Fun Activities To Do With Friends And Family Members Over Video Chat

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Staying home and keeping a safe distance from others means you can’t see your friends and some of your family members in person right now. But that doesn’t mean you can’t connect with them! Video calls are a great way to stay in touch with loved ones and see each others’ smiles from any distance. Here are some fun ideas to try together the next time you chat.

Play a game

Our game suggestions below don’t require anything more than a solid video connection. If you’re ready for the next level, try playing a board game by facing the camera toward the game board and using this virtual dice roller. This works best for simple games where you roll a die or draw cards to move around the board, like in Candyland or Sorry! 

Charades 

One player at a time thinks of a word or phrase. Then they have to act it out for the other players – but no talking! Use a phone to set a time limit for each round, and try to guess before time runs out. If you want you can choose a theme for the game, like sports or animals.

I Spy 

For I spy, you can make the video call on a portable device (like a smartphone) and bring your video caller into different rooms in your home. Face the camera toward the room and have them “spy” different items!

20 Questions 

This one is a 2-player game, but you can rotate who is playing because each round goes pretty quickly. One player thinks of a person, place or thing. They tell the other player which category their word falls into. For example, if their word is “pizza” they would say “thing.” The other player can ask only 20 questions to try to guess!

Read aloud

Bring a good book to the call and read it aloud (don’t forget to share the pictures)! You can make this extra cozy with blankets and a hot drink. To find new books online, head to your local library’s website to look for ebooks. Or check out the Oxford Owl, which has a free ebook library designed for ages three to 11. Parents, you can make this more of an extended activity by having your kids write and illustrate their own story before a video call! Reading aloud via video chat is a great way to enlist grandparents and allow kids to stay connected with them virtually. As an added bonus, it can buy you some “me” time – either to make dinner, get some work done or just sit down and have a cup of tea.

DIY from a distance

At KiwiCo we have a ton of ideas for simple DIY projects using common household items. Craft origami paper bracelets together while talking about your day. And entertain each other with toilet paper roll kazoos or a shadow puppet show

Show and Tell

Your friends and family members want to know what matters to you! Maybe it’s a favorite toy, an awesome DIY project you made, or even a new song you love. Show it off and talk about why you like it and any facts you know about it.

Eat, Bake, or Cook Together

You don’t have to sign off of your call when dinner’s ready! Take the chance to enjoy a meal together. You can even cook or bake the same recipe with each other, then sit and enjoy your food while catching up. You can even prepare the same meal together from a distance! Sometimes we can feel most connected when we share our everyday activities with one another, rather than treating a video call as a separate activity.

Need some recipe ideas? Check out the site weelicious for easy meals that kids can make with help from a grownup. 

7 Replies to “Fun Activities To Do With Friends And Family Members Over Video Chat”

  1. All of these ideas sound like perfect memories! It’s important for us to remember that memories can still be made even if it’s through a video call.

  2. This is great! As a grandparent with grandkids in another state, I really appreciate your suggestions and your products.

  3. We played Kahoot today with a bunch of us from all over the country for my mom’s birthday…it was so fun!! We’re going to do it with our student ministry for a “Family Trivia Night LIVE” on FB this week too!!

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