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Doll meet ideas ? Some cool ideas for some extra fun & mix it up!

Mar 10, 2019

    1. Hi all, I couldn't really find threads on this so hunting for some cool doll meet ideas to add some extra fun to them! ** Extra bonus ** on sharing your doll meet experiences in hosting / attending on implementation of your ideas.

      The main thing would be to keep the ideas relatively cheap & practical for bringing around dolls / hosting.
      Ideas could either things you can do as a meet host (location/themes) or things you can individually add to the meet (running a small comp/ raffles etc).

      To help get some ideas rolling some things our host have done include:
      - Having doll themed dress meets ( Dolls in Halloween / easter wear)
      - Having competitions (Doll photo contest / outfit voted contest with custom item prize from host)
      (What are some other cool ideas for competitions)

      Ideas I'm thinking up is:
      Fun Raffle : Only problem is that prizes are kinda hard because everyone's doll is kinda differently sized.
      (Ideas for raffles , how you would/have run them etc - is it worth it?? )
      Changing of location of meets (parks, cafes etc) : Already have a really cool quiet place to host meets because it's central and easy to get to. (Anyone had experience in other locations they would recommend?)
      Craftanoon: Anyone tried one of these - might be a tough one to host - materials cost, location, equipment etc
      (What craft meets would you do/have done? )

      Or course any other ideas not listed is definitely welcome!!!
       
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    2. I have actually been looking into planning a crafting event for my local community one of these days, so here's some of the brainstorming I've been doing so far.

      Many people are not comfortable attending a meet-up in someone else's home, especially if they've never actually met the host. A lot of neighborhoods here have clubhouses that you can rent out for parties. That ended up being one venue option, especially since it turns out the cost is low or sometimes nothing but reserving it in advance. I guess that's where all of those HOA fees went! :lol:

      Another option is having the craft meet at a local cafe. One cafe around me has a knitting club meeting there with all of their supplies once a week! Check with cafes before you decide to have the event there to make sure that they'll be able to handle the larger than average group.

      15 or more people and a clubhouse would be the proper venue. With anything less than that, most cafes (at least around here) should be able to support the party with a proper notice. If it's just a regular meet, I would say cafe or restaurant- hands down. I think the largest doll meets are still 20-30 people max, and I've been to birthday parties with more attendees.

      Supplies were the easiest part of all of this. I have yards and yards of untouched fabric and sewing notions, lots of pattern paper, and quite a few doll sewing books. Naturally, I use none of these things and just make eyes and wigs hahaha whoops. One big thing was putting together some simple project ideas and buying extra materials for that, so even if you've never crafted in your life, you'd still be able to have fun.

      I love the raffle idea! Perhaps you could do something like multiple wigs in various sizes. That might be a little easier than something like a corset sewn for this one specific doll that has zero measurements in common with any other sculpts. Attendees can just ask to swap x with y amongst each other if they win a prize they can't use.
       
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    3. On the subject of not attending meets at people's homes, one for me, that really makes it near impossible is because of pet allergies. I have asthma and am allergic to cats AND dogs, so I can't be around either of them. So if a meet is held in a home with animals, I can't attend. I get really freaking sick, even with allergy meds and my inhaler on hand. So I always prefer meet ups that are held in public spaces.

      Some of the meets I attended, like the super big ones, had photo walls and various props which were very fun to take pictures at and the large meets had a separate area where it was almost like a mall of just BJD props, clothing and accessories. Even a freebie table where people put items they didn't wanna hold onto anymore, for anyone to take. I found some very cute and well made yo-sd shoes on such a table.
       
      #3 Arashi Uchiha, Mar 10, 2019
      Last edited: Mar 10, 2019
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    4. Shamshir ooh good point on the craft themed meet! Yeah sounds like it would be a good idea to book a venue as your right about people feeling uncomfortable meeting at the hosts house!

      Maybe an idea?! I think yarn for is relatively cheap so i suppose some bjd scarves and beanies would be pretty cool simple to host in a craft meet! hehe I'll have to hunt for some craft ideas! Also you wouldn't need to worry too much about dimensions since scarves are just like long knitted yarn lengths? heheh I also have all this fabric I don't know what to do with
      (If anyone has any cool ideas post em on here!!)

      Arashi Uchiha , aah true yeah pets can make it difficult ! Yeah I'd also be worried about pets being accidentally let loose! Bjds + pets is risky!

      Oooh a bjd prop photo event sounds nice :D !! Yeah a bjd photoshoot meet where everyone can bring some props! I suppose if anyone happens to be really into photography with a dslr this could be a added bonus (for maybe doll photo picture requests). I dunno :p just brainstorming!
      I also like the idea of a bjd item swap meet :) You could definitely have some pretty fun trades!

