Hosting a Busy Bag Swap

I have had some questions regarding how to and tips for hosting a Busy Bag Swap. It really is simple; here's what I recommend:

• Pick a good number of participants…say 10 or 12. I don't recommend any more than 15.
• stress to them the importance of keeping this commitment and not canceling last minute, unless of course an emergency comes up. People will be spending their time and money to make things and it isn't fair to them or to anyone else who might have wanted to participate but couldn't because there was not a spot left.
• Pick a theme is you wish.
• Generic (used at home, car, sports sidelines, etc)
• Travel (items that can be used in the car)
• Restaurant (for use while waiting at a restaurant)
• Rainy Day (can be messy and creative because they will be used at home
• Have a shared database or website or something where everyone can post what they will be bringing so that there are not duplicates
• I reccomend that everyone try to keep the cost around $1 per bag; that way it is not very expensive but not to cheep either…you want the swap to be fun and fair!
• Have everyone put instructions, if necessary, in each bag
• Have everyone lay out their items on a table (can be at a park or someones home) and then everyone goes around and briefly tells each other about what they brought.
• Then ...SWAP!
• HAVE FUN and BE CREATIVE!!

To check out some of the creative ideas from my swaps click on the links below each picture.

Generic Busy Bag Swap

Travel Busy Bag Swap