The only thing more fun than making a vision board is making a vision board with friends! I am the author of Make Anything Happen: A Creative Guide to Vision Boards, Goal Setting, and Achieving the Life of Your Dreams, and I’ve taught thousands of people how to make vision boards, both in person and online. Today I’m sharing all the details for how to throw a vision board party. I have tools, I have links, and I have ideas for you, so get ready, take some notes, and let’s vision board!
How to Throw a Vision Board Party
Before we get started, though, did you know that I can throw your vision board party or host a vision board workshop for you? I will come to you and provide all the supplies necessary. You provide the place and the people. I do these for corporations, conferences, and if you’re local to the Dallas area, smaller groups. Shoot me an email for more info (and you can see my vision board segment on NBC’s Texas Today here).
If you’re ready to throw a party yourself, though, I have everything you need right here! Let’s get started.
When to Have a Vision Board Party
It’s always a good time for a vision board party, but I know most people feel more inspired at certain times during the year than others. Most of the workshops I do are around the first of the year, but that’s a really general guideline. Here are the pros/cons to hosting a workshop at different times of the year.
New Year’s: If you’re hosting a party for the new year, I recommend doing it sometime during the month of January. This gives people some time to shake off that holiday hangover, but they’re still feeling inspired to make positive changes for the new year. If you’re selling tickets to your event, this is definitely going to be the easiest sell!
Fiscal New Year: If you’re a corporation, it can be confusing for people when your fiscal year operates on a different calendar than the traditional year. You might find that people are excited about making changes in their real lives, but not so excited about goal setting at work. A vision board workshop that coincides with the beginning of your fiscal year is an effective way to get people engaged with workplace goals.
Beginning or end of the quarter: My next recommendation is to have them at the beginning or end of a new quarter. I actually like to set quarterly goals, so for me, having a smaller, more short-term vision board is very appealing (and can be a lot easier for people to keep up with and stay excited about!). These are great for corporate events or small businesses who are on a more month-to-month goal plan!
Summer: Love me some summer vision boarding! Also, it’s really hard to get motivated during the summer. Which, in turn, is why I love me some summer vision boarding! This might feel like an “off” time, but it’s actually a really good time of year to get prepped for the hectic fall and holiday season ahead.
How Long Does a Vision Board Party Last?
I recommend you allot two hours for your party. Most people can finish their board in that time frame. A few will be done early, and some won’t finish and will need to take it home for later. If this is just for a group of friends, you might want to leave it open-ended. But if you’re renting or using someone’s space for your event, you’ll need a hard ending time, and two hours should do it.
Where to Have a Vision Board Party
If you’re throwing a vision board party or workshop, what you really need is space. People tend to spread out, and depending on the size of your boards, you’ll need room for all of your supplies! You can host your party at home, or find a local event space. Here are some places where I have taught workshops that might give you some ideas and inspiration (get creative – you’re probably surrounded by locations!):
- Local event space above a whiskey tasting room
- Nutrition shop
- Library
- Yoga studio
- Crafting studio
- Hotel
- Work office
You’ll need a few feet of table space per person. I’ve also done a party where everyone was on the floor, with all the supplies spread between us. This was fun, but my knees probably disagree.
What Supplies Do I Need for a Vision Board Party?
This is the fun part! I’m going to share a list of vision board supplies with you. These are all optional, and you can substitute at will! You can also go crazy and add anything you’d like. These are things I bring to workshops, or have seen others bring.
You can find all of my recommendations in one place on my Amazon storefront.
- A copy of my book! (it’s fun, I promise)
- Posterboard (you can buy the big giant posterboard, but honestly, most people are intimidated by that – go for a smaller size, like this 11″x14″ paper). I have found the best prices are at Walmart.
- Index cards – Index cards are great for mini vision boards! They are also great for decorating and then adding to a larger vision boards, or even making “lift the flap” elements for your board.
