posts:

1. 5 Things To Do BEFORE You Make a Vision Board

2. What Materials Do You Need To Create A Vision Board

3. Everything You Need To Know About Creating A Vision Board

4. What Magazines Should I Use For My Vision Board? Effective List of Do's and Don'ts

What To Do With The Vision Board Once You Create It

Place it somewhere that you'll see it everyday

Once you create your vision board, you want to make sure it's visible for both you and your significant other. That way you could both continue to be inspired by it over time and always have daily exposure to the things you want to create together.

Schedule a monthly couple's finance date

For financial goals, (like big purchases or travel plans) you and your partner should spend some time thinking through exactly how this goal will come to life. Some good places to start are:

• How often will you contribute to this purchase

• How much will you contribute

• When will you contribute

Decide who will be responsible for the tracking of this goal.

Have an action planning date

For other large goals, it might make more sense to sit down and come up with a real action plan.

If you want to eat healthier (for example) you might want to talk about what changes you're going to make to your diet, who will cook those meals and how often. Will you do any meal planning, who will do the shopping, can you meal prep together for the week ahead.

Breaking your goals down into smaller milestones will make them easier to achieve.

Set a date for monthly check ins

Now that you've spent time chatting with your partner about your goals large and small, make sure that your goals don't fall to the side when life gets in the way. Become each other's accountability partner.  

Set a date that works for you both each month to sit together, grab a glass of wine and chat about progress towards your goals. Do you need to do anything different next month to stay on track? Do you need to tweak the plan that you made?

Maybe it’s time to celebrate crushing your goals!

Want To Start Planning Your Vision Board Party? 

1. Download the FREE vision board party planning checklist.

2. Craft your inspiring vision board workshop talk with our FREE High Impact Storytelling Journal Prompts. 

3. Plan, promote & host your first (or next) professional & profitable vision board workshop with our signature course, Sold Out Vision Board Parties.

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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!

How To Host A Virtual Vision Board Party That Everyone Will LOVE

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Vision board parties have become the thing to do when the new year is coming around and you’re ready to redefine your future.

In my opinion, vision boards are the best way to leave an old, crusty year behind and walk into your new year brand new, rejuvenated and ready to make your past accomplishments look like blips on the radar.

Vision board parties literally have it all: good food, drinks, goal setting, crafts, knowledge sharing and (most important) a reason to brag about yourself. (Who doesn’t like a little humble bragging?)

That begs the question, is it possible to take an in-person experience like a vision board party and bring it online? The answer is a definite YES!

I've hosted a few virtual vision board parties and the majority of the process is the same. The biggest difference would be getting the attendees to feel "in the moment" enough to share their stories and get to know each other. 

Here’s how to do a virtual vision board party your attendees will love.

The Tools

FOR THE VIDEO

For hosting the virtual vision board party, I use Crowdcast.

This is a super easy-to-use tool that allows you to broadcast to a live audience. (It’s so simple, I’ve had non-tech-folks tell me how much they love it!)

Crowdcast is perfect for vision board parties because this service allows up to 4 people to come onto the screen at the same time so your attendees can really get to know each other! In my events, I’ve had attendees jump on to the screen live to share their answers to questions I’ve asked the group.

Crowdcast will also accept ticketed events and even process the payments for you to making selling tickets to your virtual event super easy!

The Agenda

Your agenda will look similar to an in-person event.

Welcome: This is where you welcome guests and possibly share a tiny bit about you. You can ask guests questions and tell them what they have access to with the software you’re using. With Crowdcast, you’re able to invite guests live to share their story, they have a chat window and polls that they could use to engage. You’ll want to share all of these options with them at the beginning of the evening.

Icebreaker: These are simple “getting to know you” activities. I’ve discussed vision board party ice breakers in detail here.

Activity: Vision board parties are meant to get people thinking about what matters most in their lives and set goals. Walk through one or two activities to help your attendees think ask the important questions about what they really want out of their lives.

Tutorial: Every vision board party needs a tiny vision board tutorial. Here is where you tell attendees how to create a vision board that works. Creating effective vision boards typically consists of three phases: deciding on what big goal you want to work towards, thinking about how you’ll enjoy your life while in pursuit of that goal, and putting those ideas onto paper. Find out a fun way for you to share that with your audience.

PRO TIP #1: KEEP IT (RELATIVELY) SHORT

The party can be shorter, 1-2 hours. This depends on the time of day, whether the group becomes active and the conversation. I usually let the conversation flow and have gone up to 2.5 hours if things are going really well.

PRO TIP #2: BE READY FOR EVERYTHING

In person, you can control the room, the ambiance and what's going on in the background. You cannot do any of these things in a virtual party.

For example, in one virtual party a woman's kids ran up to her to say goodnight.

To keep the party fun, I chatted about her kids and wrapped parenting goals into the conversation.

When you're doing a virtual party - you have to be super flexible and ready for surprises.

PRO TIP #3: MAKE IT INTERACTIVE

Have activities for people to do and ask questions - wait for them to answer. People will be typing in response to what you’re saying in the event. Some people type slower than others. When you ask questions make sure you wait for people to type and respond to your questions before moving on to the next topic.

The Risk

The biggest benefit of a vision board party is taking that moment to yourself to stop worrying about what’s going on at home, work, hubby, the kids and focus on yourself for a moment. In it’s essence, it’s self care.

Moving vision board parties to online puts the self care benefit at serious risk.

In person, you can control the room, the ambiance and what's going on in the background. You cannot do any of these things in a virtual party.

For example, in one virtual party a woman's kids ran up to her to say goodnight.

To keep the party fun, I chatted about her kids and wrapped parenting goals into the conversation.

This is the biggest thing when you're doing a virtual party - you have to be super flexible and ready for surprises.

If you’re thinking about hosting a virtual vision board party this year, give it a shot! This can be a great way to meet people online that you would never be able to interact with in person and add a more interactive form of communication with your audience.

Want To Start Planning Your Vision Board Party? 

1. Download the FREE vision board party planning checklist.

2. Craft your inspiring vision board workshop talk with our FREE High Impact Storytelling Journal Prompts. 

3. Plan, promote & host your first (or next) professional & profitable vision board workshop with our signature course, Sold Out Vision Board Parties.

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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!