      ~~~

      Just another idea I had could be like a bjd secret santa customs/craft swap within the community. Everyone who is pretty good at bjd craft gets a person who outlines their doll dimensions and you gotta craft something for the person. Because I suppose it's in the community there would be less of a chance someone just disappearing of the face of the earth with everyone kinda knowing each other. Just another idea!?! I dunno how successful it would be though! Unseen swaps are always open to disappointment ?! so curious on anyone's experiences with mystery events
       
      #4 aries faries, Mar 10, 2019
      Last edited: Mar 10, 2019
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    5. These always go horribly wrong for someone. I have been waiting since June for the person I swapped with (in my local comm!) to get back to me. I've reminded them multiple times and have given up on this point. I refuse to do any crafting swaps now unless it's with close friends.

      A similar but less risky idea might be to just have a swap meet with an emphasis on handmade items. This way, people who might not be the best crafters can still participate, no one ends up making something just to get nothing at all, and you don't have to deal with the awkwardness of people not liking what their swap partner made them.
       
      • x 1
    6. I once helped organizing a meet for the participants of a secret santa that happened in my local community, and we wanted to have some games. A trivia game worked especially well - the hosts prepared a set of questions about the collections and characters of people who attended. It can be done with minimal research, very straightfoward questions if people don't know each other that well (like who owns a specific model and what is its name, for example), and more in-depth questions if people know each other well.

      To add to the fun, we had prizes. We asked people to bring a small item as a donation to the meeting. It could be literally anything, since it could be used for dolls: cute hairclips, small props (one guy made tarot cards in scale!), handmade acessories (necklaces, bracelets, headwear, scarves, you name it). We gathered the itens on a table - people who got the answers right went to the table and got an item of their choice. Some people donated more than one item, so we had to prepare more questions to our trivia and even improvise on more games!
       
      • x 5
    7. I've been attending meets for probably close to ten years now, here are a few ideas.

      Locations:
      -private homes (be sure to list any pets, smokers, perfume, incense or other possible allergens first)
      -coffee shops
      -library private rooms (often free or low cost, but usually require some sort of lesson/workshop and open to the public)
      -parks
      -restaurants (best if you can get a private party room with enough tables to leave dolls on one, and eat at another)
      -tea house

      Activities:
      -photo shoots
      -crafting
      -sewing
      -costumes
      -workshops
      -faceups
      -lunch/potluck
      -tea
      -doll spa (stringing, cleaning, etc)
      -swap meets/sales/trades
      -holiday themes

      I think the most important things to remember are cost, location and accommodations. Pick a place that is relatively easy to get to for all interested people. Keep costs low, as not everyone has the funds to spend just to hang out. Consider things like allergies, special dietary needs, enough space for everyone, reasonable accommodations for anyone with mobility issues, if anyone has a service animal and if that will be allowed, if you'll allow children to attend, and if it's a location where most people will need to drive to, make sure there is enough parking.

      If you want to do a swap, instead of buying for a specific person, you could do a sort of "dirty santa" type thing where everyone brings one anonymous gift, draws a number and gets to choose from the pile in order. You could mark the size on the gifts so hopefully no one gets stuck with something they can't use, or people could swap afterwards.
       
      • x 2
    8. Aaah your right! Might not be the best idea then! yeah i guess this could have the opposite effect with someone getting really disappointed if someone doesn't deliver!.

      True, if the items are already made then you won't get the problem of people not getting items. Also handmade items really helps keep cost down!:)

      That's a cool idea for prizes ! Yeah, I like the idea of donated prizes from the group, so no pressure on one person to provide prizes !

      Oh yeah what a great Raffle idea! Definitely puts the pressure of not having the right item wth being able to trade :) A "dirty santa" sounds fun!

      ~~~
      Yeah i really like the ideas of group brought prizes. Can be handmade of things you don't need and quizzes/raffles can be a cool way to win them :D Trading or letting the person pick from the pool of prizes fixes the "won't fit" problem as people will get to choose !I!! Definitely would love to try this out!
       
      #8 aries faries, Mar 12, 2019
      Last edited: Mar 12, 2019
      • x 4
    9. Just throwing this in the pot, you could put together a photo story between the dolls. I am making one of my dolls shell a character from a mobile game and someone from my comm is making one the other characters (by pure coincidence). We will definitely be playing them off each other at the meets :wiggle I think everyone would have a lot of fun coming up with little interactions between the dolls and it would make for a great photo album for the meet.
       
      • x 1
    10. Oooh nice a photo story!!! yeah I like the idea of that! It definitely be nice to have a collab!
      haha it'd be nice to see all the wonderful ideas people come up with!!

      Actually this reminds be of another idea! maybe everyone submits a photo and can make a group year calendar! I wonder how that would go :P
       
      • x 1
    11. A calendar would be really nice I just wonder how much it would be for printing them out. I think Shutterfly will give a discount if you order a certain number.
       
      • x 1