Wine Tasting and Swap Party

Once upon a time (and by this I mean a month or two ago), in a place not so far away (at work), I noticed a trend.  My coworkers were cleaning out their closets while trying to save money for Christmas. I also not had my turn at inviting the colleagues over to my place for fun hang-out time... My work buddies are pretty good about getting together outside of work for nonprofessional friending time.


But I digress. Observing these trends, I thought we should have a swap party! One of my coworkers suggested we add wine tasting to the event, and the inspiration was born. Due to the theme, it was a girls' night in. Due to the timing, it was extra fun to swap items with one another when we were not spending money on ourselves. A bit of a treat in the midst of frugality. (And of course, reusing is one of the green R's.)



The rules:

• If you have any clothes, shoes, jewelry, or handbags you don't want anymore, bring them!
• Optional: bring a snack
• Optional: bring a bottle of wine for the tasting
• You don't have to bring swap items in order to take swap items home
• You don't have to bring food or beverage in order to taste food and beverage
• First come, first swap! 
• Take as much home as you like.
• You may try on clothes in the bedroom or bathroom before you take them home. 
• Leftover items either go back home with the person who brought them, or left behind for me to donate to Goodwill.

I provided cheese, crackers, water and tea, then added my own bottle of wine and castaway items.  I placed my table in the middle of the room and arranged chairs in a circle around it; the kitchen was set up buffet style. I had considered stipulating that everyone bring an Oklahoma wine, but decided (wisely, I think) not to be overly controlling.

The ladies began to arrive at 2:00. Slowly, a pile started to grow. Like magic, an array of snacks and wine bottles appeared. Much to my pleasure, most of the wines present turned out to be local Oklahoma stock, after all! AND there were no duplicate flavors. By the time everyone arrived there was the perfect amount of food and drink for all and a very large pile of swap items in many different styles and sizes. Because so many women were able to show up (I think we had about 12), nearly everyone had at least some clothes in their size to select from.

In the end, everyone found something they wanted to take home (except for one friend who was purposefully downsizing her stuff).  I personally scored, among other things, my new favorite bracelet and a nice leather jacket.

When everyone had left I had only one not-quite full trashbag of donation items, and just half a bottle of wine. Everyone agreed it was a fun event, something a little different and laid back. We might have to make it an annual gig!