How to Throw an Online Party: 5 Steps to Go from Meh to Magic

It looks like everything is moving online for the foreseeable future, but there are still birthdays and other events coming up. People tend to think of an online party as being less fun, but with the right kind of preparation, you can throw an incredible event that both you and your guests will love.

Obviously, nothing is quite the same as hugging your friends in person. But if you lean into what makes virtual parties great, using these 5 simple steps, you can make your gathering go from awkward to amazing!

1) Plan It Like a Regular Party

An online party can feel so casual that it’s easy to skimp on planning and invitations - particularly when we’re all in lockdown and  you can assume your guests don’t have other plans on any given night. But invites don’t just tell you to save the date - they do so much more!

Invitations to an event feel inclusive and welcoming. They have a rich history and etiquette behind them. They create excitement for the virtual party before it even begins as your friends all look forward to a good time.

Something as simple as an event on Facebook will do, but if you want to go the extra mile and send out custom evites, or even mailed invitations, you’ll stand out so much more!

Of course, when you plan a party, you don’t just pick a day. The element most common to regular parties that most online parties lack is a theme.

Picking a theme does so many good things for you! It helps direct everything from discussion topics to party games to how people should even dress. It makes the event stand out because it’s different from ordinary, everyday life. And it focuses the overwhelming number of fun things on the internet to let you really enjoy one super cool thing.

2) Tell People to Dress Up

As comfy as they are, nothing feels festive in sweatpants. Tell your guests to dress up for the online party! You can even make it a competition or a game - who joined the online party in the fanciest, most colorful, or funniest outfit? - and then send the winner a prize.

Dressing up doesn’t have to mean formal, either. It can include formalwear, but it can also mean 80’s workout gear, your coolest biker-chic outfit, representing your hometown, or anything else you want. The possibilities are endless, and totally enjoyable.

3) Create Games for the Whole Party

Obviously, regular party games like Catchphrase, Charades, or Never Have I Ever are classics for a reason, and they’re not just fun but very do-able over the internet. But you can take it one step further. Over the course of the virtual party, in addition to party games, throw in some games that span across the entire event!

For instance, for a party with just adults, every time anyone says a specific word, everyone has to take a drink. (It’s not like anyone is driving home, after all.)

Or, for an alcohol-free approach, every time anyone says a specific word, everyone has to touch their nose, and the last person to catch on is “it.”

There are other games you can play with outfit changes, or who can change their name in that little box on Zoom the most times without anyone noticing. Anything that you can think of can work! And it all keeps your guests tuned in and having fun.

4) Have a Schedule

This is probably the nerdiest suggestion on here. (But so is the girl who wrote it!) This doesn’t mean have a hard and fast schedule for your online party and insist everyone stick to it. It just means have a whole bunch of games, things to do, and topics to discuss lined up so you’re never stuck wondering what you should do next.

You should probably go a level deeper than 7:00-8:00: Chat and catch up, 8:00-9:30: Party games. General party conversation will happen on its own, for starters, so there’s no need to schedule it.

But if you get more specific, and list out exactly what the options are for each block of time, then you never run out of fun things to do. In fact, you’ll find yourself with an overabundance of activities more quickly than you expect, and your guests will be dying for you to host another virtual party so you can do them all!

You can find a whole bunch of party agendas on Sample Templates which can be easily adapted for your online party.

5) Hire Professional Entertainment

Parties in person are often expensive. Even the most basic “let’s all go to a bar or park and hang out” parties involve buying drinks and snacks, and those costs add up. Online parties carry absolutely none of that cost. That means you can take that money and spend it on one of two things.

You can save it, or spend it on necessities. That is for sure one of the great benefits of virtual parties when money is tight.

But if you’re willing to build in the cost, since you won’t be spreading it out over several drinks at a pub, why don’t you put it together and hire someone to come onto the video call and really dazzle you and your guests?

Professional entertainers are great for parties for three main reasons. 1) Their whole job is to entertain, which is ideal for a party, 2) they love being the center of attention, which is a huge relief to your shy guests, and 3) you don’t see them every day, which makes having them at your party extra special and exciting.

There are all kinds of entertainers you can hire. Obviously, we think magicians are the best choice for any party, but you can also consider clowns, comedians, and party characters, among others. But, no matter which way you go, your guests will be amazed at your online party planning skills and need never know how easy it is to set up!

We hope these tips are useful for you! If you have any other ideas for what makes a great online party, send ‘em over to us at Magical Katrina via email, at @magicalkatrina_ on Instagram, or @MagicalKatrina on TikTok.

We’re also available for booking through quarantine and beyond for your next party - learn more about what we do over here!

***I took images from Google for the above pictures. Feel free to switch them out, but I would keep them general party-themed images, not photos of you, yet. You want this to be a valuable resource for the people who visit the page and for them to trust you without being defensive or wary of a sales pitch, so by the time we actually do reach the pitch at the bottom, you come off to them as a real expert and they’ll want to hire the best for their event! You can, however, post a picture of yourself doing magic here at the bottom, right below your contact info.  :)