On Mondays, we often talk about different foods you might want to incorporate into your diet. But, today, we are talking about food for the soul instead. Many of us are being cut off from our friends and families, and that can lead to feeling down. Connecting with people is more important than ever because it can give us a sense of while being even as the news is giving us frightening information.
We wrote, in a previous blog, about keeping in touch with family. Regardless of if you are using Skype, Facetime, Google Duo, Zoom or another program, seeing one another can help more than a phone call. Today we’re talking about something else: theming your get together for more fun.
We’ve been hearing a lot about how people are bringing fun to their online chats. We think just seeing each other can be enough, but if you are bored and want to spice it up, here are some other ideas.
A team member of ours was concerned about her older father. He lives alone and can’t see his friends. When she called to see if he was doing okay, he laughed and said he had seen more of his friends than he had for ages and had been part of a dinner party. She was concerned that he was ignoring the public health advice. He quickly assured her that he was following the rules. He and his friends emailed each other recipes to cook in their own homes. The recipes weren’t individual servings, so it gave everyone leftovers for the week. They all cooked the same meal, and had dinner together over a video app, complimenting each other on their recipes. Not only did he see his friends who he couldn’t be with — despite living in the same city — friends from other states joined in the fun!
We heard another story about a lady in a nursing home who has been cut off from her family for over three weeks. She planned to have a glass of wine with her friends in the home, as they were isolated together. But, she was told that, despite being in the same home, people weren’t allowed to visit each other’s rooms. They came up with a new plan and had wine in their own spaces but joined each other by video to make it a cocktail party and still spent some quality time together. If you or our friends don’t drink, have a coffee hour instead!
While we are stuck inside, many of us are turning to our TVs for fun. Instead of just having a show or movie for company, people are setting up viewing parties. Netflix has even made it so that people can sync their accounts so that it pauses at the same time. We love the idea, but you can have a viewing party for anything. Most digital services, like Amazon Prime, Hulu and Netflix, have a free trial period. If you don’t have a subscription, you can still enjoy their content. Many streaming services are extending their free trial period.
One of our team members had wanted to see the Pixar movie Onward in the theater. Now, Disney+ is adding it to its lineup early. She and some friends will be watching it together from their own homes. The best part of a movie is talking about it with other people! Additionally, some of her friends who are Disney fans don’t know each other but will be meeting each other over the internet. We hope they will hit it off and be friends once the quarantine is over!
Hopefully, these ideas will help you plan your own digital get together and let you experience sharing time with your friends in new ways. It’s fun to try new things when we’re being told not to do so many activities we would enjoy usually. Let us know what you’re doing to theme your get together! Email us at socialmedia@neulivenhealth.com.
