Welcome to the new normal, where for some people this Christmas can only be celebrated VIA a screen.
Zoom – the holy grail of social gatherings at a time where physical contact is so last year.
The video conference platform brought together businesses, organisations, families and friends through (free) easy video and audio access.
Due to its reliability, Zoom’s app usage rapidly increased this year during the Covid-19 pandemic, where the world was forced to interact solely online, both for business and pleasure.
Zoom hosted weddings, birthdays, church masses, public holidays, talk shows and will now have to host several Christmas parties.
So, this Christmas, why not make it fun and festive to celebrate the end of a chaotic year.
Here’s how to make a simple zoom call into the most festive Christmas party for family and friends.
Don’t just talk, plan activities
Unlike regular parties, everyone in the zoom call has to interact with each other and as one cannot just sway off with a small group. This is why it’s important to plan an activity everyone can simultaneously do together, AS WELL as talking.
Bake something together. Baking Christmas cookies and desserts is a classic activity to get into the Christmas spirit. Despite not being physically together, baking together while on a call can still work. For example, check out this delicious Caramel Slice recipe that can be easily made together through screens.
Create DIY crafts. Similar to baking, everyone in the call can create art projects, whether it’s with sculpting with clay or painting. For an even more fun element, reveal everyone’s work at the end as a surprise to laugh and be impressed at what everyone was working on. After all, if it a physical gathering, everyone would’ve already known what each person was making.
Watch a Christmas movie together. Forget talking and making things, just watch a movie all together. This can be done by the host of the meeting to share their screen so whatever they’re playing can be seen by everyone else. Virtually watching classic Christmas movies together such as Elf, Home Alone, Polar Express and even Love Actually will be a great way to get cosy and enjoy the Christmas spirit.
Encourage everyone to bring food and drinks
To accompany the activities, encourage guests to bring their favourite snacks and drinks – whether it’s alcoholic or non-alcoholic.
It also will be a fun idea to play drinking games or any games in general (online games will probably better) for the party to feel sociable.
The party can also turn into a Christmas dinner party where everyone cooks their own meal, and everyone eats at their dining table, simulating an actual gathering. As ridiculous as this sounds, it will feel as if the dining table is full of family and friends.
Decorate, Decorate, Decorate
Having a Zoom party means people aren’t able to visit each other’s homes and appreciate the festive decorations.
Therefore, only decorating what people can see through their screen is both being in the Christmas spirit AND will takes less effort to set up. A win for all.
So, encourage guests to hang up decorations behind them or even to wear Christmas outfits.
To make it even EASIER to decorate, it’s always a great idea to instead set the Zoom background into something Christmas themed, such as holiday lights, a fireplace or a winter wonderland (to forget about the heat).
