By Greer Jones
Recipe for good hospitality (in a time of separation)
Ingredients
Willingness – to step out of your comfort zone
Being host & guest – not always serving can be hospitable
Openness – to our homes, our hearts, and our minds
Time – allow others into our daily life even if that is through text or video chat
Method
1. Have Food!
We may not be able to all sit around the table to eat (depending on which part of the country we live in!) but we can still enjoy a good meal together. Further down are a few ways to have food “together”.
2. Play Games!
Having fun together is so important to help us build our relationships with each other but also relieve the stress of the world around us. There are dozens of websites that allow you to play virtual board games. We’ve listed a bunch below.
3. Be Creative!
We’ve shared some fun and different ways to connect to your friends and family. Scroll down the page to get the creative juices flowing.
Note: Hospitality will look different for everyone as they draw on their strengths and likes but in a time when we are so separated there are still opportunities to open up our home, share food, and have fun together.
Have food
Have a virtual dinner party! The host prepares everyone a plate of something like cheese and wine or cookies or cake. You could even make up a plate where everything is the same colour/begins with the same letter. The host delivers the individual plates in time for the scheduled party or gathering. All log onto your favourite video chat, (Skype, Zoom, Google Meets etc), and enjoy the food and conversation!
If you aren’t all local and personal delivery is not possible then agree to all eat the same dish. Why not each order in an Indian takeaway or make your own pizzas?
If the weather is nice (and the guidelines for your area allow) spread out the blankets and meet in an open green area for a socially distanced picnic.
Play games
For most of these virtual games you will need to log into a video chat first.
Steam – Boasts 1,000s of games for every type of person; from those who are hardcore gamers to those who are just looking for a good laugh. Steam allows people to join the “game room” through a code based system. Only you and your friends can join! You play the game on your device but often share results and have opportunities to vote on answers.
Board game arena – This is another website where you can connect with others; both those you know and those you don’t. They have a wide variety of games allowing you and your group to play on multiple devices at a time. The set-up is similar to Steam where the host has a code. The games here tend to be more of a board game set up and it is easier to play on a desktop or laptop.
Pub quiz – A classic favourite that can happen from your own home! As a host you can create your own pub quiz using video chat and Google quiz to create a personalised pub quiz. Through various video chat systems you are able to share your screen for the picture round or your sound for the music round if you choose to. You can also join into other pub quizzes happening virtually on a national level.
Be creative
Want to watch a film together? Use Netflix Party to watch the same film at the same time and chat about it.
Start a book club.
Do Karaoke by using YouTube or Spotify. Share your screen so you can all sing along!
Create a shared space online (like google docs), for your friends and family, to share recipes of what they have been cooking and baking. If you are local to each other you can take it up a notch and have a blind test challenge, (think Bake Off!) with the same recipe.
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