10 tips on how to Plan for a Special Occasion during the Lockdown.

I am an event planner based in Chicago, and as the stay-at-home orders have been put into place, I had to quickly adjust to a new world of all-virtual events. While I have integrated virtual experiences into events before, I still had to adjust my thinking to accommodate parties where everyone is at home. I am finding the events I plan during the pandemic are being received with great enthusiasm! They bring guests a sense of normalcy, and a connection to their friends and family that is severely lacking at the moment. That is why I have decided to share some of my tips on how to make your special occasion memorable during the COVID-19 lockdown.

1. Virtual parties are still fun

Whether it’s a child’s birthday party, your anniversary, holiday party, or a corporate business networking event, making an occasion memorable and fun does not have to change just because we are stuck at home or working remotely. A little planning and effort can make what might seem like a poor replacement for an annual party, into one of the bright spots of the quarantine. You just need to be a little more creative and use some of the online tools and services that are now available. If you are on the fence about throwing a virtual party, don’t be! Throw that party!

Remember, most of your guests are in the same boat you are in. They are likely bored, looking for new experiences while staying at home, or willing to do just about anything to occupy their kids’ time. The bar for success may be lower than you think! If you can provide a fun and unique experience I guarantee they will thank you for it.

2. Plan an activity everyone can share

One of the challenges of a virtual party is that everyone is talking to everyone at the same time. Without direction, this can lead to a couple of people monopolizing the conversation. You don’t want to let Uncle Pete or your CEO tell everyone about their collection of bottle caps for ten minutes. One way to prevent this is to have an activity that everyone is involved in. Do you enjoy crafting, games, or karaoke? You could easily incorporate any of these activities with just a little forethought. For example, host a game night! Zoom has features where you can sort guests into breakout groups to form “teams” for trivia nights, or even have the whole group together for bingo night.

I recommend having at least one person in charge of running the night to keep a structure and not have the night go off the rails! Sounds complicated? Let my team at Fierce Productions run the technical aspects and let you, and your guests just focus on the fun! I recently hosted a trivia night for someone’s 21st birthday. I was able to connect the birthday girl with all her friends from around the U.S. during her special day. There were even gift cards for the winning team, which added a bit more competition and fun for the night.

Virtual Trivia is another great activity! For the holidays, we hired actors to virtually host an LA based production company! They sang improvised holiday songs in between rounds of holiday trivia. The trivia was themed after holiday movies like Home Alone and Miracle on 34th Street. There was a winner and a loser for each round who won prizes that tied into the theme of the movie. For example the winner of Home Alone got a $100 gift card for pizza and the loser got a toothbrush approved by the American Dental Association!! We did full service planning for this company. We designed the invitations, managed the RSVPs, hired the talent, produced the Trivia content and ran the show!

3. Provide entertainment

There are a ton of musicians, actors, performers, and people with any number of skills that do not have work right now. If you have a favorite local performer, or if you think your guests would like to learn a skill, reach out to these professionals and I’m sure they will be happy to work with you and your event. Recently I helped throw a virtual bachelorette party where I hired my friend Rachel from Face at Your Place, a makeup artist in Los Angeles, to teach the guests several makeup techniques with makeup they already had at home. I also work with local musicians like Nicholas Davio and drag performers to do a live performance, or record a personalized virtual serenade for any celebration as part of my “Parties To Go” service. We can even help you host a Virtual Drag Brunch or Virtual Drag Bingo!

Having entertainment as part of your party can help bring structure and focus to an online event. Remember to plan the entertainment to arrive at a logical time, and make sure to introduce the performer so your guests know to start paying attention. Don’t be afraid to mute guests that are not respecting the performers’ time, or have the guests muted upon arrival and give guests spotlights during the event. Did the performer send you a pre-recorded video? Share your screen during the party, or use another streaming platform to showcase the performance.

For the Holidays, we wrote, directed and produced a 1980s High Prom Murder Mystery Party! We wrote a custom script for a Seattle Based Tech Company. We hired professional actors and wrote prompts and characters for the employees of the company so they could join in! Some of the characters they played were the Jock, the Cheerleader, the Nerd, and the Lunch Lady. We even sent each employee a 1980s themed party kit with a colorful cocktail that had glitter and neon sugar for the rim!

4. Provide food and drinks

At most get-togethers, the host is expected to provide food and drinks. This may not be possible in the way you are used to, but there are a couple of ways around this. If you are putting together a small family gathering, you might consider making food ahead of time and delivering it, or having guests pick it up from the same restaurant. Remember to keep your social distance and remind the guests to handle the food containers in a safe manner. If you do this, you can all share the same meal together, even if it is reheated. Another option is to send out a recipe in advance, have everyone try to make it beforehand, and compare results virtually. Maybe even have a fun cook off!

You could even plan on teaching your guests to make something during your event. I recently held a party where I had a professional bartender, Nuky, teach all the guests how to make several themed drinks. By providing the recipes before the party, I helped ensure the guests would be able to participate and enjoy the cocktails during the tutorial. At one birthday party the host taught everyone how to make three-minute brownies with ingredients almost everyone already had. When the brownies were finished, everyone sang “Happy Birthday” with their individual mug full of a brownie.

