Get Caught Up by Being Crafty

Throw a crafting party to get creative with friends. If it’s been far too long since you’ve seen friends who you don’t bump into at work or see once a week at soccer practice, then drum up a light-hearted party to get the girls together.  

Consider serving snacks or a meal that can be enjoyed before or after the crafting, but not during. Putting food on the snack table can be messy. Guests are liable to get their fingers dirty with food and soil their projects.

Serve an easy brunch as guests arrive, if the party is on the weekend. Pick up a quiche, or make one the night before the party, and flesh it out as a meal with a green salad, scones, and bread and jams.

For a weeknight craft party, spread appetizers, dips and treats on the coffee tables, away from the workspace, and let guests go back and forth.  

Choose a simple and quick project for the party. A complicated or time-consuming craft won’t get finished, and guests will end up taking a half-complete craft home, and most likely, they won’t have the time to finish it. The party is an opportunity to make something, but it’s also a chance to catch up with friends. All that talking will slow down productivity.

Make something that everyone can enjoy and use. Most crafts aren’t practical, but flip through magazines or go to betterhomesandgardens.com for ideas for a project. Jewelry, pins or headbands are all good things to make that most women will wear or give as a gift. Cards and scrapbook pages are other projects that are useful. Almost everyone sends out holiday cards and thank-you notes. Decorating cheap picture frames to personalize them can be an affordable and fun way to make a gift or home décor item special.

Pick up the necessary supplies for the craft in advance, and have one for each guest. Whatever project you decide on, make sure there are enough frames or headbands to go around. Have them laid out on the workspace, along with glue guns, needles and thread, and other adhesives.

Ask guests to bring their scraps and favorite crafting leftovers. Many people have a stash of ribbons, buttons and bows and other remnants lying around in their spare bedroom of cluttering up the closets. Sharing these is a great incentive to clean out the supply cabinet and introduce new fabrics, feathers and other embellishments to friends. Put everyone’s scraps in a big pile, let guests dig in, and have fun.

At the end of the party, friends will have caught up, and they will have a handmade souvenir to take home. No sense in fussing with party favors because everyone makes her own.