How to Have a Virtual Friendsgiving
I know, I know, another virtual gathering...how boring! But no! This one is actually going to be fun, I’ve made sure of it!
I know all of our eyes are sore from logging into virtual meetings all day, every day and frankly, I am too. I also know you’re tempted to just say “F*** it!” and meet up with your group of friends this month, but don’t do it! Seriously, COVID-19 cases are going up again, and they went up drastically just after Halloween, where I saw many people share stories of parties over 10 people…
Getting together physically with your friends isn’t worth your life, no matter how much you miss them. I’m sorry. IF we continue to take proper precautions, we can get out of this hell hole sooner, and maybe even celebrate Thanksgiving as normal in 2021. That all depends on how well we celebrate this year, though.
This year, I’m advocating for virtual Friendsgiving/virtual Thanksgiving events. It’s not as bad as it sounds, trust me. Take it from the person who hosted a virtual Halloween party with a bunch of friends! It actually went really well! Based on the success of that party, I’m going to give you a how-to guide to hosting a virtual Friendsgiving. So sit back, relax, and break out your pen and paper to take notes.
It’s all about the invites…
If there’s one thing we can still do right now, it’s sending mail! In fact, there was actually a phase during the pandemic where it was encouraged to buy a bunch of stamps and send out mail so that we can support the USPS. Keep that same energy this holiday season.
Pick out a super cute Thanksgiving/Friendsgiving card design and hand-write cards to all of your friends. Not only will they love the invitation, but they’ll have something to look forward to in their mailboxes that isn’t another Amazon order.
I guess not everyone is into traditional hand-written cards, which is cool. If that’s the case, there are plenty of high-quality digital invitations you can send to your friends via email. My favorite site is Paperless Post. They have the cutest, most modern designs. Seriously, this is what my Halloween invite looked like!
Choose the Guest List
Nothing sucks more than being on a Zoom call with more than 20 people. You have to switch screens to see everyone, half of the people are off having their own side conversations, and the video bubbles are so small that you can’t even see everyone clearly. Don’t let this happen to you on your virtual Friendsgiving. Keep your guest list short so you can have a more personal and intimate affair. Anything between 3-10 people is optimal.
Obviously, you’re going to need food
You’ll have to be creative for a virtual Friendsgiving dinner because unlike a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, you can’t have one person cook all the food or do it potluck style. . In your invitation, include a message to your guest reminding them to prepare their own special dinner.
These dinners could be a part of a theme the host creates, something unique and special to each guest that made their food, or completely traditional. What’s fun about this is that everyone can make their own recipe and do a sort of show-and-tell discussing how and why they made what they made!
Speaking of show-and-tell, let’s talk about activities...
Don’t be boring...Plan some activities!
The best part of my Cocktails & Costume party was that there was never a dull moment, even in the times between activities. I had an entire itinerary set which included virtual haunted house tours, virtual tarot readings, costume contests, and more.
These aren’t the most Friendsgiving activities, but here’s a list of some of the things you can do.
Thanksgiving Word Assignments
This is an ongoing drinking game that begins the moment you log into the virtual event. In this game, each person is given a word related to Thanksgiving that is now their assigned word. Every time a guest says their word throughout the night, the person with that assigned word must discreetly take a sip of their drink. The goal is to not let anyone figure out what your assigned word is, all the while trying to detect the other guests’ words! Some fun words to use are; turkey, thankful, fall, football, stuffing, etc. You get the idea.
Show-and-Tell Dinner
One of my favorite parts of Thanksgiving is all of the different foods! There’s always one aunty who brings her own version of stuffing with a bunch of random ingredients, and then there’s always your mama who cooks it just the way you like it. For this activity, have all of the guests showcase one aspect of the dinner they made and swap recipes with each other if it sounds and looks like something you’d enjoy!
Virtual Thanksgiving-Themed Scavenger Hunt
I love a good competition, so for this one, the host will be in charge of a Thanksgiving-themed scavenger hunt! In this game, the host will call out a word relating to Friendsgiving and the guests must try to find the items in their home and bring them back to the screen (and potentially use that item). The winner will be the first person to come back to the Zoom chat and showcase their item/use it. Some items could be a fall leaf, or bring back a turkey and eat a chunk of it on screen! Get creative with it.
Zoom Background Showcase
The fun part of Zoom is that you can switch your virtual background to a fun image or video! Have everyone show off their virtual background (that’s appropriately themed, of course) and the group will have a fun time viewing!
I’m Thankful For…
I’m not all about the traditional origins of Thanksgiving, but I do love the holiday’s aspect of gratitude. It wouldn’t be a proper Friendsgiving without taking a moment to get serious and sentimental with each other. Use a portion of your event to each go around saying what you’re thankful for and giving gratitude to having such an amazing friend group!
Watch Party
At the end of the night, it might be fun to watch a movie together! Utilize streaming services to start a watch party. There’s Netflix Party, Hulu group watching, and Disney+ even has a group watching feature now! There are so many ways to watch movies with your friends, you might as well do it tonight!
Group Game Time
Among Us is the best multi-player, virtual game. I love it so much that not only did the entire group break out into an Among Us session at the end of Cocktails & Costumes, but I have a standing date with my family every Monday to play this game! Strike up a game with your friends whenever you need to get a little active!
Another alternative is Jackbox games. My brother recently introduced me to this gaming system that works even on Zoom! There’s a multitude of games you can play and they are sooo fun! Definitely recommend.