IRL Garden Connections: How to Host a Flower Giveaway Party

Have you ever been to a party where the awkward silences pile up so high that you immediately regret coming? 

I’ve been to my fair share of gatherings and am known as the first one to leave most parties. I’m an introvert and while I absolutely love connecting with people, often times party atmospheres don’t allow for deeper connections. This is why my husband and I have a rule for the gatherings we host: We have to come up with some kind of fun activity beyond eating and drinking. Activities break the ice and get people to loosen up. They bond people and give them something to 1) do and 2) talk about. So today I thought I’d share one of my favorite gatherings: flower giveaways.

I’ve experimented with different ways of doing this, but today I will focus on some tips for hosting a birthday party flower giveaway. We hosted a flower giveaway for my birthday a few years ago and had an absolute blast. Most people didn’t know each other at this party and it was amazing to see how easily everyone bonded when they were gathered together making bouquets. Conversation flowed so easily and I saw new friendships blossom right away.

Here’s a breakdown of what we did:

What:

We asked everyone to bring a flower bouquet to contribute to the festivities and also had about 10 bouquets that we added to the mix to get things going. Whoever wanted to participate gathered around our kitchen island, making bouquets of about 10 stems each, tying them with a rubber band, and putting them in big buckets of water. It was a bit like an open house with people coming and going at different times. Once the buckets were all full of flowers, I would announce that anyone who wanted to come to the end of our street (the entrance to a hiking trail), could give those flowers away. We’d generally have about 10-15 of us at the trailhead handing out the flowers, with one person holding a “Free Flowers” sign and everyone else grabbing bouquets to give to people. We did this 3 or 4 times throughout the party and had so much fun seeing people’s reactions. Most people asked “Wait really, they are free? But why?! Oh well, if they’re really free, of course, I’d love them!”

Meanwhile, back at the house, other friends would be making bouquets, touring the garden, eating dessert at picnic tables outside, and chatting with guests. There was no pressure to make the bouquets or give them away. You could simply watch everything unfold and have a good time doing that. 

Note: We had about a half-hour break where the taco cart was open and everyone ate lunch together.

Who:

We invited about 40 people. Most of my female friends came solo, but a few men showed up. The men generally didn’t partake in making bouquets with the women, but they seemed to enjoy watching the flower fun, in addition to diving into the tacos, margaritas, and corn hole. We also had a few kids, including my 5 and 8-year-old niece and nephew, join in on the activities and that was such a joy! The people receiving the flowers especially loved it when the kids gave them the bouquets. 

When:

My birthday falls in April, which helped with this being such an outdoor garden event. It also happened to be a beautiful day here in San Diego, so that was very lucky. Hopefully your birthday falls during a nice time of year so you can host it as your birthday party too!

Flower giveaway supplies I recommend:

• A game or two for the people who aren’t into making flower bouquets (we had cornhole).

• Flower trivia or conversation starters. I made my own flower trivia that I printed off for each table. Someone at each table became the “host” of the trivia, reading off the questions and together the tables would try to guess the answers amongst themselves. It was super casual and provided an excellent icebreaker. I hosted this gathering before I had the flower conversation deck that I made based on the meanings of flowers. I would have also used that on the tables if I had it :)

• Flower party favors that double as decorations for the table. We had lollipops with pressed pansies, flower sunglasses, and California poppy seed packets all over the tables that people could take home with them. The sunglasses were a huge hit. 

• As many buckets of water as possible. I think we had about 6-8 buckets to hold all of the flowers.

• A “Free Flowers” sign. This is really fun to have the kids at the party decorate.

• Rubber bands.

• Lots of pairs of clippers.

• Trash cans all around where people are making bouquets. It gets messy fast!

• Easy food, drinks, and dessert. We hired a taco cart to set up in our garden, had a DIY bar, and got Sprinkles cupcakes. Don’t forget the utensils, cups, and plates!

  

Would you host a flower giveaway? Let me know your thoughts and questions!