SwAp PaRtY!

Last night Liza and I hosted a Swap Party at our flat! These things are genius. I LOVE rummaging through sales and finding bargain, so this was right up my alley!! I first read about these in Real Simple magazine (I can tell I am growing up when things like this excite me) and they had an e-vite template for an exchange party so I decided to do one myself. (Are e-vites tacky? Hope not.)

 

This was loads of fun, mainly because it required NO work on the hostessing end! In fact, I was in workout shorts and had no food or drinks to offer to Tracy when she arrived first, bags of once loved items in hand. The whole vibe was so casual and it was alot of fun getting together. I even had Thai curry takeaway delivered for myself while we were all hanging out.

Since some of my friends are staying in HK and others were trying to lighten the suitcase weight load, we had no rules for this party. People brough as little or as much as they liked! (No rules about swapping; if you wanted it, it's yours!) This was a fun, free way to get "new" things and give those staying some items we couldn't take home.

Some of you know EXACTLY how small our flat is, (if you don't, its about 480 sq ft) so to make room for friends AND all our old junk, we took the mattress of my bed and stuck it in Liza's room, leaving my IKEA bed frame to serve as a table. I took down my fairy lights to put in the pile, and used the hooks the lights were strung from to display our old clothes (Mel got my long gown I wore in the Chinese wedding! So glad that pretty dress gets a third life!)

I'd like to chalk this up as a massive success. In the course of a year, we've accumulated things we can't take home-- a little oven, microwave, bookshelf, fan, lamps, flowers and the coordinating pots, some dishes and glasses, sleeping bags and tents and all kinds of books and random gifts and clothes we are tired of, etc etc etc. One persons trash is another person's treasure, as they say, so it was great to comb through everyone else's book collection and stock up for the long flight I am taking alone!

Highly recommend doing this between groups of friends for a green and economical "shopping spree"! The best part is, all of our leftover items are going to some Filipina domestic helpers Tripp has gotten close to over the course of the year. These women work tirelessly for very little pay, living in the flats with their employer, raising their employer's childen, doing all the cooking and cleaning, with only Sunday to rest-- and most of them have husbands and their own children living back in the Phillipines they get to see maybe once every two years! I hope they will be able to enjoy the books and goodies we can't cart home. A win-win situation!!