Create your community in 2026

If one of your goals for the new year is to spend more time with friends and family, or maybe even to meet new people, I’m so glad you’re reading this today. Over the past several years, loneliness has peaked — and studies show that the lack of social connection that many people feel can be more detrimental to our health than smoking nearly a pack of cigarettes a day (!).

Our dependence on social media for “connection,” the pandemic, and a rise in remote work have contributed to many of us feeling more lonely than ever before. Even for self-professed introverts, the lack of social interaction or even just human connection touch-points can be sneakily isolating. If you’re craving connection, you’re not alone: but how do we make it happen?

Let’s face it: it’s hard to put ourselves out there as adults. One of my professors in college once told me, “if you’re feeling a certain way, chances are you’re not the only one.” Essentially, nobody wants to be the first person to put themselves out there, but there’s a strong likelihood that there are people all around you who would be interested in creating a community alongside you. So here’s my challenge to you: be the first one to reach out. I promise that it’s not as scary as you think, and that others will be so glad that you did.

There are endless activities, types of groups, and ways to connect. I’ll offer you a list of ideas below, but know that pretty much anything you’re interested in can be made into an opportunity to gather and connect:

• Start a book club

• Host recurring game nights (old school games? trivia? charades? mahjong is huge right now!)

• Create a neighborhood group

• Start a supper club, where each person takes a turn hosting a gathering centered around a meal

• Hold a monthly “Soup Saturday” or “Spaghetti Sunday” where your doors are open to anyone who’d like to join for a bowl of soup or pasta

• Create a crafting club

• Gather a group together to volunteer weekly or monthly

• Choose one of your skills, and teach it to a group of people

• Find out if anyone at work would be interested in meeting up for a monthly happy hour

• Hold an “admin night” where a group of people gathers and accomplishes a bunch of the admin tasks they’ve been putting off (together! with snacks!)

The great news is, “granny activities” are hot right now, and it’s the perfect time to try one and recruit others to join you! There are also lots of places that already host groups, workshops, gatherings — if you’re not much of a planner, it might feel easiest to find something that’s already organized and see if anyone you know would be interested in joining you. Libraries, co-working spaces, volunteer organizations, mom groups, and rec centers are all great places to look.

If you plan to gather a group together, start with a handful of people you already enjoy spending time with or who seem like the type of people you’d like to spend more time with. They can already be linked together somehow, but sometimes it’s nice when not everyone knows each other, as it’s a great opportunity to meet someone new and potentially make a new friend.

Formulate your idea for a get together, and then send a quick group text: “Hey all! I’ve been thinking it would be fun to get a group of people together to ______ (your chosen activity). I’d love to host the first gathering on ______ (date/time), and would love you to join if you’re available and interested. Let me know if you can make it!” Even though a group text seems intimidating, I actually prefer it to individual texts in this case, since what you’re trying to create is community. Individual texts are also harder for people to remember to reply to, where as every time someone replies in the group text, other people will be reminded and possibly even feel compelled to reply.

If you decide to host a gathering (rather than attending workshop or get together elsewhere), remember: it doesn’t need to be fancy. Keep it simple.

People tend to worry too much about little things that others simply won’t notice or care about. The goal is to make this as easy as a lift as possible so it will be feasible to do again, while also making the environment welcoming and warm. If hosting is new to you, make sure there are plenty of spaces for people to sit (or perch!), kitchen and bathrooms are clean and stocked, and there are at least some simple snacks and a small variety of beverages available.

Make sure that, if things seemed to go well, the group picks a date for the next get together while you’re still together. Throw out something like, “This date seemed to work well for most of us — does the first Thursday evening of each month work to get together?” or everyone can look at their calendars and pick a specific date. Try not to wait longer than six weeks for your next gathering, especially if you’re a new group.

Over the years, I’ve organized groups and gatherings, and I’ve also been on the other side, invited to join a group. Both have had such positive impacts on my life. When we get together with other people, conversations are had, ideas are shared, laughter is pretty much inevitable, and sometimes future plans are even made. Plus, science says we’ll even be physically healthier for it. ;)

I know — familiarity is so comfortable, and putting ourselves out there and trying something new is so… well, uncomfortable. But the truth is: we need each other. If you’ve been thinking about creating community this year, there is no better time than now, and there’s no better person than you to get the ball rolling.

(P.S. For other ideas on how to navigate a sometimes lonely, often cold winter season, check out my recent piece on what to do when you just don’t feel like yourself.)