Miss Your Friends? Plan a Virtual Party!
How To Have a Super Fun Virtual PJ Party In 8 Easy Steps!
Today on Ask Nikki, I decided to tackle a really important question that I’ve probably been asked a hundred times since the COVID Pandemic began.
With many schools moving to virtual classrooms and everyone practicing social distancing, almost ALL of us are missing our FRIENDS.
WARNING! This column is kind of long, but it has lots of great info, including a real virtual PJ Party.
Dear Nikki,
Since the pandemic, I haven’t been able to hang out with my best friends for what seems like FOREVER!
We all miss each other and are totally MISERABLE
!
To make matters worse, our parents have decided that we shouldn’t spend time together in person until the COVID situation is under control.
Do you have any ideas for how we can hang out with each other and laugh and have fun like we used to?
BROKENHEARTED, BITTER, AND BORED BFFs!
(Kiara, Amy, Olivia, Emily, Sofia, Emma, Ava and Imani)
Dear BROKENHEARTED, BITTER, AND BORED BFFs,
Yes, I have a FANTASTIC idea for how you and your BFFs can spend time with each other and laugh and have fun just like you used to before COVID!
Actually, I have SO MANY ideas, that I’m dividing this advice column into PART 1 that I’ll post today and PART 2 that I’ll post Saturday on Ask Brandon.
The PERFECT way to safely hang out with your BFFs and have a BLAST while you’re doing it is to follow my advice about:
HOW TO HAVE A SUPER FUN VIRTUAL PJ PARTY IN 8 EASY STEPS!
Our superfan, LemonNerdy, actually took MY advice and had her own virtual PJ Party a few weeks ago.
She invited five of her best friends and they had a BLAST!! The BEST part is that she has agreed to share several live videos from HER party!
You can meet all of LemonNerdy’s very cool friends and watch them hang out together a bit later in this column.
But FIRST, let’s start by planning YOUR VIRTUAL PJ PARTY!…
HOW TO HAVE A SUPER FUN VIRTUAL PJ PARTY IN 8 EASY STEPS!
Step 1) Make a List of Friends You Plan to Invite To Your Virtual PJ Party
Making a guest list is always the exciting part of planning a party!
To start, determine the number of people you want to invite. You can have a small party with 2 to 3 friends or a larger party with 4 to 6 friends. Keep in mind that the more people you invite, the more work it’s going to be to keep everyone entertained and feeling included at a virtual party.
When creating your list, consider your closest friends first since you’ll enjoy hanging out with the most. My personal list for a small party would definitely include my BFFs, Zoey and Chloe!
Step 2) Select A Video Conferencing Service For Your Party
Be sure to ask your parents for permission to use a video conferencing service for your party. If your parent(s) work from home, they might already have an account that you can use Otherwise, your parent can sign-up for one in their name that you can use.
Zoom is probably the most popular service. It’s also totally FREE for the first 40 minutes! However, using the FREE service means that you and your friends might have to log out and then log back in every 40 minutes for however long your party lasts.
Step 3) Select a Date and Time and Send Out Party Invites
Like a real PJ party, the ideal time is a Friday or Saturday evening. While a real PJ party is a sleepover that goes on for hours, an online one probably shouldn’t last longer than two hours. Guests may get bored after a while since it’s a virtual party.
There are several ways you can send out invites for your party. First, you can buy or make your own paper invites and mail them through your local post office. However, be sure to mail the invites 12 to 14 days before your party so that they get delivered in time.
The second option is to send invites to your friends by email. It can be as simple as a short letter or include a cute invitation.
The third way is to use a free online invitation service like “Evites,” which has an assortment of fun invitations that can be personalized with your party details.
Be sure to include your name and the date and time for your virtual PJ party along with any special instructions for activities. And, most importantly, don’t forget to provide a link to your party on the video conferencing service you’ll be using.
Step 4) Choose Some Fun Games and Activities That Can Be Played Online
Games are fun and a huge part of any party! Since your PJ party is virtual, interactive games like “Two Lies and A Truth” and “Truth or Dare” will be a BLAST!! A virtual karaoke or dance contest would be an exciting activity as well. You can also vote on awards for Best Singer, Best Dancer, Best Song, Best Celeb Impression, and Cutest Costume. Try finding cool games and activities online that can be played on a cell phone during your party.
Our superfan, Eden, had a virtual PJ Party and with five BFFs! One of her favorite party activities was answering questions from our Dork Diaries book called, “OMG! All About Me Diary!”
Check out the two videos below of LemonNerdy and her friends having fun answering OMG! Diary questions. You can watch Part 1 and Part 2 below!:
OMG! Questions Part 1
OMG! Questions Part 2
I hope you enjoyed the first half of my advice column, “How To Have a Super Fun Virtual PJ Party In 8 Easy Steps!”
I will post the SECOND HALF which will include Steps 5, 6, 7, and 8 this Saturday. So, check back to find out the final FOUR steps in planning the PERFECT virtual PJ Party!
Do you miss hanging out with YOUR friends? If so, why not start planning YOUR virtual PJ Party right now! I would LOVE to see your Party Guest List (first names only please!) and TWO fun Games and/or Activities that you’d pick for your party. Please post everything in the comments section below. Even if you don’t actually have a party, it would still be really fun to plan one, right?!
