How to Stay Connected With Your Loved Ones
Written By Janelle Martel
There are so many important reasons to stay connected with your loved ones - from improving your mental health and inducing happiness to providing support for each other and even benefiting your physical health. But, in the times of COVID and social distancing, it can seem difficult and almost impossible to maintain these social connections. Luckily, with some creativity and the power of tech, there are many fun ways to stay connected with your loved ones.
Cook a Meal Together
If you loved dinner parties pre-COVID, you can still enjoy a meal together virtually. Pick out a recipe together and assemble the ingredients and then meet over video chat with a glass of wine for a distanced cooking party and shared dinner. If you like something a little more streamlined, try a meal delivery service or grab a DIY Cookie Dough Kit for a virtual dessert night. If you’re not into cooking, you can always order the same meal to enjoy together over video chat.
Host a Virtual Game Night
If your video chats are getting repetitive, plan something more exciting like a virtual game night. There are so many easy ways to do this, such as the Houseparty App, which allows you to play Heads Up! or Trivia while video chatting, get nostalgic with MarioKart Tour, set up JackBox Games which is always guaranteed to provide plenty of laughs, or use Playing Cards to connect over classic card and board games. And, of course, don’t forget to grab your favorite edible cookie dough flavor for a snack.
Send a Little Something
Connecting virtually is great, but there’s something about receiving something special in the mail that can help to brighten your loved one’s day. Try one of these Best 13 Gifts to Send During COVID, or send a card, postcard, or note for some much-needed happy mail.
Set Up an Online Movie Night
For when you need a bit of company but aren’t up to being overly social, an online movie night is a great way to connect with friends. There are many easy ways to share your streaming service with others, including Teleparty (previously Netflix Party), KAST, Hulu Watch Party, and Amazon Prime Watch Party. In addition to sharing the synched video, these services allow you to chat as much as you’d like while watching to help you stay connected with your loved ones.
Host a Coffee and Book Club
If you’ve been into reading more during quarantine, why not set up a virtual book club? Whether you decide to host weekly or monthly, it provides you with a fun way to stay in touch as well as set up some reading goals for yourself. Brew yourself up a warm cup of coffee and set up Zoom, allowing the conversation about the book to develop naturally, or get inspired with these 40 Best Discussion Questions for Any Book. And, for an added treat, may we suggest some of our Delicious Doughy Cookies to go alongside your coffee?
Get Active Together
Staying active is that much more fun with friends - plus, the added accountability can make it that much easier to ensure that you stick to your movement goals. Try chatting on the phone while taking a run or walk in your own neighborhoods, or start an online fitness challenge together like Yoga with Adriene’s 30 Day Yoga Journey, Tone It Up’s 21 Day Fitness Program, or Kayla Itsines’ 28 Day Bodyweight Workout Plan and make a plan to check in with each other each day. If you’re needing more live motivation, set up a video chat and take an online class together such as one through OBE Fitness or Peloton. You can even add each other as friends through the fitness tracker you use for a little friendly competition.
Share Photos
It’s always fun to see what your loved ones are up to, and sharing photos is a great way to do this. While typical social media channels are awesome, you can also create a closed Facebook group to share family photos or set up a Shutterfly account, which makes it easy for family members to order prints of photos they love to feel even more connected.
Hold a Virtual Paint Night
Crafting is a great way to get creative and social - as well as give you something to look forward to! If you have a local painting studio, try checking to see if they have any kits available for curbside pickup, and then set a time to video chat and paint with your friends. If not, many online services make it easy to set up for a virtual paint night such as Yaymaker or PaintingParties.com.
Plan Future Trips
While we’re all experiencing wanderlust these days, why not capitalize on it and daydream together? Set up a Pinterest Group Board and use it to share inspiration for a future trip with your loved ones. Encourage your loved ones to search for your dream destination and pin gorgeous travel photos, ideas of activities and restaurants to check out, and travel outfit inspiration.