- Markers and pens (I stock up on the big Crayola markers every back to school season). While I like to provide colored markers at my events, I’ve found that most people stick to black. You will need one box of Crayola markers for every 3-4 people, but I recommend having one black marker for every person.
- Scissors – have one pair for each person.
- Glue sticks – have one glue stick for each person.
- Magazine – provide as many magazines as you can round up. Ask attendees to bring some if you don’t have enough. You can also ask in Facebook neighborhood groups for magazines people want to get rid of (many people are happy to get rid of them!).
- Photos – This vision board photo book is great for travel. People can cut out the pictures they want to use, and it has so many travel destinations inside. I brought one to my last workshop and it got a lot of use. I also ask people to bring their own photos if they have something in particular they want to include on their board.
- Stickers – I like these inspirational stickers. They are inexpensive and there are so many to pick from!
- Envelope – It’s a good idea to provide a large envelope for people to take home pieces that they may have cut out but not had time to put on their board yet. You will probably have a few people who don’t finish, so providing them with a way to transport their unfinished work is super helpful.
Here are some things you can print for free from CarrieElle.com to bring to your party (this is just a few top downloads – you can find allllll of my free vision board content here):
- Rainbow Vision Board Kit – over 30 pages of colorful vision board tools and photos
- Neutral Vision Board Kit – over 30 pages of neutral vision board tools and photos
- Vision Board Quote Cards – a collection of handy quotes for your vision board
- Money Affirmation Cards – a collection of pretty affirmations for your financial success
- Vision Board Affirmations – 50 affirmations you can include on your board
- Abundance Vision Board Template
- Goal Setting Vision Board Template
Share These Tips With Your Attendees
Just like with anything in life, the hardest part is often getting started – and that goes for making a vision board, too. I won’t go into the how and why of vision boards here (but you can learn how to make one here), but I do have some general tips you can share with your party attendees. These are all from common questions and concerns I’ve received over the years.
- The first rule of vision boards is that there are no rules for vision boards. Seriously. Go crazy. But with that in mind, I do have some suggestions…
- If you’re stressing about it being perfect (there will be at least one perfectionist at your event who won’t want to glue anything down for fear of messing it up, I promise), use a pencil to sketch it out before you glue anything down. You can do this on a separate piece of paper. Or, you can just put the whole board together but don’t glue anything until you’ve laid it all out first.
- If you want it to look cohesive but don’t feel confident in your design skills, pick 3-4 colors and stick to them. That means that any stickers, markers, magazine cutouts you use will all fall into those color categories. This is simple to do and will help make the board feel more put together. But again – you don’t have to do this!
- If you’re not sure where to start, most people tend to group their vision board content into four categories – finances, career, family/relationships, and health. Other popular categories are travel, side hustles, and hobbies or creative endeavors. You can find a huge list of vision board topics here to spark your creativity.
- When you’re done with your vision board, take a picture. That way you will always have it with you and can access it at any time.
My Vision Board is Done, Now What?
Here is the Big Question! Your vision board is beautiful and inspiring and you can’t wait to get to work on manifesting those goals. So, now what?
Hopefully you read the book (or the blog post!) and have created an actionable vision board with measurable goals. Keep your vision board where you will see it an interact with it regularly. If you stick in a closet and don’t see it regularly, that’s ok – but plan on taking it out every week or so to remind yourself of your goals.
These are some places people tell me they store their vision boards:
- Closet (if you have a large closet, there’s a good chance you are in it every single day!)
- Bathroom (another place you’re spending a lot of time!)
- Office (me!)
- Car (an index card-sized vision board on the dashboard)
- In a planner (I also do this)
Did I miss anything? I tried to think of everything I have learned at workshops over the years and include in this post, but, there’s a lot – and if you have questions or would like me to elaborate, just shoot me an email or let me know in the comments! I hope you throw the best vision board party ever, and everyone reaches their maximum potential and lives their best lives because of your event. <3 (and also, hey, you can always hire me!)
