«A Year of Parties» Series - Virtual Party
April 2020.
It’s time for Spring and new beginnings, Easter, egg hunts and celebrations but the circumstances of current times call for «Social Distancing» due to the pandemic that affects the whole world.
«Social Distancing», as the WHO defines it, is
a set of non-pharmaceutical interventions or measures taken to prevent the spread of a contagious disease by maintaining a physical distance between people and reducing the number of times people come into close contact with each other. It involves keeping a distance of six feet or two meters from others and avoiding gathering together in large groups.
A party - by default - means «gathering together in groups» but that doesn’t mean birthdays and other events can’t be safely celebrated with our loved ones … ON-LINE! Now, when generations are separated, it’s even more important for everybody to be able to connect, so a virtual party is just what the doctor prescribed!
You don’t even need a specific reason for coming together and “celebrate”! Technology is our friend, available and easy enough to handle for both younger and older generations, alike!
You can connect on-line in a VIDEO-CALL and play with all the filters and effects while chatting and you won’t even notice how much time has passed having fun and laughing! (We have done this with my family, they are in Hungary while we’re in Greece!)
You can throw a STAY-AT-HOME MOVIE PARTY with the help of specialized apps (like Kast, Netflix party, Kosmi, Syncplay etc) or just through a video call while you are all watching the pre-selected movie!
You can also set up a BIRTHDAY PARTY for Teens through Hangouts (or other social media platforms like Messenger, Instagram etc.)
In the same spirit the theme of the party can be ANYTHING! Crafting, gardening, cooking, playing chess or cards, Truth or Dare, Show and Tell and of course the on-line games!
You can set up a virtual or on-line party in just a few steps!
Choose a platform that’ll host your party (Zoom, Google Hangouts, Group FaceTime, Skype)*
Set a start time and indicate an end time (the duration is usually an hour or two but be flexible, catching up, telling stories and jokes, laughing takes time! )
Set the agenda for the flow of the party (expectations, activities, time frame)
Maybe ship each participant a box of “party supplies” in advance so you can all work with the same things (activity in a box)
Choose (purchase/download, test etc) on-line party games (Jackbox Games, Online Jeopardy, Minecraft, etc.)*
Send out on-line invitations with the necessary information about
time,
place (platform name, app download instructions, password and/or code to join),
the theme and reason for the party so your guests may anticipate all the fun and participate in it, and
all the instructions either for the shipped activity in a box or the on-line games that you want everybody to participate in.
(This could be just an e-mail or you could use Evite, GreetingsIsland, Punchbowl or even Canva)*
Last but not least, enjoy yourself and your time together with friends and family, neighbors, classmates, teachers, co-athletes etc.
Isolation is not an easy situation, especially for those who are stuck alone and without the usual way to connect to others. Please, check on your loved ones (maybe even the neighbors) regularly because our mental health is just as important as our physical health.
Your very own fairy,
Tünde - Nefeli
* Products, applications etc mentioned in this post are NOT SPONSORED.
