Neighborhood Ice Cream Social

Remember when I wrote that post about striving for hospitality? Well, I didn’t want my hospitality toward my neighbors to end with a plate of brownies. I wanted to do more.

Late one night, as I laid in bed trying to sleep while my mind did the opposite of sleep, I remembered reading a post called How to Host an Ice Cream Social This Summer. (Read that post here.) The idea stuck with me. Everyone loves ice cream, right? 

I worked all the details out in my head that night before eventually falling asleep. The next day, I told my husband about the idea, and to my surprise, he wanted to do it. I was so excited I wanted to go buy all the supplies that very day!

Hosting an Ice Cream Social

My husband and I made these flyers and took them to all our neighbors explaining our idea. We decided to have the “party” if that’s what you want to call it on a Thursday because we figured everyone would have plans on the weekends. We decided to choose a short time so people didn’t feel like they needed to stay long. We hoped people would stop by to get a bowl of ice cream, but meet the neighbors while they topped their ice cream with chocolate. I pictured my house full of people chatting and getting to know one another.

For the neighbors who weren’t home when we took the flyers, we just taped it to their door to find later.

Here’s what we had for the ice cream social (in case you are planning your own):

• Vanilla ice cream
• Ice cream scoop
• Paper bowls
• Plastic spoons
• Chocolate syrup
• Carmel syrup
• Oreo pieces
• Snickers pieces
• Whipped topping
• Sprinkles

We already had a lot of this stuff, and then I just bought a few other things to make sure we had plenty of options. I wanted this to be an easy event — I didn’t want myself to get into that impress people mode. I wanted to focus on loving others. I wanted to be a blessing to my neighbors.

I wanted to have drinks for people too. We filled a cooler with ice and put drinks inside. I wanted to have a drink option for kids too because I knew several of my neighbors have little ones.

• Cooler
• Ice
• Water bottles
• Gatorade
• CapriSun

The day came and I made sure the house was clean and everything was ready. I was so nervous to meet all these strangers and welcome them into my home.

But something unexpected happened…

As it turned out, only one couple showed up. It wasn’t at all what I pictured. I had hoped our little apartment complex would become more of a community, but God had something else in mind. 

One couple stopped by … and ended up staying for two hours! We talked about all sorts of things — learning about each other in a way we would not have been able to do if the house was full of people. We learned they are also Colts fans — and I plan to invite them up to watch a game or two with us. We learned about some of the traditional food where they are from — and they plan to bring us some to try sometime. We learned that the wife stays home all day and sometimes gets bored — and I plan to do something with her (just not sure what yet!).

Our “party” wasn’t really a party at all, but it was the beginning of what I think will be a sweet friendship. Even though I still have a cooler full of drinks and ice cream toppings filling my fridge, this pursuit of hospitality was a success. 

I think that’s the moral of this post — You might set out to do something with a certain goal, purpose, or idea in mind. But it’s important to be flexible and have an open heart, because God might have something totally different in mind — different but just right.

How has something you’ve planned turned into something totally different, but something good? Is it hard for you to let go of your expectations and enjoy whatever happens?

Have you ever hosted an ice cream social? Be sure to follow my Pinterest board Hospitality & Kindness and Party & Gift Ideas.