Friendship IRL: Real Talk About Friendship, Community, and What It Actually Takes - Why Simple Neighborhood Gatherings Are Important (and How to Pull One Off) with Erin Woodruff

Why Simple Neighborhood Gatherings Are Important (and How to Pull One Off) with Erin Woodruff

10/26/23 • 58 min

Friendship IRL: Real Talk About Friendship, Community, and What It Actually Takes

Last March, Erin Woodruff was walking through her neighborhood with her two-year-old daughter. It had been a long winter and it felt like spring would never come.
During the walk, Erin began wondering about her neighbors. Many were also moms of young children. Were they also depressed and tired of the cold weather? She wished she knew them better. So, she created a means to do so.
The next week, she hosted a “Favorite Things” party, a low-barrier gathering that had big effects. So much of the language regarding new friendships is about “joining” or “finding,” but here, Erin created her opportunity to get to know her neighbors better.
I was an event-planner for more than a decade, and I love helping people figure out how to pull off impactful, meaningful gatherings. In this episode, Erin and I talk in-depth about not only how to pull off an intentional neighborhood gathering, but why they’re so important.In this episode you’ll hear about:

Erin’s work as a communications coach and her resolution to make more friends that live close to her after a mid-pandemic move
The Favorite Things party – the inspiration, the details, how she prepared for it, the intentions behind it, and why the format works well with new acquaintances
How and why you sometimes want to keep things simple at gatherings – plus, how throwing a gathering like this creates more connection opportunities for the future
Decision fatigue and the mantra Erin learned from her mother about focusing not on who didn’t come, but instead, at who did
Creating intentional gatherings – thinking about what your goal is in a gathering and creating an environment in which you can reach that goal

Resources & Links
Want to throw a Favorite Things party? Here are Erin’s tips. Learn more about Erin’s coaching business and check out her podcast, the Time For You Podcast.
Want to learn more about intentional gatherings? Check out The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker.
Like what you hear? Visit my website, leave me a voicemail, and follow me on Instagram!
Want to take this conversation a step further? Send this episode to a friend. Tell them you found it interesting and use what we just talked about as a conversation starter the next time you and your friend hang out!

Erin’s work as a communications coach and her resolution to make more friends that live close to her after a mid-pandemic move
The Favorite Things party – the inspiration, the details, how she prepared for it, the intentions behind it, and why the format works well with new acquaintances
How and why you sometimes want to keep things simple at gatherings – plus, how throwing a gathering like this creates more connection opportunities for the future
Decision fatigue and the mantra Erin learned from her mother about focusing not on who didn’t come, but instead, at who did
Creating intentional gatherings – thinking about what your goal is in a gathering and creating an environment in which you can reach that goal

Previous Episode

Behind the Scenes: A Friendship that Spans Decades with Elise Enriquez

What does it take for a friendship to be a constant in your life for two decades?
That’s what we’re talking about with today’s guest, Elise Enriquez, a productivity coach who gives us a behind-the-scenes look at her friendship with Andrea, which she says is one of the most meaningful relationships in her life.
Elise tells us about how she and Andrea became friends, how they built the friendship, how they stayed connected through life’s big transitions, and how they fill the time between the “bright light” moments of their friendship.
They provide so many tangible examples of how they keep in touch. A lot of the time, that’s where the magic is – in the small, simple ways we show up for each other, those mundane details that can make the biggest impact.In this episode you’ll hear about:

Elise and Andrea’s friendship: how they met, how they became close, and how they navigated through some major life changes, from divorces and kids to new marriages
Allowing ourselves to be vulnerable in friendships, which gives other people an opportunity to really see us
“Doing life” with our friends – debriefing in real time or spending time with them – instead of spending our time together doing catch-up
Bright light moments in friendship, the darkness between them, and the everyday touchpoints that can fill that darkness
Creating more “roots” or strands in your friendship that make it easier to keep connections active, from a regular activity or shared interest

Resources & Links

Learn more about Elise and follow her on Instagram!
Like what you hear? Visit my website, leave me a voicemail, and follow me on Instagram!
Want to take this conversation a step further? Send this episode to a friend. Tell them you found it interesting and use what we just talked about as a conversation starter the next time you and your friend hang out!

Next Episode

Why I Need You To Care About Friendship

This week, the Friendship IRL podcast turns a year old. One whole year!
I launched this podcast knowing this was an important topic, but the more work I do, the more I think it’s such a fundamental thing we don’t talk enough about. People have told me this podcast makes them feel seen, which makes me so happy.
But here’s the thing: I cannot do this alone. The only way we make an impact is by people listening, reflecting, and by then making small changes in their own lives. Then, we create a ripple effect, making the social fabric out there a little tighter.
Today I’m talking about why I need you to care about friendship. For me, friendship is foundational, since I didn’t have a strong support system growing up. Here, I go a little deeper into my story.
If this is your first time listening to the podcast, or if you’ve been here for the very beginning: thank you. I’m really excited to dive in on year two.In this episode you’ll hear about:

A year with Friendship IRL: we’ve covered loneliness, different types of friendships, societal problems that friendship/connection impacts, lived experiences and more
My story, growing up in an unpredictable household with substance abuse present – and why friendship isn’t just “nice to have,” but foundational for so many
How I relied on my friends, friends’ parents, coaches, neighbors, and people around me to learn how to get out of this and not be in survival mode anymore
How I got creative when I couldn’t find that “all consuming” support system and built a broader support system for myself on instinct made up mostly of friends
Reasons to care about friendship: for the people who are rock bottom, but also for the people who need support in more simple ways
The phrase “I’m fine, it’s fine, everything’s fine,” and the relief you can feel when you finally get the thing you need

Resources & Links
Like what you hear? Visit my website, leave me a voicemail, and follow me on Instagram!
Want to take this conversation a step further? Send this episode to a friend. Tell them you found it interesting and use what we just talked about as a conversation starter the next time you and your friend hang out!

Friendship IRL: Real Talk About Friendship, Community, and What It Actually Takes - Why Simple Neighborhood Gatherings Are Important (and How to Pull One Off) with Erin Woodruff

Transcript

Podcast Intro/Outro00:00:00.000

Oh, all right, gang. Here's two nights that turn into mornings and friends that turn in family. Cheers

Podcast Intro/Outro00:00:18.028

Hello, Hello, and welcome to the friendship IRL podcast. I'm your host, Alex Alexander. My friends, they would tell you, I like to ask the hard questions. You know who I am in the group? I'm the person that's saying, Okay, I'm going to ask this question, but don't feel lik