Moving to a new city can be a daunting experience, if you don't know anyone near your new home, but there's an easy way to get the ball rolling and meet new people: Host a backyard party for your neighborhood. Gather all your new neighbors together at once and throw a little housewarming party to get to know them all. Throwing together a gathering right after you've moved sounds like an overwhelming project, but no worries. You can have a great backyard party with very little preparation, and it'll be more than worth it to start making new friends! So grab those lawn chairs and BBQ out of storage, and remember these couple tips to get your party ideas flowing.

Invite in Person

Start off with a personal touch by inviting everyone face-to-face. Buy a simple pack of invitations or make your own, and then go around to every house in the neighborhood to hand them out. People may be leery of coming to a party hosted by someone they've never met, so making contact with them beforehand makes you seem friendlier and makes them more likely to show up.

If Help is Offered, Take It

People may ask you if you want them to bring anything or help serve food. Your first instinct may be to say, “No,” but you should feel free to take them up on it! Working together with someone makes it easier to connect with them, especially if you let them know how much to appreciate their help -- and, of course, it'll make your day easier.

Plan Activities

This doesn't have to be elaborate or structured to include everyone. You can do as little as casually setting out a deck of cards and a few board games. You could also have a contest, like a brownie-tasting event. Make sure you also have some good child-friendly activities available as well -- put the newly-unpacked toy box out on the lawn or turn on a sprinkler for kids to run around in.

Just remember: don’t stress too much about the details of the party; it’s about meeting your new neighbors and becoming a member of the community.