Being stuck inside our homes can feel very isolating, especially for all the extroverts out there. In this day and age, here really is no excuse to not be connecting right now. So shake off your sadness and be the first of your friend group to host a virtual party.
In the past week, I’ve talked with my friends more than I have in the past month. We’re all checking in on each other, making sure we’re okay and dishing about how crazy it is be living through all of this. Now is the time to take these communications on step further and have some fun.
Best of all, every tech option listed below is free to use. You shouldn’t have to pay subscription or download fees to stay connected with your besties.
5 Ways You Can Host a Virtual Party with Friends
Watch Movies and Shows Together
In this brave new world of technology, it is easier than ever to bring a theater experience with friends right into your living room. Apps and websites allow you to watch movies, tv shows, and videos with your friends via virtual meetup. How fun would it be to start a new show with a group of friends and have watch dates throughout the week?
These apps and extensions also have built-in chat features so you can keep the commentary flowing throughout your watch party.
You can stream from a laptop or phone. If you have a smart TV, you may be able to add the app and watch with friends from your big screen.
Best of all, these are free to use. Here are a few tech ideas to check out:
Want to chat while watching? Create your own room and start your party with friends!
With this platform you can also voice chat with friends while watching! You don’t need to create an account to get started.
Since a lot of us have a Netflix account, or an account login we borrow from a loved one, this is an option most people can use. The extension did announce that it was experiencing tech difficulties that should be resolve in a new version released by March 24. This option is only available for Chrome browsers on desktop or laptop computers.
Host a Fitness Watch Party
Need a little motivation to put the snacks down and get your body moving? Working out with others can be a great motivator!
Planet Fitness has launched United We Move, a collection of 20+ minute “work ins” to keep you in shape. The daily videos are hosted daily on the company’s Facebook page.
On Facebook you can set up a watch party, which allows you to invite friends to participate in the class with you. Go to the Planet Fitness class post and you’ll see “Watch together with friends or a group” right under the video. Click start and add whoever you want to your watch party. From there, your friends and family will be notified to join you.
Play Games
You probably already have Word with Friends or HQ Trivia, but maybe now is the time to find your new favorite multi-player game app. There are a ton of free game apps where you can invite friends and family to play with you.
I personally love classic board games. Thankfully, there are classic games with free apps, such as Monopoly Go!, Scrabble, Boggle, Yahtzee, Chess and more.
Do a quick search in your phone’s app store to see if your favorite game has a digital version with a multi-player option.
Have a Virtual Happy Hour
Okay, this is my favorite (not JUST because there’s alcohol involved). Plan a phone video chat date with your friends and have a virtual happy hour. Gather your cocktail materials and be your own mixologists. Have everyone try making their own cocktail with whatever they have available at home right now. Then share your ingredients and vote on who was able to make the best cocktail.
Or just crack open a beer. Either way you are spending time together and feeling connected.
If you have the iPhone/Android video chat dilemma, try Skype, Facebook Messenger, Google Duo or WhatsApp to bring everyone together!
Create Together
Want to create something cool together? If you have an artistic flare, this may be a fun way to connect with your friends like never before. Pass the time by making a road map to your self quarantine life or work together to create cool doodles and artwork with these online sites. Basically, it is like Paint 2.0 where you can share the same digital canvas.
A few platforms I have found are Aggie, Pixilart and Drawesome, which allow you to create with friends and other virtual communities.
Whatever you decide to do, keep in touch with each other. Hopefully these virtual party ideas will help us all come closer together.
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