How To Host The Best Zoom Party (Without Spending Money!)

How have you been keeping in contact with your loved ones in lockdown? Have you been texting, calling, Facetiming or something else? Although the current health crisis does feel very big and scary, I think we really are lucky to be surrounded by so many technological advancements. We can be there to support our friends and family, without actually being there.

Of course, like most people, I'd kill to give my friends a hug or at the very least venture out for a coffee and a catch-up. But most of my friends live on opposite corners of the UK; so not exactly walking distance.

Zoom has been an absolute godsend for me in both a professional and personal context. I'm no longer on Furlough, so I'm spending most of my mornings on Zoom calls with clients instead of letting them know my personal contact details. But once the boring 9-5 is over, I begin to plan my weekly Zoom parties.

The whole thing initially started out as a surprise Zoom party for my best mate, who had to spend her 22nd stuck in Gibraltar. This was also back when most people thought that lockdown was only going to be a thing for a few weeks. The whole night was a mixture of catching up, quizzes and Cards Against Humanity; in all honesty, it took us away from all the utter rubbish going on in our lives at the moment, so we decided to continue it.

2 months later, it's still going strong. It's the one thing that I look forward too at the moment and motivates me to keep practising my makeup skills.

So I thought I'd take a little moment to sit and share what we do, I have an absolute ball-ache trying to put stuff together and think of ideas. So maybe this will help other people planning on hosting a little Zoom get together.

Things To Remember When Planning Your Zoom Party

There's no rush

You haven't seen your friends for ages. So try not to keep the layout of the night too structured. Everyone needs a chance to catch up!

It's lockdown, not mastermind!

I learnt very quickly that keeping the questions easy for in a category your friends will know really does help morale stay high. I'm not saying my friends are stupid, they're bloody smart, and that's one of the reasons why I love them. But its lockdown, I don't know anyone who has spent every waking moment testing their brainpower or mental maths.

If nobody gets the questions right, there is no healthy competition, and it really does put a dampener on the mood.

Obviously don't spoon-feed the answers either, just don't be an idiot when you're researching the questions!

It's the perfect time to mix groups.

Our current Zoom group is a mixture of three social circles that have been moulded together. Let's face it, Zoom itself can be kind of intimidating, and the idea of 14 faces staring straight at you isn't the perfect social situation. But it's one everyone is surprisingly thriving in and becoming more welcoming to change.

Game Ideas For Zoom Parties

Scavenger Hunt

This is such a good ice breaker and really gets everyone in the mood for the games ahead. Simply make a list of generic household items that every home should have and send it to your friends so they can track them all down. Once they've found the things ask them to take a picture with the item so you can authenticate it (or just get a jokey picture of them with a loo brush for their birthday). It's such a fun game to start off with, especially if you give them a minimal amount of time to get the items.

Pub Quiz

I plan on writing a list of right pub quiz questions soon, so fingers crossed that will be linked here. But in the meantime, you can find loads of pub quizzes (and answers!) published on news sites weekly! The Herald News has been a perfect one, and they provide a good two hours worth of questions. However, I pick and choose which questions to ask and try to see how many I can ask within a specific time frame.

Guess The Song

It feels like it took me forever to crack the logistics of the music round. But once I tell you it'll probably feel like the most obvious thing in the world.

Pictionary

You can actually open up a whiteboard on zoom which allows attendees to draw/ annotate. That means Pictionary! Simply message your friends a word to draw and let the fun start!

Cards Against Humanity

I, unfortunately, don't have cards against Humanity online but you can buy it for like $15. Cards Against Humanity is the best game, and nobody can fight me on that!

Scattergories

This feels like it was made for a younger audience, but I can see the value in it. To play, head to this free game generator and send each person a link to the game. The rules are simple: there is one letter and five categories. You have 60 seconds to come up with a word that fits in each category and starts with the chosen letter. The more unique your answer is compared to your friends' responses, the more points you get.

Bingo

Personally, I haven't played Bingo with my friends as I know it's not really their cup of tea. But it's an excellent way to get competitive if you think your attendees will like it!

Charades

This one works on the same principles as Pictionary. It doesn't need breakout rooms or anything too sophisticated as it's fun to watch the other team guess. Just direct message the person the word they have to act out and watch!

Most Likely Too/Truth or Dare

Bit of a University one here, but Most Likely Too is a winner no matter how you choose to play it. But it does run a little smoother when you're calling out your friends over video call rather than face to face.

Escape Room (or Escape ZOOM)

I've been working on making escape rooms for my friends recently. Instead of everyone being together trying to escape a small room, they're working together to solve a series of challenging puzzles via Zoom.

I would have done these puzzles a lot earlier, but if I'm frank, none of us would have had the brain capacity to solve them.

You can make your escape zoom puzzles by making cute graphics over on Canva. Then attaching challenging teasers, riddles and puzzles for your friends to solve.

It's quite fun for you too, as you have to make up your storyline for the room and get everyone into the mood.