While the issues behind Fair Trade are quite serious, we hope that your house party is also an opportunity to have fun and engage your guests creatively in thinking about and taking action on Fair Trade issues. Here are a handful of ideas to get you rolling:

• Show a film - when you sign up to host a House Party we automatically send you a short film on Fair Trade that is an excellent educational (and entertaining!) way to engage your guests. Download our film discussion guides here.


• Have a Fair Trade coffee, tea or chocolate tasting to start or end your event. This will also require you to identify where Fair Trade Certified products are sold in your area (useful for you to share with your guests) and it's a great way to get familiar with the variety of products available. Display the packaging (they are usually really beautiful!) so your guests can easily remember what they are tasting. Some of our licensed company partners may be able to provide complimentary samples of their FTC products. Let us know if you're interested.


• In your invitation, ask friends who know what Fair Trade is to bring their favorite Fair Trade Certified product. Have them display the product and tell folks why they like it and where they bought it.


• Do you or your friends like to bake? Bake something made with a Fair Trade product as a snack at your party. Maybe a few of your friends would want to do a bake-off: Who makes the tastiest Fair Trade treat? Some examples: a Fair Trade banana split, Fair Trade chocolate cookies, Fair Trade rice casserole...


• Do you have friends who like to cook or enjoy talking about food? Have a potluck. People love tasting new foods and sharing their favorite dishes. Talk about where the ingredients came from and how this relates to Fair Trade issues.


• Bring the international scope of Fair Trade to your table. Provide or ask friends to bring their favorite international food - they can prepare it or pick up their favorite dish from a local restaurant.


• Really, make it easy! Have chips, salsa and drinks, play your favorite music. If you feel ambitious, make a fun drink (i.e. sangria with or without alcohol) and play international music to set the tone for the event (there are great CD compilations out there - check out the Putumayo collection of world music).