5. The romance isn’t dead

A romantic evening with your significant other is one of the few things you can still do without worrying about social distancing. You just need to take your at-home date to the next level. Flowers, candy, a private serenade, and dinner from your favorite restaurant are still within your reach. The dinner will be delivered and the serenade might be virtual, but the experience of a great date night can still be obtained and memorable.

I have had so many requests to help plan these types of private encounters that I have started to offer delivered party kits to employees of corporations for their virtual parties and to guests of baby showers and bday parties. It takes the hassle out of planning that perfect virtual event by being a one-stop shop for everything that you need. I am based out of Chicago but can often arrange safe delivery of the supplies to many cities. Plus allowing someone like Fierce Productions to handle most of the work allows for an easy way to surprise your significant other. Contact us here to learn more.

Whether you arrange a virtual event through a service like mine, or arrange all the components yourself, don’t let the quarantine put a damper on your life’s celebrations or business moral!

6. Have a theme

I think a theme is a good idea for almost any party, and a virtual party is no exception. Getting dressed up can be a fun way for your guests to show off their creativity, and a great way to start a conversation. I recently held a virtual 80’s themed party, and guests surely dressed to impress! Make sure to compliment the guests who put forth the most effort. Maybe even gently prod those who are not on theme to go put on some accessories, or have a costume contest as an incentive for guests to dress up. Having a theme is another great way to keep the party organized, yet also memorable.

We planned an Ugly Sweater Secret Santa for a Texas based nutrition company who wanted to have a trivia night based around their company. We hired a professional host who played games with them and helped them make virtual Secret Santa exciting. The company bought grub hub gift cards for their employees so they could order dinner! Every one dressed up and it was a blast.

7. Let guests know what to expect

Provide your guests with a general timetable of events. Remember this is not a normal party--someone can’t just walk into another room to find a new environment or conversation. If you keep to a schedule, your guests will be able to arrive and depart while still participating in the activities they are interested in. In addition, make sure to let your guests know what supplies they might need to participate in the party to the full extent, and give them enough lead time to not feel rushed in getting them. Your party will be way more fun if everybody had time to fit your theme, and participate in any activities that you planned.

Learn even more about virtual event planning from this article we were featured in! We talk about how to throw a virtual New Years Eve Party that is actually fun! These tools can apply to any virtual party - even a corporate event!

8. Use more than just Zoom

There is currently no single video-sharing service that can do everything that you might need. Don’t be afraid to mix and match services to get all the functionality you need. Recently, I threw a virtual dance party on Zoom. I hired my good friend DJ Mykol of Cage and Aquarium, and over 70 guests attended. Zoom is great for chatting and interacting, but not good for playing music. To get around Zoom’s limitations, I decided to also send all of the guests to the DJ’s Twitch stream for crystal clear music. Using this setup allowed the guests to adjust their own volume level, and for me and the presenters to speak on Zoom without interrupting the music on Twitch. Later some of the guests also mentioned that they used an app called Houseparty to chat in smaller groups during parts of the party. Do a little research and find what services will be best for what you’re planning.

Beyond the services I used, there are a ton of others that you can take advantage of. Here are just a few:

Netflix Party – Allows you to watch a movie or show at the same time as your friends
Jackbox Games – Have social games that can be played on your phone
Cards Against Humanity – Play the classic adult card game online with your friends. Just share the code and play!
My Free Bingo Cards – Send Bingo cards to all your friends and play virtual Bingo!
Charades Generator – Can always play virtual charades! Just have a generator!

9. Take control of your Zoom meeting!

It can be tempting to just invite all your guests to a virtual party and let them talk amongst themselves. This can work for small groups but does not work well for larger events. Have a plan for the flow of your party and use Zoom to your advantage. In the virtual dance party, I could mute everyone’s microphone to prevent reverb, and I continually switched whose video was pinned. This put a virtual spotlight on the guests who were dancing best or were doing something ridiculous. It kept the party interesting to watch and gave everyone a little chance to perform for twenty seconds at a time.

You can use this same tactic in any type of event. At a child’s birthday party, you could teach the kids a game where everyone has to try to mimic the dance moves of the kid on screen. For adults, you could make up a story and have each person that is spotlighted add a line to it. Just be creative, and try to involve everyone. Afterall, connection is what we are after during these virtual parties!

10. Ask for help

A bit of shameless self-promotion here, but remember you can always hire someone on whom to offload some of the work. My job is to make events fun, interesting, and easy for the host. That job does not stop just because the event is being held virtually! I can help you coordinate deliveries of food and supplies. I can help you find a great entertainer, or come up with a fun activity that engages your guests. I can even take charge and manage your party or corporate event so you can sit back and enjoy just like your guests, instead of stressing out the whole time. I am an event planner, and along with my team, we will help plan your creative vision!

I know everyone can’t hire an event planning professional, but don’t let that stop you from asking for help! Feel free to ask your sister to be behind-the-scenes of the Zoom call. Ask your friend to lead everyone in a game. Have your kids dress up as waiters for your romantic date night, then have them go into the basement and watch a movie. Do whatever you can to make your event fun and entertaining for yourself along with your guests.

Stay safe, and we will get through this together even if we are apart.

10 Tips on How to Throw a Virtual Party