Whether in a personal or professional setting, getting people together can sometimes be tricky. Your party planning can be held back by busy schedules, traveling expenses, movement restrictions, among other reasons.
Even so, you can still connect with your loved ones and celebrate milestones without necessarily meeting in the same room. Cue virtual parties!
Many people today are hosting events online, and parties aren’t an exception. A virtual party is a great way of bringing individuals together to have fun.
In this article, we’ll cover all you need to know about a virtual party, including virtual party ideas, themes, games, and more.
Let’s do it!
What is a Virtual Party?
A virtual party is a simple and fun activity hosted online. The attendees come online together as workmates, friends, or family members, just like being in the same room.
Organizations and groups of individuals will have various reasons to host and celebrate virtually. Personal celebrations include virtual baby showers, virtual birthday parties, bridal shower parties, etc.
Events in a professional setting may consist of team milestones, retirement parties, and virtual holiday parties in a professional setup.
In the recent past, virtual celebrations have become significantly popular and essential. A virtual party enables people to spend quality time together, putting social distancing into consideration.
For instance, remote-first companies can now hold parties and virtual team-building events with employees all over the country or worldwide. Friends and family can also meet online and have fun comfortably.
Virtual Party Planning Tips
One important tip to have a successful virtual party is to develop a creative way of maintaining an engaged team. Below are some essential tips you should consider.
1. Introduce a fun game or competition
One of the more popular virtual party ideas is including a few games such as trivia night and virtual board game nights to bring fun to your virtual party. Online games can also include quizzes or a virtual scavenger hunt with different themes such as sports history and geography.
Subdivide your team if your virtual party games require smaller numbers to play online. You could also have a game night over video call with your virtual team.
2. Lottery or winning awards
Besides the planned video chat, encourage friendly rivalry among your team members and prize the winner(s). Use an instant messaging platform of your choice like Hipchat or Slack for photos and comment sharing.
3. Provide some food
The fact that your virtual party members are in different places doesn’t mean you can’t share a meal. You can organize some outside catering services for each of your group members.
To avoid ordering inappropriate dishes for guests send them a gift card or a virtual Hoppier card to do it themselves.
How to Plan and Execute a Virtual Party?
There is no doubt that a virtual party is an excellent celebratory method. You need to consider key points to make an incredible virtual event for your virtual party guests.
1. Create a guest list
Even though the venue capacity doesn’t limit online parties, keep your list small (up to 10 people) to avoid video conferencing confusion.
In case of a children’s birthday party, not more than 20!
2. Send a party announcement
Send invitations or emails on social media announcing your virtual party and share some details such as the time and the party theme to the guests.
3. Select a virtual party theme
Your online party only needs to be fun-filled. Nonetheless, you should include party themes. The various types comprise book club brunch, game night, costume party, virtual dance party, virtual dinner party, virtual birthday party, and virtual happy hour.
In short, you can turn any offline party theme into virtual party ideas. You could even invite your attendees to engage in mixology and have virtual beer on zoom or google hangouts.
4. Select a suitable video platform
This step is like looking for a venue but the online version.
If it’s a short video call, the free tier of most video platforms will be enough for your virtual party. Most apps, however, do set time limit restrictions at around the one-hour mark.
The various video chat apps include Zoom, Google Hangouts, Facebook’s Messenger Rooms, Skype, and FaceTime. Sending a guide beforehand to those with less expertise in tech is a brilliant idea.
5. Invite your guests
Send the details such as the day and time of the virtual party to your guest list using digital invitations. Find the most appropriate design for your virtual get-together and manage the RSVPs with ease.
Be sure to send reminders a few days before the event. Make the message exciting to inspire the guests to attend. If it’s a surprise party, then save the meeting as a random name to keep it a secret from the birthday boy/girl.
6. Choose food for the event
Although people overlook food at a virtual party, you can complete your event by sending food to your party guests. You can cook and have it delivered or send gift cards for outside catering. You don’t need to spend a lot of money on a delightful treat.
