If you are an outgoing person who enjoys a good party, staying at home all by yourself can be very boring. It’s probably something that you have never done prior to COVID-19. But here we are – the global pandemic has changed the way we interact. Events like parties and camps are no longer the norm, as people have to maintain social distance and only go out when it is necessary.
But even with these restrictions, there are ways you can interact with people and enjoy a great party or participate in an online summer camp with your friends while still in quarantine. With video conferencing technology, you can hold a remote party and invite your friends to join in. Here’s how you can do this and still have fun during quarantine:
- Set A Date And Pick A Video Conferencing App
First determine the date and time you want to hold your party. Since you are planning to have a virtual party, ensure that you give your friends a good time allowance to prepare for the party. Once you have decided on the date and time, set up an account on the video conferencing app of your choice so you get an invitation link to share with your friends. It is important that you check the number of participants the app can host.
Most video conferencing apps limit the number of participants one can host on a free account, and this increases gradually based on paid plans. If you are looking to invite a large number of people to your remote party, ensure that the app you pick can support the number you want.
Young woman chatting with friends drinking wine and laughing together – Alternative party during home isolation quarantine – Focus on glass hand
- Send Party Invitations
Once you have settled on a date for video conferencing, it is time to send out invitations. To spice things up, create a special invitation – it can be an invite from greenvelope.com, an e-card, a mini-poster, or anything fancy based on your imagination. In your invitation, provide details of the party such as the date, time, how people can join in, and the theme of the party. The invitation should also mention any requirements you want your attendees to meet.
These be things like dress code or things you want them to have during the party – like drinks or snacks. Once you have your invitations ready, send them out to your friends via email, chat groups or social media.
- Provide Technical Advice Ahead Of The Party
The success of your remote party depends on how well your friends are able to use the video technology that you have opted to use. If they are not able to join the party, it will be a failure, hence the need for you to invest some time guiding them on how the video app works. In reality, not all your friends will need this kind of support.
However, there are those who will require help in joining the call and knowing how to use the different features of the video conferencing app. The best way to provide technical support to your invitees is to provide some tips on how to use the app and share them along with the invitations. The tips need not be too technical, they could be as simple as using the mute button and differences between gallery and speaker view in an app like Zoom.
Family Celebrating Birthday Using Video Conference Call
- Make Your Remote Party Festive
This may sound a bit odd for a remote party, but there are several ways you can make your party festive. For instance, you can create a party environment in your house and challenge your friends to do the same – if it’s not a birthday party. You can also have a dress code for the party where everyone dresses a certain way.
If you are hosting a birthday party, consider putting up a happy birthday banner so everyone joining the party can see the mood in your home. You can also bake a cake and place candles on it so that the person who is celebrating the birthday in your home can blow them out as your attendees sing the happy birthday song to him or her on video.
- Schedule Some Party Activities
People often give a lot of thought to party activities when they are planning children’s parties. However, scheduling some activities in your remote party, whether you are hosting it for adults or children, can make it more interactive and fun.
If you are hosting a remote birthday party for children, you can have them share screens for activities such as picture drawing, bop dancing, or freeze dances. For adult parties, you can factor in activities like screen sharing for dance parties, karaoke, charades and drinking games like Three Man and Power Hour.
- Decide How Long The Party Will Be
If you’ve been to a remote party or any other video conferencing event, you know how tiring sitting before a video screen can be. To set expectations right, decide how long your remote party will be and inform your attendees. Most people are comfortable participating in a one-hour event so make it something close to this. Plan on being there before the scheduled time and stay a little bit longer afterwards to engage people who show up a little earlier or those who join late and stay on after the scheduled time.
Wrapping Up
Remote parties provide a great way to connect with friends and relatives during the quarantine period. If you decide to host a remote party, ensure that you take the lead in guiding conversations. Just like in real life parties where the host ensures that all attendees are having a great time, remote parties require the same.
Try as much as possible to reach out to people who stay quiet during the party and encourage them to participate in conversations or activities. If you invite people who do not know each other in the party, have everyone introduce themselves at the beginning of the party and break the ice by having them share their experience with quarantine. As the host, apply the same skills that you would use in a real life party to make sure that your friends enjoy the remote party.
