Well, here we are. We were hoping that by now, this darn pandemic would be under control, but alas…we are having to celebrate the holidays virtually. Nothing can replace our loved ones in person, but we can try to make the best of the situation…whether it’s by creating photo gifts, like photo books, cards or slideshows, or whether it’s by hosting a virtual party, we can focus on the good! To help you make the best of your virtual Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations, here are some ideas for how to connect without sacrificing great memories.
Celebrating the Holidays Virtually?
As the holiday period approaches, we start to feel one of the biggest challenges that the pandemic brought us: the celebration of the Christmas and New Year period this year will not be like any other… Some of us live far away from their loved ones and will not be able to travel. Some others live in the same city, but will rather not organize a large gathering of the family for health concerns.
That’s why we wanted to share with you some tips on how to still be able to keep the holiday spirit, exchange best wishes for the new year and share special moments with family and friends during the pandemic. Even if we can not be physically together, why not throw an online party, play bingo together, send our loved ones a card or a gift to show that we think of them?
Here are some ideas that can give you some inspiration for this year’s celebrations.
1. Organize an Online Family Party
Well, I know everyone is a bit fed up with the computer and mobile screens this year…but at the same time, we all feel some gratitude about the availability of such a technology that makes it possible to maintain our social relations during the epidemic. For the holiday celebrations, video chat platforms will still be a winner, with the possibility to organize online family parties, not only to talk with each other but also play games, watch films and listen to music together.
Host a virtual party via Zoom or another video chat platform, then hit record and save it! Photo courtesy of Chris Montgomery.
If you looking for the best video chat platform to organize an online family gathering for the holiday period, select the one that suits your needs and matches the technical abilities of your participants.
Here are a few popular options for you:
Zoom
The free plan allows a group chat up to 100 participants with a limit of 40 minutes, while one-to-one calls are free without a time limit. Zoom is a quite accessible platform across various devices and its grid view showing all participants at the same time ensures a group interaction. Better yet, Zoom has removed the 40-minute limit for during the holidays to help families connect!
To set up a video chat, all you need is to sign up to Zoom, either by visiting the Zoom website on your web browser or by downloading the app to your device. Once you set up the call and share the link with other participants, they just click and join the call without much hassle, and not even needing to install the app. In my experience, the only challenge for the less tech-savvy friends and family members is to give audio and video permissions before starting the chat. They might need some help on this.
When it comes to creating and sharing memories… Zoom allows you to share your screen, so during your online gathering, you can also enjoy your photos of the year together or a slideshow that you created beforehand. As you see all participants in grid view on the screen, why not take a screenshot of your virtual holiday gathering to keep it as a memory of this unusual year? Zoom also allows audio and video recording of your sessions, if you want to keep a memory of the day. The only small downside of Zoom is the ongoing debate about its security, so be sure that you are informed any possible issues before you use it.
Our friend and client Kate Salmon-Robinson recently shared her experience with VidHug while hosting an online graduation party, so check that out for some cool inspiration!
Skype
Skype makes it possible to set up a video chat up to 50 people without any time limits. This has always been a reliable platform for professional video calls, but falls a bit behind for larger online family gatherings, as it is necessary to download the app, sign up and add the Skype accounts of other participants one-by-one before setting up a call…but if all participants already have a Skype account and you don’t mind spending some time for the set up of the group call, this can still be your favourite video chat platform to use. They also offers screen sharing and recording options.
With an aim to make it easy for everyone to virtually meet up during the holiday period, Skype recently started to offer easy video chat set up on web browsers. However, it still does not support all browsers and devices. And what’s more, although it says it is supporting Google Chrome, I still failed to set up a video chat between my Mac and iPhone, so it may not be as easy as you think with a larger audience.
Facebook Messenger Rooms
Setting up a Messenger Room is another free alternative allowing up to 50 participants without any time limit. I recently discovered the Messenger Room, which surprised me with its flexibility and ease of use. Along with others, I tested it with my family and this was the only platform where we did not have even any small problems across different age groups.
Only the person to host the meeting needs to have a Facebook or Facebook Messenger account. Once the meeting room is set up, other participants can easily join the room directly in any of their devices, without the need to download, log in or connect to Facebook or Messenger. It is possible to share your screen to display photos or make a slideshow too.
