Outside-the-Box Hospitality

 61 Unique Hospitality Ideas

So…hospitality. Maybe you’re thinking, “I’m not good at this. I can’t do it.” I do agree that some people seem to have a natural bent for this, but I also believe it’s a skill that anyone can improve with practice.

My husband is much better than I at greeting people, making them feel welcome, and remembering to offer them a drink. He’s a southern boy, and they’re reared on homespun hospitality. My mother-in-law can see your turn signal coming into the drive and have some sweet tea and a warmed plate of leftovers ready before you step on the porch.

You think I’m exaggerating, don’t you? Bless your heart.

My point is that while hospitality does seem to come easy to some people, we can all learn if we set ourselves to it.

Let’s get wild and crazy and think of as many hospitality ideas as possible. Remember, we’ve already discussed that hospitality is not entertaining. It’s not trying to impress people with our cooking skills, homemaking skills, or perfectly organized life. Hospitality invites people in. It says, “I see you. You matter. I care.” To read my philosophy of hospitality, click here:  Cultivate Hospitality | How to Love Your Neighbor.

I’ve been pondering this list for some time, scribbling illegible notes in my notebook. There may be no rhyme nor reason to this list, and it is far from complete.  Some ideas require no money at all. Many require no planning. Most can be done even if you don’t have a big living room, or yard, or whatever.

If you are looking for ways to build community, find connection, reach out to others, here are some Outside-the-Box Hospitality ideas to get your creative juices flowing.

 Hospitality Ideas for People with Children

*Meet at the playground

*Make a date at library for story time

*Go to fast food restaurant or community center with a play place

*Meet at swimming pool or neighborhood splash pad

*Set up the sprinklers or kiddie pool in your yard

*Invite the moms waiting at the school bus stop to come eat cookies on your porch

*Share your sledding hill or driveway basketball goal

Active Hospitality Ideas

I love this idea! It can be free, healthy, offers exercise accountability, and gives time for a deep relationship to build. One of my dearest friendships has largely been built through walking together regularly.

*Invite someone to join you for a walk, hike, or jog.

*Meet at the gym and take a class together

*Work out to an exercise DVD together at home

*Go swimming or kayaking

*Bike riding!

*Bowling

*Ice or roller skating

Hospitality Ideas in the Great Outdoors

*Shop at a Farmer’s Market

*Go Camping together

*Bonfire

*Organize a picnic and have everyone bring their own food

*Meet at the drive-in movies or project a movie on your fence or garage door and invite the neighbors

*Invite your neighbors to bring a lawn chair and sit in your front yard and chat on a summer day

*Meet at a local festival or fair

Hospitality Ideas Around Town

*Go to a movie

*Attend a concert

*Visit a local museum

*Gather a group and try to outwit an Escape Room

*Attend a play! My favorite is Shakespeare in the Park, but I also love local theatre and high school drama

Community Service Project Ideas

Find a shared interest and join together for service projects: community service and church ministry. Nothing builds community like working together toward a common goal!

*Food pantry

*Crisis Pregnancy Center

*Habitat for Humanity

*School PTA and Booster Events

*Join together to host a Bible study or small group

*Volunteer as a team for VBS or the church nursery

*Visit shut-ins or nursing homes

Hospitality Through Shared Skills

Maybe you know how to crochet and someone expresses a desire to learn…invite them over for a lesson! If you’d like to learn to make jam? Find someone who knows how and ask them to teach you. People generally love to share their skills, and what better way to build a relationship! Here are some ideas of skills to share or learn together:

*Bread making

*Gardening

*Canning the garden harvest

*Sewing

*Photography

*Quilting

*Crocheting and knitting

*Needlework

*Watercolors

*Hand lettering

*Bible Journaling

*Take a class together: cake decorating, Sip and Paint, photography, journaling

Let’s Eat Together

*Meet at a coffee shop…you can even bring a game to play!

*Meet at a local cafe for lunch or dinner

*Organize a pot luck dinner

*Go out for dessert

*Host a dessert social

*Make or purchase ice cream and ask everyone to bring their favorite topping

*Organize a Progressive Dinner

*Organize a cookout: everyone bring their own meat and a side to share

*Build a fire and roast hot dogs and S’mores (I wrote about our family bonfire here)

*Invite someone over for coffee or tea

*Start a coffee club (read all about it here!)

“Come On Over” Simple and Inexpensive Hospitality Ideas

*Host a game night! This is one of my favorites. Pop some popcorn and ask everyone to bring their favorite snack to share

(Read about our Family Game Nights here!)

*Work a puzzle together

*Watch a movie or favorite TV series together

*Start a Book Club

*If you know musical people, invite them over to jam or sing karaoke together. Going to the Townsend home for a jam is one of my favorite childhood memories. Fran plays the piano like nobody’s business, and my Daddy and several of our pastors through the years played guitar. Other musical instruments made appearances at various times.

But I Don’t Know Who to Invite?

Perhaps you’re on board with the idea of building community, but you don’t know where to begin. Here are some thoughts for you to consider.

*Don’t only invite people in your age group or life situation. Remember families, singles, teens, college students, people older and younger. Look around and consider who might be feeling lonely or left out. Invite the new neighbor or the visitors at church. Remember the newly widowed or divorced, the family of the military member who’s deployed, the singe mom.

*Make use of your Next Door Neighbor app or Neighborhood Facebook group. Occasionally someone in our neighborhood facebook group will announce that they’ll be sitting in their lawn chairs out front on a nice summer evening and invite anyone to stop by for a chat. Or someone might announce that they’re looking for a small Bible study group in the neighborhood or a walking buddy.

*Have an “at home” time. Put on a pot of tea and place a headline on your Facebook that you’re at home and ready for drop-ins today from 10 to 2. See who takes you up on the invite!

Wide and Deep

Go wide: invite many different people. Not everyone will accept. Don’t take it personally. Of those who do accept, they aren’t necessarily all going to become your bosom buddies, and that’s okay. Just be genuine and welcoming, and pray God will lead you to people who are longing for relationships, for community.

Important Note! When you’re inviting new people, give an option that doesn’t cost money. There was a time in our life when people at our new church kept asking us to join them when they went out to eat. We wanted to build community, but our budget did not allow for restaurant meals, so we repeatedly declined their invitations. It’s awkward to tell a new acquaintance that your budget is tight, so keep this in mind.

When you begin making a connection, go deep. The way you build deep friendships is gradually, over time. It takes a lot of time spent together to build deep relationships. It’s easy to get busy and fail to make the time to prioritize relationships, so you probably need to be intentional. I actually write relationship building into my goal planning. Make it a goal to meet a specific person for coffee once a month, to go walking with someone once a week, to write a weekly note. Intentionally build into your relationships on a regular basis.

Even when you’ve found your community, your people to go deep with, continue to go wide and invite new people. I don’t ever want to become cliquey or exclusive in my friendships.

Now it’s your turn to add to the list! Please share your favorite hospitality ideas, your “outside-the-box”. How do you intentionally connect and build community?

For more on hospitality, click Hospitality on my menu!

I have some great books on hospitality to recommend. Click on the image for my affiliate links. When you purchase through my links, I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your support!

 The Simplest Way to Change the World. I borrowed this book from the library, and it is so good I’m purchasing it!

 The Art of Neighboring

 The Turquoise Table. Life-changer.

 Just Open the Doo Bread and Wine