Celebrating an 80th Birthday Online
The Covid-19 pandemic has us all practicing social distancing and many of us looking to new technologies like Zoom for social connection. It has me figuring out how to help seniors use Zoom, which is how I found myself joining an 80th birthday party online.
Through a friend of a friend I met Janet. Active, dynamic and socially engaged, Janet is a Toronto-based senior with a wide circle of friends. I suspect Janet is that friend who is always bringing people together. When we first talked, Janet was figuring out how to host an 80th birthday party for her friend Diane, in this time of social distancing. Could we talk about using Zoom for that?
Yes! Of course we can talk about that. I love it!
It was still early days in my workshop development and after an hour of chatting, we realized that navigating Zoom for the first time isn’t quite as straightforward for seniors as it is for digital natives. Seniors have different questions about how Zoom works.
So, when Janet asked if I could co-host the birthday, I was charmed. How could I not help a group of lifelong friends celebrate Diane’s 80th? Not only was I inspired by this dynamic, forward-thinking woman, I was thrilled to help her, and her friends, start to get comfortable with Zoom.
The party was a success! This close knit, but physically distant, group of friends shared stories, toasted Diane and discussed how their online bridge lessons were working. They celebrated, they connected, and they left with new ideas for how to use technology to stay socially connected.
Have someone to celebrate? A few tips to get you started:
1. Invite 8 people max. And by 8 I really mean 6. Just like a dinner party, once you have more than 6 at the table you end up with 2 conversations, not one. On Zoom you can only have one at a time, unless you use breakout rooms, but that’s not the spirit of a birthday party.
2. Send out detailed emails to your guests. Include instructions on how to join a Zoom meeting, house rules and a reminder to have a glass of wine in hand for any toasts.
3. Plan an activity. Zoom gatherings, more so than in-person ones, benefit from structure. Ask people to tell a funny story or find a photo memory to share. In addition to having a glass at hand to toast your friends, you can ask everyone to have a lit candle to blow out together.
4. Keep it short. Connecting socially on Zoom is more tiring than in person. Keep the event to less than an hour to make it manageable for all.
5. Plan a follow up. While Zoom is a poor replacement for in-person birthday parties, it is better than the phone and much better than nothing. I’ve seen it delight and leave people wanting to ‘Zoom’ again.
The social distancing required to keep us safe during this Covid pandemic is hard and it’s likely to be our new normal for some time to come. Don’t put off celebrating life’s milestones. Try celebrating using Zoom instead.