Five Best Virtual Party Themes

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and resulting quarantine, many of us are turning to virtual parties as a way to hang out with our friends. Hanging out online may even be easier than hanging out in person was because there’s no requirement to get dressed up (at least from the shoulders down), and you can interact with friends all over the world. Still doing nothing except taking shots over FaceTime can get a little boring, so here are some ideas for virtual party themes for your next Zoom session, Google Hangout, or Group FaceTime. 

Game Night

Invite all your friends to a virtual game night. Many rising platforms have been created to serve just this purpose. Play a virtual Cards Against Humanity style game called “Remote Insensitivity” as well as classics like “Crazy Eights” and “Go Fish” by inviting friends to a virtual room on PlayingCards.io. Houseparty offers a hosted video chat with games such as “Heads Up!” and “Quick Draw.” You can also check out Tabletop Simulator for virtual board games, just be warned sore losers have the option of “flipping the table” which ends the game. If you feel like it, you can always play a more traditional drinking game via video chat, or download one of many apps that allow users to play games together.

Trivia 

Host a trivia night for all your friends. Pick out the questions ahead of time and decide on categories. If your group enjoys it, consider rotating hosting duty weekly so everyone gets a chance to participate. You can also invite friends to submit facts about themselves and create a trivia quiz based around your friend group. Or add a drinking element requiring those with wrong answers to take a sip.

Beach Party 

Dig out your favorite Hawaiian shirt, and break out the rum. The nearest beach might be hundreds of miles away but tonight you can pretend the sand is beneath your feet, just out of view of your webcam. Change your Zoom background to a tropical scene, and prepare to party the night away. Try playing the “Hawaiian Name Game” a twist on the traditional movement name game: look up your Hawaiian Name and add an action alongside it, then go in a circle reciting your name and motion, with each person repeating the previous names and gestures as well as their own. This already challenging activity only gets harder and more ridiculous with the addition of alcohol consumption. You can even add rules such as take a drink for every mispronunciation or forgotten movement. 

Movie Night

Grab the remote and settle into bed like you do every other night, except this time with the company of your friends. The extension Netflix party lets you watch a movie with your friends, from the comfort of your respective homes. Consider adding in a fun drinking game to go along with a classic movie. Decide on the rules beforehand, like “drink whenever Allie and Noah kiss” in “The Notebook,” and see if you can make it through the full film.

Cooking Party

Pick a recipe and send out the ingredients list ahead of time. Then, set up your laptop in your kitchen and cook alongside your friends. If you’re the host you might want to consider narrating your actions like on your favorite cooking show. Your friends can attempt to follow along, and you can all enjoy dinner and a drink together. Not exciting enough? Make it a competition. Try baking and decorating cupcakes and seeing whose creation looks like the work of the next baking champ and whose dessert disaster looks more like a scene from “Nailed It.” The loser owes the winner a round of drinks when this is all over.

Try these virtual party themes or create your own, but make the time to keep in touch with your friends. We’re all missing our friends and routines during quarantine, including our wild nights out, but you really can still have fun from the comfort of your own home. Let’s be honest, all you ever really needed to have a good time was some good company and a few drinks.