Social distancing has proven to be hard, especially if you’re in a situation that requires you to quarantine alone. People are finding themselves in many different difficult situations, whether that being a highs schooler having to say goodbye to friends, a college student taking on more work from at home or even parents being cut from their social groups. No matter your given circumstances, here are five creative ideas to help you stay in touch with your friends during these trying times.
- Letters
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A way to brighten up someone’s day, especially a friend or family member’s, could be to send them a personal card in the mail! You can even get creative with this. Slip a meme or a funny picture in an envelope. Anything you can think of will suffice and make someone you care about smile when opening up their mail! Word of warning— according to Harvard Heath “a recent study found that the COVID-19 coronavirus can survive up to four hours on copper, up to 24 hours on cardboard, and up to two to three days on plastic and stainless steel” ( https://www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-basics ). If you feel like you or a loved one has been recently exposed, hold off on the letter until further notice. If you receive a letter in the mail, you can avoid touching it for the first 24 hours just to be safe.
- Netflix Party
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Want to have a movie night with your friends? Netflix Party is the perfect way to spend the night watching your favorite flicks with your best friends. Choose from the many options available on Netflix and watch it together simultaneously! For those who don’t have Netflix, a great substitute could be to FaceTime or Zoom and find one of the many movies YouTube offers for free on their website.
- Host a Dance Party!
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With the crazy amount of Tik Tok Dances going around, why not have a dance battle with the BFFs? Have a group video chat on Zoom and blast your favorite tunes. To make it more fun, you and your friends can plan a certain theme to fit a playlist you plan on jamming to. This option can be a great way to have fun, get in some cardio and relieve some stress!
- The Oscar Goes To…
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This option is a fun opportunity for friends to try out their acting chops. Google search some of your favorite movie’s scripts, assign some roles and memorize a scene— then try to act it out with friends! This challenge can be taken seriously or done jokingly, either can create some fun experiences with your fellow actors and actresses. Want to get even more creative? Find or make some props and costumes to go along with the scenes you choose.
- Recipe Club
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For those who love to cook and bake— this is the one for you! Talk amongst a group of friends and create a recipe club. The meals you make must involve one common ingredient amongst each individual. This ingredient can be a common household item like beans, rice or even bread. You can pick specific ingredients if you and your friends want to make the meals more challenging. The goal is to see what each person can think of making with each unique ingredient!