Hosting or attending an event.

Often I hear people say “Why are there never any events in my area.  I don’t want to drive that far”

All events start with one person taking that leap to host one.  There are several levels  of events

We have Munches, Parties and Conventions.


Munches

A Munch for lack of a better term is a publicly announced dinner/lunch date. This is the easiest thing to host!  All you need is a date, time and a place.  Find a place that you don’t mind eating at, some place that is not too expensive, and not too close to being fast food.  We have used Golden Corral type places, and sit down restaurants like Old Bag of Nails.

The reason for munches are to get to know people in a neutral, vanilla atmosphere.  This is often a pre-cursor for going to a party or Convention

Next find a date and time.  You usually want to stick to Saturday and Sunday, as this is usually when people are off work; though some groups do their munches through the week.  Now for time.  I suggest to not make it too early or too late; maybe 2pm to 5pm.  If you make it too late you will not have time for people to stick around, those who drove from a distance will not want to come if they have to work tomorrow.  Too early and people may not be able to drive that distance.  If you want to hold monthly munches, stay with the same place, time and date (ie. 2nd saturday of each month)

If the place takes reservations, make reservations.  This is why we use sit-down restaurants rather than the buffet styles. Try to be early if you are the host, as people will come early and scope out the place and may leave.

The dress at a munch is totally vanilla.  This means that you can wear a diaper if you want, but you must be properly dressed as an adult.  PJ bottoms, obvious little attire, and stuffed animals DO NOT BELONG HERE.  A rule of thumb is if you would not wear it to visit your grandma or if you have seen it on peopleofwalmart.com  – then it does not belong at the munch!

 

The best thing with a munch…. If nobody shows up, you still eat!

 

Parties

You made it through your first munch or two.  Now it is time to let your little out.

Parties are held in private homes, hotels and party houses.  Again, you should arrive in vanilla street attire, and once inside the party there are places to change.  A party often lasts the whole day or sometimes starts the night before.  There is usually a small cost to attend to cover the expenses to host the party

Activities can vary at parties, but there is always food, fun and friends.  When I used to hold parties I would always do food that can simply be heated up and plated.  Finger foods are great (pizza, chicken nuggets, fries, etc) – afterall you are dealing with toddlers for the most part.

Arts and crafts are a major thing at parties – there are blocks, crayons, play-doh, finger paints, etc

There are littles in their little clothing, sippy cups in their faces, stuffed animals at a close grip.

Usually there will be music and movies playing.  People will be sharing their tips and tricks, showing off the diapers that they love, and the clothes that play into who their little is.

You will typically have around 20 people at a party.  A good tip is to have something that everybody can make and take home with them.

As a host, it is always nice when others volunteer to help out at the party; be it helping fix the food, helping setup and clean up, etc… The host would like to be able to enjoy themselves as well.

 

Conventions (Cons)

This is like a party taken to the next level.  These are multiple day events, including a large playspace that includes things like cribs, playpens, ball pits, massive amounts of arts and crafts stuff.  There are usually vendors selling their wares, and some sort of classes/presenters.

The first Con I attended was CapCon 2016 in Chicago.  It was a blast!!  It was 3 days of being able to let my little loose, and to meet with others from around the world.  By some estimates – there were close to 300 people at that convention.

Again you will arrive in vanilla attire and change once in the space.  After the Con at night you may visit a private room party where who knows what will go on.

These events are often a ticketed event and do have rules that all have to agree to.

 

In closing start out at a munch and make yourself known.  This will help you get invited to parties, and able to attend conventions as well.