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Author Topic: Meet up ideas and advice  (Read 1039 times)

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Offline Crowning_Glory13

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Meet up ideas and advice
« on: August 19, 2017, 06:41:34 AM »
So there is a very small facebook group, for Iowa/surrounding pony peeps. If you want to know the name if the group pm me. Just keeping this post safe as well as others.

This group wants to do a meet in 2018. We gave no set location or date at this time. Just somewhere in Iowa.

This is where you all come in. Most of us in this group have little experience with meets.

What is a good month to host one?
DO you do alot of games?
Any game ideas?
Any important details we should be sure to make note of?
How long should they last?

I will take any advice:)
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Offline FiddlePhan

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Re: Meet up ideas and advice
« Reply #1 on: August 19, 2017, 06:28:25 PM »
You could do a survey with those wanting to go to see what they'd like to do.
Depending on how long you want your meet to be, and how large, sometimes a private room in a restaurant is nice and everyone is responsible for what food they wish to order for themself.
Length of time, depends on if people will have long drives back home that day. 
If you have a place that you are going to use where you bring food in, maybe survey ahead of time to know if anyone has dangerous allergies.

Offline Crowning_Glory13

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Re: Meet up ideas and advice
« Reply #2 on: August 19, 2017, 07:39:18 PM »
Thank you so much:) I will pass these ideas to the group:)
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Offline SnorkMaiden

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Re: Meet up ideas and advice
« Reply #3 on: August 20, 2017, 10:39:20 AM »
I've been to a couple of small pony meets, and they've always been great fun. Here are some thoughts on your questions:

What is a good month to host one? A doodle survey might be a good idea to determine when people have got time. The only months I'd avoid are August (many people on holiday) and December (everyone's diary fills up fast with Christmas events, fetes etc).

DO you do alot of games? Sure, games are great fun and a nice way to get to know each other.

Any game ideas? Any children's party games

Any important details we should be sure to make note of? Definitely food allergies / intolerances. If you're holding the meet at someone's house and they've got pets, make sure no one is allergic or frightened. Make sure people know if you'll have a pony swap / sales, so they come prepared. Likewise, if you expect people to help cover expenses, make sure to tell them in advance, so they've got the money ready.

How long should they last? A morning or afternoon. Like FiddlePhan said, it depends on where people are coming from.

Offline Snapdragon

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Re: Meet up ideas and advice
« Reply #4 on: August 21, 2017, 05:43:38 PM »
Oooh, fun! My suggestions would be - games!! Have some games prepared, especially ice-breaker type games; you don't have to use them all, but if conversations seem to be lagging, or people are hanging on the periphery uncertain how to join in the fun, games can be a great way to spark conversations!

I co-organized a (slightly trainwrecky!) meetup (my co-org said 'I'll bring the games!', arrived three hours late and proceeded to snub half the guests... THAT was fun!), so definitely plan to bring games even if someone else says they will! ;) If you're holding it in a public space (we used a mall's food court!) you can do a fun pony-themed Photo Scavenger Hunt! (i.e. "find a store with a name similar to a pony, take a picture of a pony next to a fountain, take a picture of your group in front of your favorite store, find pony merch and take a picture", etc!) At the end we gave everyone points on how many photos they got, how creative they were, and it's a lot easier now that everyone has smart phones! Plus, breaking people up into groups can foster fast friendships and encourage teamwork!

I also created my own Pony Bingo (not sure where my cards went, LOL but it was fun!) on MSPaint, we had pony coloring sheets (dollar store crayons!), we also had "guess this pony" with pictures of cutie marks held up for a split-second to see who had the fastest eyes! I'm trying to remember all the games, but it was a lot of fun! You could also do "pony 20 questions", like "is she blue? does she have flowers in her symbol?", and the standard pony sales are hard to go wrong with! I think at one point we all trekked over to Target to scavenge the pony aisle too, LOL! It was a little awkward at times, but a lot of fun overall! :)

I would also advise buying a few prizes, even if they're cheap - it doesn't have to be expensive, but something about competing for $1 sticker sheets makes it more fun, LOL! Maybe that's just me! ;)

Oh! Also, if you're having the event in someone's home, be mindful of security!! I know one of the regular Midwest Meetups, I think it was? One of the BIG ones, had an incident where a couple of rogue guests went into the off-limits part of the house, including the host's extremely-expensive pony room! O_O I personally attended an event where I wandered into an "empty" room and found someone going through my backpack - "to double check what ponies you bought from me". >_> Um, sure lady! You needed to dig in MY bag to make sure I'M not the thief, uh-huh! XD You probably won't need security guards, but just stuff to be aware of! Make sure guests are CLEARLY briefed on 'out of bounds' areas, and add signs too!

Let's see, popular months? Mine was during the summer, but that's because a lot of us were students of some kind - weekends work best, for the working ponies, but you can always do a poll and see when folks prefer it to be! As far as length, I'd say several hours at least - some people will only be able to make it to the first half, some to the second half, so you need a moderately-sized window of time for people to drop in and out. :) Oh! Veggie platters are very popular, and most people can eat them without worrying about allergies! Aside from that, I'd check with the group and see if there's any allergy issues, since something simple like PB&J sandwiches have two major allergen groups, even though they are easy to make! (One thought: sandwich making station??)

I'm so excited for you, meetups are so much fun!! I hope it works out splendidly for you all! :hug:
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Offline Crowning_Glory13

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Re: Meet up ideas and advice
« Reply #5 on: August 21, 2017, 06:04:34 PM »
Thanks for all this awesome advice:)
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Offline rosierjay

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Re: Meet up ideas and advice
« Reply #6 on: August 21, 2017, 06:06:00 PM »
there is a pony meet up in minnesota that's always really exciting. it's next weekend, and sadily i'm not able to make it.
but you can ask ponyqueen (believe that's who's hosting this year) for some ideas.

 

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