One of the things I’ve found myself looking forward to each week is the virtual happy hour my fiancé and I have scheduled with our friends. Around 6 pm we usually gather on one of the video conferencing platforms, drinks in hand, and recap on the week, dish on pop culture, and crack jokes well into the night.
Thankfully, as we approach our 8th week of doing this, we haven’t gotten tired of one another just yet. Along with the fact that our personalities mesh well, we try to switch things up every now and again. Either by incorporating different games, setting a theme, or indulging in deep conversations, we try to find new ways to keep ourselves entertained.
Since it seems we’ll be practicing social distancing a bit longer, virtual happy hours are here to stay for the time being. And to help make sure they don’t lose their excitement, I’ve put together a list of a few unique ways to switch things up.
Set A Theme
For our friend’s birthday, we decided to go with a Mexican theme. Each of us made margaritas and different snacks like chips and guac to fit the vibe. Not only was it fun to compare the types of margaritas we all made, the process beforehand of cooking everything up made getting ready for the happy hour more exciting.
Have A Group Activity
Maybe it’s everyone tuning into the same movie on Netflix with their Party feature, or hosting a sip and paint. Having a specific activity that everyone is engaged in, is helpful in keeping the group present and interested.
Make It A Game Night
Similar to the group activity, a great way to keep everyone engaged is by having some games on deck. A few games you can play virtually are “Never Have I Ever”, the newlywed game if you have a few couples, charades, guess the song, and so forth.
Use The House Party App
If you’re looking for a video conferencing app that’s a little more interactive, look no further than House Party. In this app you can video chat with a number of different friends, jump from “house party to house party”, and play games. The only downside is the games feature is available only when accessing the app on a tablet or your cell phone.
Order Out
To make happy hour even more special, try supporting a local restaurant and ordering out. Having a restaurant made platter of bites really helps to set the mood. One of our nearby restaurants, City Perch, has been doing a great virtual happy hour deal each Friday: 3 appetizers and a bottle of wine for $29!
Buy Everyone A Round
I was talking to a friend recently who told me that the women in her neighborhood had a little “sisterhood of the traveling wine” going on right now. Basically, each week different women get paired up and tasked to drop off a bottle of wine at another one’s house.
Try doing this with your friends for happy hour by switching off having someone deliver a different bottle or treat. If you live in different locations, there are apps like Drizly that’ll handle delivery for you. It’s a fun and exciting way to surprise one another each week.
