(Librarian's note: Artist-Ri wanted to call it 'Adult Playdates', but I vetoed it, for obvious reasons. They're sulking in the corner, so do go pat pat their head.
The Gist: Your friend fixes a 'playdate' with a random person on your contact list for you
You will need:
1. A friend (or family, or even a stranger. Basically, another human)
2. Your Facebook Friends List OR Contact List
3. Lack of shame.
Instructions
Step 1: The great selection
Get your friend to look through your Facebook Friends List/Contact List.
Step 2: Choose a playmate
Have them choose a person from this list.
This can be a random person, or someone they think you'd vibe well with.
They're the boss.
Optional Step: Have your friend decide what activity you will do with the chosen playmate.
Step 3: Contact Playmate
Have you ever seen kids arrange playdates with each other?
NO!
So your friend, aka adult human handler, will have to do so on your behalf.
Instructions for friend:
Call or message the playmate you have chosen to arrange for a playdate.
If you or your handler are shy/not shameless enough, feel free to use the following template:
*=Delete where appropriate
"Hi, my name is [your name].
I am writing behalf of my friend [friend's name] whom you might know from [how they're connected].
We are both participating in an arts project/social experiment* where we get to plan "grown up play dates" for each other.
Basically, we get to pick a random person from their contact list for them to hang out with.
You were the chosen one.
We really hope you say yes to this invitation. But we understand if it's too weird and awkward. (Come on man, live a little!)*
If agree to the playdate. Here are the times:
[Insert times]
I'll be in touch to co-ordinate the timings with you. (Unless you also have an adult handler for me to speak with.)*
Step 4: Go on Playdate
Show up at the designated time and place and do the designated activity!
(Chaperones optional.)
That's it.
Done!
👨🎨Artist's Notes
aka why we made this
Ello! Artist-padawan Ri here! 👋
Thank you for reading this completely optional section, we really appreciate it!
So, where did the inspiration for this activity come from you ask?
Well, we were taking a walk one day, and then suddenly thought about unlikely connections in movies. (e.g. the old grandma who makes friends with this 21 year old college grad who likes metal music because they both work as janitors in the same building.)
(PS: that's not an actual movie, we don't think. But feel free to steal the plot bunny.)
And we thought, hey, don't we all have people on our contact lists whom we don't really know and added just because they're friends of a friend, or because we met them at some random networking event?
But as an introvert, it feels...weird and creepy to just reach out of the blue and contact them. How can we legitimize the awkwardness without coming across as some opportunistic networker?
And and and, how do we even choose!?
Just as we were thinking that, we walked past the playground of our condo and saw children playing together. Which made us recall the recent post in our condo FB group about looking for playmates for their children.
💡!!
And that's when it hit us, we can just get our friends to arrange playdates for us!
Maybe you have nice friends, but ours are all the chaotic (but still good) sort.
So having them choose playmates and organize playdates for us is guaranteed to be hilarious.
And if the playdate turns out to be a complete disaster, we can also put all the blame on them.
It's a perfect plan.
Now you know how this month's activity came about.
We hope you have fun on your Adult Playdate!😁
(Librarian's footnote: For more grownup version of children's activity, you can check out:
Storytime for Grownups
