| How did your swap go? I bet it was fun! This is too late for your swap this year, but maybe it'll give you some ideas for next time (here, we have 2 swaps a year, spring & autumn, since those are our prime gardening seasons, just wonderful for planting). I originally posted this on the Texas Forum, & I've made a few changes for the sake of clarity & context:
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...... Some facilitating tricks I've learned for swaps are: For gardenweb swaps, post often enough to keep the threads on page 1 so more people see the info. mention & encourage others to mention the plants that they'll be bringing encourage pre-trades:
people will be more committed to attending if they know someone else is counting on them, & they'll be more excited about coming if they know that they'll come home with something they really want. We've had swaps in Ft Worth for several years now, & the main things I try to do (other than arrange the facilities & give driving directions & tips for transporting plants & answer questions) are to lay out a *minimum number* of simple, loose, clear "rules" & to foster the spirit of sharing. Rules like: don't take anything unless the person who brought it says you can (seriously) no selling (or some selling, or whatever, as long as the rule is the same every time for every attendee)
no alcohol, no glass bottles clean up your own mess. We always encourage newcomers to attend, even if they don't have plants or seeds;
growing gardeners is an excellent way to grow gardens.
& besides, sometimes they bring stuff like homemade bread! I always encourage people to bring or to do *something* to trade;
it makes for a better feeling for everybody. At the last swap, one couple grilled hot dogs & brought potato salad & soft drinks & prepared lunch for everyone in return for the tons of plants they took home, & I traded some plants for double chocolate brownies. I've tried to keep things as simple & loose as possible, to make the swaps undemanding & easy for anyone to enjoy. We never used to have games & prizes, since our swaps are "come & go" affairs:
People often bring their children, & you can't wait around a plant swap for a game or prize if your young one has a soccer game. Of course, everything changes, & our last Ft Worth swap did feature prizes... People brought a variety of things (garden gloves, a basket with 2 coffee mugs shaped like flower pots, books, a gazing ball, a ceramic alligator, etc), drew names, & the person chose his/her prize;
this way it's likelier that, for instance, the guys can pick a trowel or a seed kit instead of a scented candle! | 
