How to Host a Restorative Retreat at Home

It’s been an amazing few days at Bliss Barracks so I thought it would be fun to share how to host a restorative retreat at home today!

Truth be told, after being completely overwhelmed by all the hustle and bustle that goes on during blog conferences, as an introvert, I’ve always had a deep desire to strip back the fluff and hold creative retreats that serve fellow introvert bloggers and entrepreneurs well.

So, when my middle sister invited me to the Global Leadership Summit live stream event, I jumped at the chance to practice hosting a restorative retreat at home for my Mom and sisters.

While I’ve had visions of hosting an event like this for years, I have to say, it turned out better than I could have imagined, and we learned so much along the way.

Here’s a look at how to host a restorative retreat at home…

Choose a Name, Theme, and Topic…

Choosing a name, theme, and topic for a restorative retreat can be overwhelming at first because there are so many possibilities.

To help you narrow your options a bit, look around at your circle of family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers.

Is there a common theme they’re all struggling with?

When I thought about the commonalities my Mom, sisters, and I shared, I found we all needed something intangible.

My Mom needed to reset her goals and intentions after months of travel and navigating loss. I needed to recharge my mindset after dealing with a longer than expected season of anxiety and insomnia while implementing systems to help my business grow. My middle sister is working a full-time job, growing a full-time side hustle, and building out a mobile business unit we’ve dubbed the Manifestation Capsule. She needed a restorative retreat at home to restore her purpose because she’s constantly pulled in so many directions. My baby sister just finished building a new house, so she needed the retreat to help reignite her passions beyond deciding what color exterior and café appliances to buy.

With this in mind, we chose the following themes and topics for our restorative retreat at home and they really helped…

• Reignite Your Passion
• Recharge Your Mindset
• Reset Your Goals and Intentions
• Restore Your Purpose

Set a Date, Time, and Decide How Long Your Restorative Retreat Will Be…

One of the easiest ways to host a restorative retreat at home is to schedule it around an existing online event (or in-person event) that encompasses the topics you want to lean into most.

For example, the Global Leadership Conference was already scheduled in August which made choosing a date and time simple.

If a leadership conference isn’t your thing, no worries!

There are plenty of other online (and in-person) learning events you can take advantage of from writing conferences to blogging conferences to cooking and craft classes.

You could also check your local college or university to see if they’re offering any small events or classes as well.

Find a Location…

We chose to hold our restorative retreat at my parent’s primary home, Bliss Barracks because it’s centrally located.

They live in a town that is close to the beach, offers plenty of shopping, walking and biking trails, golf and aquatics centers, regional airport services and has fabulous restaurants too.

Keep in mind you’ll also need high-speed internet, car services if you plan off-site events, and healthcare in case of an emergency which makes hosting a retreat close to home a win-win.

Create a Schedule of Events and Menu for Your Restorative Retreat at Home…

If you’re attending an online summit event, you’ll likely be given the schedule of events in advance, including time for breakout sessions.

Be sure to communicate and print out the schedule and menus so attendees will know what to expect each day.

The good thing about hosting a restorative retreat at home that is already tied to an online or in-person event is that you’ll likely only have to plan breakout sessions, snacks, and meals.

Be Flexible and Leave Plenty of White Space for Creativity and Quiet Time…

One of the hardest things about the in-person events I’ve attended is how much is packed into each day. I completely understand the need to offer as much value as possible for attendees to feel like they’re getting a return on their investment.

But as an introvert, I dreaded the “hustle culture schedule” because I knew I would feel overloaded all day.

It’s important to remember when you’re bringing people together for a restorative retreat at home, they’ll need time to process what they’ve learned, troubleshoot potential roadblocks, and map out successful systems and strategies with fellow creatives.

So, be sure to leave plenty of white space and quiet time.

In addition, we started each morning by walking and setting our intentions before breakfast and it was such a beautiful way to start the day.

Decide How Many People You Want at Your Retreat and Invite Attendees…

Decide in advance how many people you want to invite to your retreat based on how much time and energy you have to serve them.

I know that might sound too simple.

But unless your venue offers full catering services, you’re bringing in a personal chef or have a large staff to help with the event, you’ll be cooking up to 3 meals a day and refilling snacks and drinks, providing car services, being the chief encouragement officer, the chief technology officer, and picking up any last-minute supplies all while playing host.

Create a Swag or Goodie Bag…

My bestie S who helps run our website always comes back with the most amazing swag from the technology conferences she attends.

While you don’t need to compete at that level, it is nice to have a swag or goodie bag for retreat participants.

When I put together our goodie bags, I tried to incorporate things that were practical, would not take up a lot of room or storage space, or wouldn’t have to be decluttered.

These things include face masks, foot masks, eye masks, lavender bath soak, a motivational water bottle, individually wrapped snacks, a fresh notebook, and gel pens.

On Pricing a Restorative Retreat at Home…

Trying to decide how much to charge for events like these, if you’re doing them for people other than family members, can be a bit tricky.

That said, planning any restorative retreat takes both time and money so crunch the numbers and make sure you’re making a profit.

After all, you have to have money for the mission in order to get your message out!

I’ve done more online classes this year for blogging, writing and business growth than I ever have in the past and I can honestly say, it’s been life-giving.

While meeting online will never be able to replace the warmth you can feel from someone by meeting them in person, hosting cozy restorative retreats at home feels like the best of both worlds.

We loved it so much, it’s something we plan to incorporate into our schedules each quarter moving forward.

Let us know if you’ve ever hosted a retreat at home! Until next time, I’ll see you on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest.

Many blessings,

CoCo