Why only host live parties that can get crazy expensive when you can have the instant and much more affordable fun of a good party by hosting one online? It won’t be exactly like a real get-together but you’d be surprised at how close it can get to it. However, if you want the party to be a success, you need to put in the same serious preparation that you do for live ones. There are some significant differences between organizing an online and an offline party. So you’ll need to utilize the right tools before and during the event to make sure that everything runs smoothly.
Here are 6 tips for hosting the perfect virtual party:
Take Care of Catering
You’re not actually going to need to hire a caterer for the event, but there are things that you can do to make the event feel like it is catered. If it’s for a small group of people, you could send coordinated meals to everyone who’s invited through a service like DoorDash or UberEats. Try to pick a national chain that everyone likes so you can send everyone the same thing. This will prevent people from getting envious.
Have a Theme and Have Everyone Participate
Another thing you want to coordinate is the décor. There is no need for everyone to decorate their rooms exactly the same, but the decor should have a similar theme so you can keep a cohesive aesthetic. This will help make everyone feel like they’re at the same party. You can also make some suggestions to make sure that everyone is on the same page. You could suggest that everyone goes for LED light strips in the same tones, for instance. These are the small details that will help make the virtual party feel real.
Make Your Room the Centerpiece
At the end of the day, however, it is your room that will be the center of attention, so make sure that you invest a little bit more in your decor. Try to have as many people from your household participate too as a lively main room will set the tone for the party’s ambiance. Here, we suggest you go to a nice party supplies site and look at things like strobe lighting, disco balls, and smoke machines. Try to find as many props that will fall within the party’s theme as well.
Send Virtual Invitations
If you’re going to host a virtual party, what better way to announce it than with virtual invitations? You could use a service like Greenvelope and send invitations to everyone you want to invite. The service will allow you to pull contacts directly from your email account and send beautiful, personalized invitations straight to their inbox. It also has a nice messenger feature that lets you stay in contact with the people that will be there and work out last-minute changes or cancellations.
Speaking of cancellations, you need to confirm with people at least two times before the event to make sure that everyone will be there. It would also be a good idea to send invitations at least four weeks before the event to allow everyone to prepare.
Decide Who’s Going to DJ
Next, you need to pick a DJ and build a tracklist. But first, do an informal survey among the people who will be present to know what type of music they’d like to hear. If you know someone who is great with tech and has a great ear for music, you could ask them to DJ the event. But it’s never too late to learn how to use DJ tools yourself, such as Algoriddim DJ. This tool will allow you to easily pull tracks from your music library and create your own mixes. You can also decide to mix tracks during your set or let the program create a mix for you. Alternatively, you could play music from your Spotify or Apple Music playlist. Make sure that you use Zoom for your party, however, as the platform makes it very easy to import audio from your computer.
Organize a Raffle
There are tons of things from regular parties that you can integrate into a virtual party. Nothing is stopping you from organizing a raffle, for instance. There are tons of tools that will allow you to create raffle tickets virtually and draw the winner using an automated picker. Raffal is one example and it will allow you to create raffles that can be shared with people in your party by email or text message. RallyUp is another great tool, and it’s a little more advanced since it was created for non-profits. So, check out both options and start brainstorming prize ideas.
As you can see, you can still host a pretty convincing party even if it’s done remotely. Always remember to plan early, get everyone involved, and don’t be afraid to be creative.
