Have you ever considered a virtual family reunion? If your family is anything like mine, then you are familiar with the annual, or perhaps the bi-annual, family reunion. The tradition of a regular family reunion keeps family members of all ages connected, even when life keeps them apart.
How To Host A Virtual Family Reunion
My mom’s parents have diligently made sure a traditional family reunion was held for as long as I can remember. This family gathering always included as many family members as possible, from the oldest generation, all the way down to the great-grandchildren.
I have very fond memories of traipsing through the Oregon forests or swimming in the Idaho Hot Springs with my aunts, uncles, and cousins. Some of my fond memories include this silly little ‘magic trick’ my uncle used to do with his fingers, or hiding from softball-sized hail in the overhang at the park with my aunt and cousins.
amily reunions are a lot of fun for families all over the world. But sometimes, circumstances such as money, illness, or other unfortunate situations get in the way and families just can’t get together regularly. It’s times like these that a virtual family reunion might be worth considering.
Unfortunately, this year’s circumstances have required that my family move our beloved family reunion to the internet, and it has fallen on me to come up with some fun virtual family reunion activities and ideas. Since I was doing the research anyway, I thought I’d share what I came up with here for you to enjoy!
The Problems Virtual Reunions and Virtual Events Can Present
The trick with hosting virtual events is that participants must depend on the internet for keeping in touch. Social media, Skype, and other online tools can be useful for random connections or even small group gatherings, but will they work for large get-togethers? Internet connections and schedules, including time-zones, can be sketchy, and some family members are too young to really enjoy connecting through computer screens.
Some problems may include:
Time zones
Schedules
Stable Internet Connections
Enough Devices for Every Single Participant
Accessibility to Outside Materials (for games and activities)
Ages of Participants (too young for devices for example)
Difficulty of Making Meaningful Connections Through A Screen
Lack of Online Tools
Lack of Online Accessibility (Does every family member have a social network account?)
These are the problems I am on a mission to solve – for my own family as well as yours.
The Best Platforms For A Virtual Family Get Together
There are many platforms to be considered when hosting a virtual event. But when you’re hosting a large group get together, the platform options are a bit more limited.
Here are a few of my favorite ideas for virtual events with large groups
Zoom
Zoom is a very popular and easy to use platform for live video groups. The free accounts allow for up to 40 minutes of live chat time and up to 100 different ‘members’ or devices.
Zoom can be used for live chats, live virtual games, or anything that needs to be handled face-to-face in real time.
Google Hangouts
I am not personally familiar with Google Hangouts, but sources say it is another good option for large virtual gatherings. It’s free and there is no time limit like there is on Zoom. However, participants must have either a Gmail account or a Chrome browser extension, which could possibly be limiting to some family members.
Email is perhaps the least interactive, if not the simplest to use. You can have emails going to a handful of participants, or a large group. Family members can bounce ideas off of each other and share and gather information or attachments. However, if there are too many responses, messages can start to get lost in the shuffle. Furthermore, because of the slow response time, it is more difficult to play games and do real-life activities together over email.
Facebook Groups
As much as people whine and gripe about Facebook, you can’t deny that this social media network really has set up a convenient platform. Facebook groups are a great platform for swapping information, conversations, ideas, and even posting videos. You can even host a live video on Facebook, although it is a one-sided event and only the host can be seen or heard.
Facebook Messenger Rooms
Facebook just rolled out a brand new feature to their site, Facebook Messenger Rooms. These messenger rooms are video chat rooms with a lot of safety and accessibility features using Facebook’s platform. I have never used them as they are so new, but they seem to be a great alternative to platforms such as Zoom or Skype. Depending on your room’s settings, participants do not need to download, log in, or connect to a messenger account to use this platform.
Kahoot
Kahoot is a fun quiz app that can be used virtually with many many users. The host creates a quiz with a set number of questions and answers, then users log in using a secret code and they can all participate in the quiz live. This is particularly fun when used in conjunction with Zoom or Facebook live video.
All of these platforms have their pros and cons, but each can be useful in some way for a virtual family reunion or other virtual get together. Just make sure that whatever platform(s) you choose, that every participant is familiar enough with it to get things turned on.
Consider testing your platform(s) of choice a few times before the virtual event so you can get all the kinks out.
Article Published by: Benjamin and Charlene Hess
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