When I moved into my house years ago, my neighbors all showed up with plants for my garden, take-out menus from all their favorite local restaurants as well as a little book with important numbers in the town, their numbers, and little neighborhood tid bits such as the local teen babysitters, lawn rakers, etc.

They made me feel welcome from the start. One neighbor brought me two mugs with a box of her favorite tea. Some could take it as presumptuous. I took it as a lovely gesture of friendship.

I read recently about a neighborhood in san francisco where a good chunk of the people on one block and the people behind them cut small pass-thru holes in their fences so the kids could explore all the yards at will.

I always wanted to start a SAHM's monthly lunch club here where are all SAHMs and their kids would get together for la potluck at one house a month. I never did, though, and now I'm in school fulltime starting in Aug.

Our neighborhood has an annual progressive dinner- 3 houses, potluck style. Each year has a theme, Everyone brings own drinks and pays about $10/person for table rental,theme props, may be some live music. We get a good chunk of the neighborhood at this event and it is interesting to actually meet neighbors who don't live right next to you. We have a voluntary non-dues required association that helps organize this plus some other neighborhood events.

In my neighborhood, we help each other with haying and with calving. We also take turns caring for the livestock so we can go on vacations.

That's probably not what you had in mind, though. ;-)

My old neighborhood had a homeowners association (I dislike these, but this one was in an old neighborhood and fairly relaxed) that use to have a jack-o-lantern contest (best, scariest, funniest, etc).

The neighborhood development was located in a large culdasac with several streets and courts within it...so it was like a little isolated community.

If you wanted to participate in the carving you would get a number from the organizer for your pumpkin(s) and place them out with your carved masterpiece on Halloween. If you wanted to participate in the judgeing you would walk around while the kids were trick or treating with a scorecard (scorecard was printed on the back of the original event flyer) and return it by the next day to the event organizer.

1st, 2nd, 3rd place. Prizes were donations from neighborhood businesses - or crafts, services, etc.

There is a community sharing website called OhSoWe that might interest you.

The two things that helped bring the neighborhood where I grew up together:
1. Firepits. A few neighbors had them. And it was known that if a fire was burning you could head over there and hang out. Maybe bring a few beers with you.

2. Block parties. Not just the usual 4th of July grill outs (although they have those too). Brunches, whole sheep barbecues, thanksgiving leftovers, come see my new car, - any excuse for getting together pot-luck style.

The easiest thing is just to be neighborly. I lived in a questionable neighborhood and when I walked my dog I said hello to everyone. It seemed to me that people were much better behaved after someone made friendly contact. I also picked up trash and offered help for small things.

We moved in to our first home just over a year ago. Our street is a sleepy culd-e-sac with lovely neighbors, most of whom are retired. We have shared and borrowed tools, invited neighbors over for coffee, shared garden plants, walked dogs together, gone trick-or-treating with our kids, and generally said hello.

The biggest community-builder was hosting a block party on National Night Out. We made up flyers, got donated food, and went door to door inviting our neighbors. When they all showed up, many of them were introducing themselves to each other. These people had been neighbors for 25 YEARS and had never met one another. They had never had a block party or even been in there neighbors homes. Our next-door neighbors said they were there when our house was built in 1965, but had never been inside until we invited them over.

I think our initiative (and our cute dog and kids) have really helped turn our neighborhood into a welcoming place.

We just moved into our neighborhood. Right away we were invited to a block party where we provided a covered dish and a silent auction item. The items were auctioned off (nothing big - we regifted a wedding gift we couldn't use) and the proceeds went to purchase the meat for next year. It was a great way to meet the neighbors and get to see who lived where.

Yep, block parties are great. In our city, you can get your street closed to through traffic for the party (at least, you can if it's not a major thoroughfare) which means kids can run around and parents can have fun without being too worried about watching for traffic all the time.

In my experience, on my block, yes it is happening more now than previously. All my 55 and older neighbors have their own social circles that do not include their neighbors. As a 30 year old, part of the reason I wanted to buy a place was to connect and create community.

