My daughter Sienna is a social creature, just like most ten year olds.
Somewhere around week six of #socialdistancing and #familyquarantine she had had enough. While her older brother and younger sister were fine, she wanted more. She really missed her friends. I knew this because she would lay about the house, just whining for hours about WHY she couldn’t see, feel, and touch her friends. After reviewing (yes, again, so compulsively) the local coronavirus numbers and the troubling hockey-stick shaped graph of new cases, she would quiet down… for a time.
Then, the whining would come back more ferocious and fervent.
We needed a creative solution. A technological solution.
An angel in my Facebook Group posted a message about Zoom Parties.
That’s it! She could host a virtual party for some of her closest friends. I mentioned the idea to her, and she was cheetah again. She was in charge, and she was on fire.
First thing that she did was assemble the guest list. Experience said that ten people was a good size to manage the chaos and still have fun.
Then she created an rough schedule and designed the invitation. It was a sparkle theme. (Man, I LOVE this girl… She IS our sparkle!) She explained that the party would have a “system of points” that would earn prizes.
The schedule is pure GOLD!
Dancing from 5:10-5:15 seemed very optimistic considering the required glitter and sparkle attire.
Anyway, I sent out the invitation to the parents with links to the Zoom room. Of course, everyone RSVPed immediately, including a friend who was living in Sweden!
The days to the party were filled with research, planning, and anticipation. There are so many great ideas on how to host your own Zoom party on the internet right now, below I list some of the resources that Sienna used to make hers a success!
Shawn M Howell is a treasure trove of great ideas for activities for families. From Freeze Frame, “I would Rather“, to simple Simon Sez, she gives you 20 great ideas in this handy video! Common Sense Media has always been my “go to” for how to guide my kids to wholesome screentime fun, and this is a nice list of Zoombastic joy. Tech Republic pulls out some old school favourites that I forgot about and Sienna was introduced to. And finally, don’t forget to take some basic precautions when using Zoom to protect your kids.
OK, now…
Here are the details for each portion of Sienna’s first AWESOME ZOOM party and some of her personal tips. Please watch the video to see some of the FUN!
I love these kids, they make my daughter’s heart go bump!
Sienna’s Tips
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Before you start, you will need some time to figure out how to use Zoom. Getting everyone online properly with the video and sound will take some time. Not everyone will know how to turn on “Gallery Mode,” so a few minutes to figure that out will be important.
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You need to be a little loose with the schedule, because something is bound to go wrong
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When creating the games, think about what the friends like so that no-one feels excluded. I learned that some of my friends didn’t have all of the materials to do the games.
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Don’t make it serious! It’s for fun! My friends are more happy to see each other than play games
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Ask for feedback at the end. One of friends said to make a theme, and the next party was “Mystical Creatures”
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Just because you are the host, doesn’t mean you can’t have fun.
Sienna’s Games
Sienna’s Indoor Scavenger Hunt was super fun, interactive, and very easy to pull off. First you will need a bell sound. Sienna used a musical hand bell, but you can also use a the bell sound from your Smart Phone. Next, you will need to write down each scavenger item on a single sheet of paper so that it is easy to read. Each round was ten points, and have a go!
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Single Sheet of Toilet Paper (Warm Up)
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Bring Any Stuffed Animal (The largest animal wins!)
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Something Blue (Fastest)
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Make a Paper Airplane (Fastest)
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Find something with at least 55g of sugar (First one)
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Bring Zoom to the exit of your House (First three)
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Put a Face Mask On (Everyone)
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Bonus Points, Keep the Face Mask On
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Say Something Nice to your Mom, Dad, or Helper
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Bring your favourite Book (The one with the most pages wins)
Charades is one of our favourite games no matter what the occasion. (See my post on COVID19 Charades!) Zoom charades is fun, but you need to choose a category that everyone will know. Sienna chose things, places, or people from school. You need to choose one person to begin (the person with the highest point total from the previous round works well). Then Sienna texted the starting person the first topic within the Zoom app. The person to guesses the pantomime is the winner and gets to act out the next topic! Ten points for each winner in each round.
Next was a dance party! Sienna played music from her speaker and just played it into the mic from her computer. Easy solution!
Final game was “Name that Tune”! Sienna played a bunch of old songs (mainly Beatles and singles from the Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack!) that only she seemed to know. Because that was only fun two songs, she switched the game by rotating the song choice to cover more tastes.
Needless to say, the party was a complete success.
Sienna prepared a party gift for everyone which was an Ebook that kids could enjoy, and very easy to share via email and chat. The top prize winner got a recycled toy, which I delivered on a later date. The kids enjoyed the time together so much that Sienna started to host the party weekly with new games each time!
Let me know if you like this inspiration. Sienna is working on her fourth party so far! A few weeks ago they made OObleck, which I’m not sure all of the parents appreciated. However, in desperate times… 😃