Street party
organised for you
What you arrange yourself with the neighbours and the municipality, and where we can help: games, a quiz, a children's programme or simply hiring the games.
Organising a street party in a few steps
Organising a street party nearly always starts with one or two neighbours saying it's about time again. Then come the practical questions. Can it be held in the street, who pays, and what do we do when the barbecue is finished and the children get bored?
Some of that you really have to do yourself, with the neighbours and with the municipality. For other parts, you can get help. Below you'll find what's down to the neighbourhood and what you can hand over.
A tip before you start: keep the first street party small. An afternoon with tables in the street, something to eat and a few games is enough to see whether there's interest. If it goes well, you'll have more neighbours willing to help next year and can think bigger, with a marquee, music or an evening programme.
- Start about three months in advance
- Permit and road closure through the municipality
- Divide tasks among a few neighbours
- Games, quiz or children's programme through us
This is down to the neighbourhood
Getting the neighbours on board
Put a note through the letterboxes or start a group chat, and ask two or three people who'd like to help. A street party carried by one person is often also the last one.
Permit and notification
Check with the municipality whether a notification is enough or whether you need a permit. The bigger the party and the more music, the more likely you'll need a permit.
Closing off the street
If you want to be on the road itself, the street has to be closed. Apply for that with the municipality, arrange barriers and always leave a clear passage for ambulances and the fire brigade.
Food, drink and clearing up
Agree who brings what, whether it'll be a barbecue or a potluck, and who clears up afterwards. Also ask who'll provide power, because an extension lead from one front door soon gets overloaded.
Something to do for young and old
A neighbourhood usually sorts out the food and drink perfectly well itself. What's more often missing is something to do together. Without a programme, everyone sticks with the people they already knew, and after an hour the children are bored. That's where we can help.
A games afternoon with traditional Dutch games works in almost any street, because everyone knows sjoelen and ring toss. A neighbourhood quiz at the end of the afternoon pits houses or sides of the street against each other. For the children, we have a children's programme with games and a scavenger hunt through the neighbourhood, so the parents can sit down and relax for a while.
An activity with us there costs more than just setting out games, but then none of the neighbours has to run it. A middle ground is one hosted activity, for example the quiz, and the rest free.
Just the games, without a host
At many street parties, nobody from our side needs to be there. Then it's enough to have games in the street that children and adults wander over to themselves. For that, our games are available separately for hire: giant games, traditional Dutch games and, for those with the space, human table football. You collect them, or we deliver by arrangement, with an explanation included.
In that case, agree with the neighbours who keeps an eye on the games and who counts and packs them up at the end. Put them somewhere they won't get in the way of the tables and the barbecue, and keep throwing games away from cars and windows.
We come from Enschede to anywhere in the Netherlands. In the summer months, Saturdays are booked up quickly, so send your enquiry as soon as your date is fixed. You'll get a price after a short enquiry, within 1 working day.
Frequently asked questions
Do you need a permit for a street party?
That varies by municipality. For a small party on the pavement or in a courtyard, a notification is often enough; for a party in the street with music or a marquee, the municipality usually requires an event permit. Check your municipality's website under events or street parties to see what's needed.
How do you apply to close off the street?
You also arrange a road closure through the municipality, often in the same application as the permit. Sometimes the municipality lends out crowd barriers or signs. Allow a few weeks for processing and make sure the emergency services can always get through.
Who pays for a street party?
Usually the residents chip in together, with a fixed amount per household. Some municipalities and housing associations have a fund for residents' initiatives that you can apply to for a contribution. Apply in good time, because those applications aren't always quick.
How far in advance should you start organising?
Start about three months in advance. The permit and the road closure take the longest, and games or a programme in summer get booked quickly. Picking a date with the neighbours also often takes more time than you think.
Tell us about your street party
Tell us the date, the location and roughly how many neighbours are taking part, and we'll send you a proposal and a price within 1 working day.
Games or a programme for your street party
Tell us the date and what you've already arranged, and we'll fill in the rest.