One of the best party ideas ever, a plant swap could quickly become your new favorite way to spend a weekend. These special gatherings are insanely popular among the gardening community, making them the perfect event to host for all your green thumbs this holiday season! Plant swaps are a super fun way for you and your friends to expand your collections while avoiding the expenses of buying new plants, all while helping the environment; by the end of it, you and your friends will all be wondering, “why haven’t we been doing this sooner?” Here’s our guide for making your next plant swap a huge success!
How to Throw the Best Plant Swap Party
Getting Started
To get your plant swap party off the ground, you’ll first need to let everyone know it’s actually happening! Send out invites to your friends and family or advertise on your social media pages, depending on how big you want your party to be. Let your guests-to-be know they’ll need to bring cuttings or propagations from a plant or two to share. Most plant swap parties also include the chance to swap garden books, pots, tools, or other accessories, so if you want to do the same, be sure to mention it in your invitations as well!
If you want to instead go for a more traditional, holiday gift exchange-type of plant swap, assign everyone another guest’s name just as you would in a classic “secret Santa.” Everyone then picks out a plant to give to their mystery recipient. To make the gift-giving more personalized, consider asking your guests to write a quick note about themselves, their gardening styles, and their plant preferences to help out their secret plant Santa!
Setup
Make sure you prepare to have enough space ahead of time to host your plant-related activities. A table or workstation for people to plant their new cuttings is always a fun idea, as some cuttings or plant divisions may be brought by guests in water or wrapped in wet paper towels. Set up a separate table for food and refreshments as well, preferably as far away from the planting table as possible. To add a bit more fun to the event, give each guest a raffle ticket for every plant cutting they bring and do a draw at the end of the night for a grand prize. Gardening tools, accessories, pots, and gift cards to a local garden center (like Plant Perfect!) are all terrific raffle prize ideas.
Activities
With all your plant lovers now ready to party, it’s time to get swapping! If you’ve set up a pre-arranged name exchange, give everyone a chance to present each other with their cuttings, divided plants, or other plant gifts
. If you’ve arranged an open trade-off, give your guests time to explore the selections, pot their new plant babies, discuss plant care ideas, and enjoy each other’s company! Encourage your guests to talk about their plants so others can contribute knowledge or tips on general and plant-specific care, feeding, and pest control.
Food & Drinks
Make your plant swap party the best on the block by serving food and drinks infused with herbs and flowers straight from your garden! Try your hand at making some lavender shortbread or rosemary-thyme spiced nuts, perhaps, and wash it all down with this fantastic holiday punch:
Rosemary and Cranberry Holiday Party Punch
Combine the following into a punch bowl:
- 6 cups of cranberry or pomegranate-cranberry juice
- 750 ml Prosecco
- ¾ cup chilled vodka
- Three cans of hard seltzer
- Juice from 1 lime
- 2 cups of frozen cranberries
- 1 or 2 oranges, thinly sliced
Rim your serving glasses with lime juice and sugar, and garnish with fresh rosemary sprigs from your garden.
Nothing says “Christmas” quite like bringing your plant-loving friends together, and with these simple tips, your holiday plant swap party is sure to be a roaring success! If you’re looking for unique houseplant gifts to give out at your next plant swap or secret Santa event, come check us out at Plant Perfect in Bismarck, ND, and see what we’ve got in stock!