HOW TO HOST A FUN VIRTUAL PARTY DURING THE CORONAVIRUS QUARANTINE
Is it weird that ever since Coronavirus and social distancing, my social calendar has actually gotten even more busy than when I was free to walk the streets and roam around as I pleased without worrying about catching a virus? Seriously in the last week alone, I’ve gone to a birthday party, three happy hours, and a blogger event! Who would have ever thought I would be spending a Friday night fully dressed up and having cocktails with my girlfriends right from my living room?!?? And it’s not just me, almost everyone I know is participating in some sort of virtual get together! Ranging from brunch to yoga! At this point, I kind of feel like I’ve become an expert on the subject, so I’m going to share with you my top 5 tips for throwing an amazing virtual event!
Platform
The first step is selecting what platform you will have your virtual party on. There are so many options that work on all devices. I think they are all great, so it really comes down to a matter of preference, and in some cases what type of phone your guests have. Example; if everyone is an iPhone user, FaceTime would be a great option. If everyone does not have an iPhone, there are several other options you can check out; Zoom, House Party, FaceTime, and WhatsApp. Make sure everyone has the app downloaded ahead of the party and is clear on how to work it. The last thing you want to do is spend 20 minutes at the beginning of your party trying to teach people how to even log on!
2. Invitation
Whether you send an invitation or not depends on the event. If it is a birthday party, I feel like an official invitation is definitely necessary. It gives your guests the opportunity to clear their schedule and make a formal commitment to block off uninterrupted time for the party. If you’re having an informal happy hour to just chat about the latest gossip, or drama in the family, an official invite probably isn’t necessary. If you choose to send an invitation, it should be sent electronically. There are a lot of options for sending invitations, my personal favorite is Evite. It’s super easy to use, and if you need ideas for your party, they have those too. Your invite should include, date, attire, theme, activity, and any other requirements you have for the party.
3. Theme
Get creative with this one! If you’re throwing a birthday party and the birthday girl loves the color pink, have everyone wear all pink! If you’re doing a virtual dinner party, you could make it a pizza theme, and everyone can make their favorite homemade pizza! The point is, just come up with something fun and cute and make sure everyone is on the same page!
4. Decorations/Food
Make sure you and all of your guests know ahead of time what part of the home you’re going to set up in for the party. Wherever you plan to set up, be sure to decorate it to match whatever the theme of the party as best you can. In some cases you may not have access to specific items, so anything you have around the house to make it festive and cute should work! Also, make sure you have your food and drink planned out. If it’s on theme, make sure it’s clear what you want everyone to attempt to have. Otherwise, just choose something that is your favorite!
5. Activity
OK, having an organized activity for your event isn’t mandatory, but you have to keep in mind that most “in real life” parties are centered around an actual activity (ex. Karaoke party, miniature golf, bowling, etc). That said, coming up with an activity definitely takes your event to the next level! You can definitely get creative on this one. You can have a baking party, pizza making party, brunch, cookie decorating party, or even a dance party where everyone takes turns making up routines to their favorite singer. There are also lots of companies that are offering virtual party packages. I have listed a few ideas below:
A. Cooking Class
Look up your favorite celebrity or local chef and see if they are offering virtual cooking classes on line. With most restaurants being closed, you can find a lot of free classes on their Facebook or Instagram live!
B. Baking Together
Look up a simple recipe everyone can bake together either with simple ingredients most households already have on hand (example. a fancy sugar cookie), or with ingredients that will be easy to obtain via grocery delivery or pickup service.
C. Virtual Wine Tasting
I might be biased on this one, but this is definitely one of my favorites! There are several online wine subscriptions that offer sampler wine tasting boxes. All of your guests can order sample boxes and taste the wine together! A few great ones to check out are Usual Wines, Vine Box, or Tasting Room.
D. Go to a Virtual Club
Do you miss going out with your friends for dancing and cocktails? Check out your favorite DJ’s social media, and there’s a good chance they are hosting live parties on the weekends! All of your guests can get dressed up for a night “out” and dance and sing along while your favorite DJ plays all of your favorite jams!
E. Game Night
Now that we’re all stuck in the house, its the perfect opportunity to bring back and oldie but goodie… AKA game night! There are sooo many games you can play at your event from charades to Cards Against Humanity! Just because we’re socially distancing doesn’t mean game nights have to stop! Have all of your friends download a fun game like Cards Against Humanity, and spend the evening finding out who your funniest and most inappropriate friend is!
I’m sure we can all agree, right now the world feels like it has literally turned upside down. While I’m sure it all feels like a horrible dream you can’t wake up from, one thing I know for sure is we all have to keep going! We have to do our best to create some sense of peace and normalcy for ourselves and our loved ones. We don’t know how long this is going to be our reality, and even though it seems so scary and grim right now, the world keeps moving. Anniversaries, Birthdays, Graduations, all of the things that we love to celebrate are still happening! I think now, more than ever, it is important to still celebrate these major life events. For one thing, they deserve to be celebrated, and secondly, it helps keep our spirits lifted! I hope these tips help you get through this quarantine, and the goal is to come out even closer with your loved ones than you were before!
Love you BYEeeeee!!
Mrs. All Pink Everything