WhatsApp still remains the most widely used option for the basic video chats without additional features like screen sharing and recording, but just be aware that it has a limit of eight participants. All participants need to have the app installed on their phones. It is possible to use it on the computer as well, but still you will need to set it up with the app installed on your phone. WhatsApp is quite straightforward in making audio and video calls, but does not offer any screen sharing or recording options.
When you are planning an online family gathering, be sure to send invitations in advance so everyone can book the date and time, make sure to choose the best platform that suits all and remind everyone to make their audio and video equipment ready for the day! And you can even test the connection with less tech-savvy members beforehand to avoid any frustration on the day.
Besides a video chat, you can also consider organizing a virtual movie night with Netflix Teleparty, create and listen to a collaborative playlist on Spotify with holiday classics, create your unique bingo cards to print them or play virtually or play online games together with Houseparty.
2. Send an Online Photo Card
It is always very special to send a traditional holiday card to your loved ones, but it’s possible that some of you might not go out to buy some nice postcards and pass by the post office this year, so why not share your holiday wishes with an online card? Creating a personalized photo card and sending it to your loved ones virtually during the Christmas and New Year period is one of the easiest ways to share your memories.
Just select a photo of yourself, your family or a photo showing you together with your loved ones to receive the card. And you can quickly design your card on your phone or computer thanks to an app with lovely templates, like Canva or Fotojet. It is not as difficult as you may think! Here is a tutorial about how to create one online for free! Once you finalize your design, you can download your photo card as a JPG or PDF to share online or print.
Send a virtual card! Photo courtesy of Daria Shevtsova.
Another option is to design your personalized photo card on Shutterfly where you can order print cards to your postal address. With additional fees, Shutterfly even mails your cards directly to the recipients!
3. Create and Share a Slideshow
Video slideshows are the perfect tools to highlight the memories of the year. You can create slideshows with different types of themes too, from a selection of nice moments of your kids to share with grandparents or a selection of fun photos with friends to make everyone remember the happy days. You can either send your slideshow to your family and friends, or show them during your online gathering.
Create a slideshow for your family celebration! Photo courtesy of Tugce Selin Tagmat!
Here are some tips about how to create powerful slideshows, and we already have some tutorials at hand that you can use for creating slideshows:
- FilmoraGo – to create slideshows on your mobile
- iMovie – for Mac and iPhone users
- Microsoft Photos – for Windows users
- Shotcut – for Windows, Mac, and Linux
4. Create a Photo Book with This Year’s Memories
Perhaps you want to create a photo book and send it directly to your loved ones, so that they can spend the first days of the new year cherishing some memories? This can be a yearbook where you tell the story of the last year with photos, or you can use this occasion to create the long-promised but never-realized photo book project. A photo book or some printed photos of grandchildren are always a treasure for grandparents!
Photo Books are a classic way to celebrate and share your memories. Photo by Frelo Design.
We have some great ideas here about how to create and annual yearbook, and here are some ideas about how to choose the right book photo vendor. Just be aware that photo book projects always take time and the holiday period is a busy period for the photo book vendors, so try to start working on your photo book project in time (or you can aim for a small book) and order your photo book in advance.
5. Send a Photo Gift
Even if you are far away from your family and friends, you can still make your love and best wishes felt by sending them photo gifts!
Here are some ideas about photo gifts that can help them cherish memories in the new year:
Digital Photo Frames
Digital photo frames are amazing gifts to make the photo and video memories a part of our daily lives. There are a variety of options on the market that can be interesting for almost any age. Once your friend or family member has one set up at their home, depending on its features, you can even send photos wirelessly to be displayed on the frame. Here we have a blog post about how to pick the best digital photo frame as a gift.
Compact Printers
Compact photo printers also make cool gifts, especially for the younger family members and friends. With a photo printer, you can encourage others to regularly print and enjoy their photo memories in the upcoming year. Here we have a good overview for you about the best compact photo printers on the market.
Personalized Gifts
What about personalized photo gifts? If you take a look at Shutterfly or Collage, you will see that there are endless options of such gifts: mugs, puzzles, blankets, pillows, hoodies, Christmas decorations, canvas prints… and without any surprise, even photo printed masks!
Send a personalized photo gift to your family members! Photo courtesy of Olya Kobruseva.
Let the end of this year be a new beginning!
Despite all the challenges of 2020, let’s stay optimistic for 2021 and mark the closing of this year in the best way we can! And even if the pandemic forces us to stay apart, I hope you will find creative ways to keep the holiday spirit and share some nice moments with your family and friends! Happy Holidays!
Featured Photo Courtesy of Samira Rahi
