Staying Connected Virtually This Holiday Season

Many of us are looking for new ways of staying connected virtually this holiday season. After all, a good deal of us either live far from family or have concerns about participating in group events due to the current public health climate. For those who don’t plan to travel, here are some options for connecting.

Plan a virtual game night

Gamers have long known how great online gaming can be as a method to keep in touch with friends and family. Personally, I meet with my brother and some friends online at least once a month to game and catch up. There’s no reason this strategy can’t work during the holidays, too.

If you want to spend quality time with family members who might not be near where you live, maybe schedule a game night to enjoy each other’s virtual company. If you choose the right game, everyone from avid gamers to newcomers will have a good time. For example, try a virtual card game with your grandparents.

Schedule a video call visit

As someone who lives far from my extended family, I have been making virtual holiday visits to my family long before the current health concerns. For example, I spend every other Thanksgiving with my wife’s family and years when I’m away I have created the tradition of setting a video call after dinner. It’s not perfect, but it’s the closest thing you can get to a family gathering when you are several hundred miles away.

You can even combine your video call visit with food delivery. Everyone can order a tasty meal and eat it together over video chat. This is a nice idea for families where everyone is geographically distant.

How to get ready for your virtual holidays early

All of these might sound like good ideas, but some readers might be wondering how to prepare ahead of time. I have a few tips on that as well.

• Make sure you have reliable, high-speed internet: If there’s one thing all these ideas rely on, it’s a decent internet connection. Online gaming and video calls are both going to rely on high-speed internet, so just be sure that your home network is in good shape if you plan on having virtual holiday events later on. You can visit this website to test your internet speed and see if it’s up to the task.

• Get tech issues resolved beforehand: All these great ideas won’t work well if there are tech issues. That’s why it’s important to plan ahead to make sure everything is working properly. For example, I’ve already spoken on the phone with a cousin who lives near my grandmother to make sure she is set up to have a video call with me on Thanksgiving.

Stay safe and happy holidays!

Hopefully, these suggestions can help you stay in touch and keep the spirit of the season alive. You might also want to check out this article for some additional ideas. Otherwise, all that is left to do is to start planning your virtual get-togethers.

This article is AT&T sponsored content written by Matt Johnsen, a TechBuzz contributor. The statements in this article are his own and don’t necessarily represent the positions, strategies, or opinions of AT&T.