3 Virtual Christmas Party Ideas for Kids & Families on Zoom – Low to No Cost
By: Sumera Garcia-Quadri
Thanks to technology, families, friends, and schools and small businesses across the world have been able to connect with each other during COVID-19! Being mindful of the fact that many countries are going into lockdown for a second time this year due to the spread of the virus, I would like to share some activities that we can all do online during such a beautiful time of year.
All you need to throw a fun holiday party on Zoom is a: tablet/pc/cellphone, internet, a few willing friends and family members, and a festive outfit. A bonus of having an online party is that you don't have to worry about splurging on fancy gifts or worrying about drinking and driving!
A quick tip if you're new to Zoom. There's a meeting time limit for free users. Go on the Zoom site for their plans or see if a member in your party has a paid account and can host the event for you.
1. Christmas Choir Party on Zoom – Inspired by my best friend, Diana
Goal: To heal the soul with music, to bond with others through a positive outlet, and to invite your family and friends to join in on the fun
Cost: free / the cost of Zoom for the month
Time commitment: a month
How:
1. Create a choir group.
2. Together, choose 4 songs and rehearsal times once a week for 4-weeks and the party date. Practice 1 song per week and leave one song for a sing-a-long at your party.
3. In an email, send out the weekly Zoom link, schedule, and the chosen song lyrics and karaoke MP3s.
4. Invite your guests to your party via email and attach the sing-a-long song lyrics.
Tips: The host should enable audio sharing and screen sharing for the song lyrics. Participants should try to connect microphones to their devices so that they can hear each other over the music. At the party, all of those performing should have their cameras on only. During the sing-a-long portion, ask guests to unmute themselves and turn on their cameras.
2. Wreath Making Party on Zoom
Goal: to enhance creativity, hand/fine-tuning skills, and to bond with friends and family through craft making.
Supplies: a plain wreath, glue gun, clear glue sticks, scissors, twist ties or string, and any decorations to dress your wreath with (cranberries, fake flowers, feathers or pine cones, tree branches, cinnamon sticks, gift wrapping paper, wires (be creative),
For a low-cost wreath, Dollarama has some under $3. To make your own, cut 2 large circles out of thick cardboard box and glue them together.
Cost: $10 & up
Time commitment: at least 2 days – factor in time to get the supplies and to distribute them if buying in bulk for a group. Time to create an email invitation and with design ideas, and a day for the festivity along with preparation and clean up.
How:
1.Set a date and time for the party and a time length
2. One-week before the event, send out an email containing the Zoom link and a list of the supplies. Include templates for different wreath designs to encourage creativity.
3. Towards the end of the party, ask everyone to show their wreath unfinished or finished, share what they're thought making process was, what they liked about the activity, and take a group picture for your social media!
Tips: If you're hosting this event for the first time, do practice making a wreath beforehand to get a sense of what issues your guests may face. Have a Christmas song list ready during the craft-making portion to set the mood. If sharing from your device, enable audio-sharing so the guests can hear the music clearly. You can also record the session on Zoom if you have a premium account.
3. Gingerbread Home Making Party on Zoom
Goal: to enhance creativity, to eat delicious candy and chocolate, and to bond with friends and family online through food building.
Supplies: 6 gingerbread squares (6 x 6 preferably), lots of icing bags, and tons of fun candy, chocolate, gift wrapping, whole spices (cinnamon sticks, cloves, etc). A gingerbread kit may be cheaper than buying the supplies individually but the designs are usually limited.
Cost: $15 & up
Time commitment: up to 2 days to get supplies/distribute if buying in bulk, to draft email and ideas and a day for the festivity.
How:
1.Set a date and time for the party and a time length
2. A week before the event, send out an email containing the Zoom link and a list of the supplies. Include templates for different gingerbread home designs to encourage creativity.
3. Towards the end of the party, ask everyone to show their home unfinished or finished, share what they're thought making process was, what they liked about the activity, and take a group picture for your social media!
Tip: If you're hosting this event for the first time, do practice making a home beforehand to get a sense of what issues your guests may face. Have a Christmas song list ready during the craft-making to set the mood. If sharing from your device, enable audio-sharing so the guests can hear the music clearly. You can also record the session on Zoom if you have a premium account.