I think the traditional sources of community in America: the workplace, the faith community, and the extended family are becoming less and less influential. Jobs are no longer secure, less people value a church community (or stay in one long term!) and families are often more geographically dispersed. So the world is full of strangers.

Nursing. Still. Take 8 years out to breed, and that really lengthens things!I realized one year out from the BA that I was going to have to get something else.

How easy is it to get places to donate food? It seems like most places would only do it if it was a tax write-off, but maybe they do it for publicity? I'd love to organize a block party. I KNOW there have got to be some babysitting-age teens in my neighborhood, somewhere, and I want to meet them.

Our HOA does a yearly easter egg hunt, a summer pool party, and something else I can't currently remember. It's fun. They also do best yard contests each month. My brother's neighborhood does a "best lights display" at Christmas. I think the prize is pretty decent, so it really gets a lot of pretty lights up. Doesn't really bring people together, I suppose, other than something to talk about in Dec.

We have a multi-ethnic neighborhood, so we've done outdoor potluck where families bring food from their country or region of origin, with a short written explanation of what the item is. I've learned a lot - and it's definitely expanded my palate. One our neighbors who is originally from Egypt made baklava last year from scratch. If I'm ever on death row, that baklava will be served at my last meal.

Last year I started a play group for ages 0-5. I looked up birth announcements in the village newsletter for the previous 5 years (back issues were online), looked up the addresses in whitepages.ch, and dropped fliers in the mailboxes. We now have about 4-6 families that meet regularly.

I invited my neighbors to tea last fall and will do it again this fall.

Invite, invite, invite. When you move somewhere, most folks already have their group of friends so don't need you as much as you need them. This will make them less likely to reciprocate immediately. Don't take it personally, put yourself out there, throw a couple awesome events, and eventually they'll start inviting you back.

I have found that you can generally feed about a 100 people on less than about 75 pounds of meat.

If you find a bulk place to buy it you can do 75 pounds of meat for less than $60. If you can find a decent barbecue person -- they'll do it for the beer and charcoal. The rest is side dishes. The cost per person is about $4.00 without profit.

You just need to get the right group of people.

It's been my observation that nothing drives a community together like a disaster. A good fire in Malibu-instant community. Mudslide in Laguna Beach-togetherness! Riot-Korean men on rooftops sharing rifle ammo! 911 in NYC: Community. Sooo, come up w/a good 'ol cause against which ppl can respond & thus, bond. Responding yields...bonding. Holy crap. Ain't that the truth! So ppl CAN bond. A catalyst is an answer.

I'm a friggin' genius. Sometimes I even surprise ME.

We host a comfort food pot-luck every February. Holiday fatigue has passed, spring is nowhere in sight, and people are eager to get out of the house. We invite friends to bring their favorite comfort foods and comforting friends, and of course wear comfortable clothing. The food is great, but what people comment on every year is how much they enjoyed the conversation and getting to know friends of friends. As an introvert who hates small talk, I think that is no small triumph.

Our neighborhood is popular for trick-or-treating - 400 kids last year - so we invite people who live within walking distance to help us give out candy, and we keep our helpers warm with food and beverage. Most of those kids are not our immediate neighbors - we live in a flatter section of a hilly city, and in a stable, blue collar borough near two of the poorest in the county. Having backup not only gives us an opportunity to get to know our neighbors, it helps us stay energized and interested in the kids (in shifts) to provide them the kind of enthusiastice response that lets them know they are noticed. Which is especially helpful when they're going Lord of the Flies on the walk home after little league practice, etc., the rest of the year.

Last but not least, I write thank you letters - cards and other "hard copy," mailed or hand delivered. It increases my sense of connectedness, especially when I'm traveling. I turn strangers into neighbors of sorts. I especially make a point of carrying small cards and stamps with me when I travel for work. I feel more empowered and connected, and am less likely to feel isolated, alone, or homesick. The unexpected bonus is that when I encounter crappy service/ people/ behaviors, my aggravaton and frustration are far less than they used to be. More joy, less angst. Tip: using small cards eliminates the performance pressure. Short, sweet, stamp, send.

momof4, my local food co op gives away food to members who host block parties and my local Cub foods gives away iced cream.