7. Organize your virtual party
At this point, you should finalize your event planning and get your party-ready. Consider the ideal virtual games and activities, plus the mood you want to set for your virtual party.
11 Virtual Party Ideas
Here are some favorite virtual party ideas, virtual games, and activities that will enhance a fantastic online get-together for your co-workers, friends, and family.
1. Cocktail hour
Help your party guests get into the virtual event mood by hosting a cocktail hour. Want to impress your guests even further? Send them a cocktail recipe that they can create on their own and cover the cost with a gift card.
In addition, create a suitable playlist and include a Zoom background image. To top it off, attend or include a virtual mixology workshop to enhance the festive atmosphere of the virtual cocktail party.
2. Escape Room
Virtual escape rooms include completing puzzles and solving riddles within a set amount of time.
All you need is to contact a virtual escape room provider to make arrangements. Alternatively, you can also host and create your own escape room.
3. Trivia night
Compete with your coworkers, family, or friends in a virtual trivia night. If you prefer, host the trivia and provide questions and answers for online participants. Otherwise, send your invitees (including yourself) a trivia sheet to each take part in.
Even though you can access trivia online, it’s more fun to create your own trivia game. Include personal facts and jokes inside your circle to make all the guests feel included in your virtual trivia party.
4. Karaoke
Give your guests a musical treat with a virtual karaoke party! Find the best song to sing and send it to them. If you want, you can also include a video tutorial on how to start a live stream on a certain video chat platform.
5. Wine tasting
Wine has distinct aromas, tastes, and general characteristics. As a result, wine tasting may be a fun pastime for a virtual get-together.
You can get the wine delivered to your guests plus some snacks as party favors or offer gift cards instead.
6. Hold a virtual watch party
With the help of the Netflix party platform, Teleparty, you can engage with your virtual guests or share your screen with audio on movie nights.
Provide a list of movies to watch in advance to avoid wasting time looking for a suitable one. Don’t forget some snacks plus a group video chat platform to make the watch party more enjoyable!
7. Book Club
Having your virtual party in the form of a reading group is a great virtual party idea! You could meet once per week at the same time and boost your knowledge. Provide some snacks to set a virtual celebration mood.
8. Deco and costume competitions
At the beginning of your virtual party, mobilize your team to participate in a creative challenge. Ask your guests to decorate their “party room” or to participate in a costume and give out prizes for the best presentation. A virtual costume party encourages individuals to think outside of the box and is also known to generate a giggle or two.
9. Board game night
A virtual board game night is a great way to play with colleagues and friends! Make your own or take suggestions from guests, then choose pre-selected games that you know they will like (you can never go wrong with Trivial Pursuit).
You’ll need prizes for the winners as well as snacks on hand so everyone’s happy at this party of fun.
10. Virtual Photo Session
A virtual photo session is a great way to help your guests become comfortable with the online environment.
Ask your guests to nominate one or more people to take snapshots of their group using a designated app.
As an alternative, you can also create your own virtual photo booth with props or by asking each participant to bring some props for the photoshoot.
11. Drawing Competition
Introduce your attendee to a drawing challenge. You could ask them to draw their self-portrait on paper or by painting.
Host a Fun-Filled Virtual Party for Your Guests
Now that you’re familiar with the concept of virtual events, it’s time to host your own virtual party for your coworkers, colleagues, friends, and family members.
Get creative and welcome suggestions to make your gathering even better.
Create an event page on Facebook or whatever platform suits you best. Make sure you think about a catchy title for your special occasion.
A virtual party is a great way to bring your guests together and make them feel like they’re part of the same group.
One thing is certain: having a virtual party will certainly allow you to relax while also letting your attendees know that they haven’t been forgotten.
Now that you know how to have fun virtually, it’s time to go out there and start planning!
