4 ways to keep in touch with friends and family during Lockdown

Can you believe it’s already June?! This month brings with it the 10th week of lockdown and, whilst we’re allowed to do more exercise, travel further and even send a few of the kids back to school, we’re still not allowed to come within 2 metres of our family and friends! Like me, I’m sure you’re finding it tough – it’s at times like these that we need friends and family the most.

So I’ve put together a few fun ideas to help you keep in touch until we’re all reunited for a good-old-fashioned knees up!

Those who play together, stay together!

Playing online games is a great way to combine keeping in touch with a bit of much-needed fun – if you and your mates have a games console like an Xbox or PlayStation, you can play a multiplayer game, have a chat and save the world from an impending zombie apocalypse in one fell swoop!

Or why not invite your friends to a virtual pub quiz? You can get questions and answers on the net or write your own if you’ve got time on your hands. Some pubs are even hosting their own – just BYO beer and pork scratchings!

Better yet – do you remember that childhood board game, Guess Who? I saw a lady that had cut out photos of all her friends and family members and stuck them over the characters so she could literally play with her own loved ones – now that’s commitment!

Zoom into action

Everybody’s talking about Zoom, the free video chat platform, right now. What used to be reserved for corporate meetings is suddenly the nation’s new favourite! But you don’t need to just sit at your dining table chatting to your friend like you’re in a board room – now’s the time to get creative!

You could hold a Zoom party, where each household sets up food and drinks, music, maybe even some decorations, and spend the night together: after a few wines and your Uncle Tim's rousing versions of some Motown classics (everyone's family has their own version of Uncle Tim, right!?), you’ll totally forget you’re not in the same room.

If that’s a bit raucous for you, why not try a Zoom pyjama party instead? Choose a movie for you all to play at the same time, grab the snacks and the facemasks and you’re sorted – just don’t get over-excited and start a virtual pillow fight.

Rediscover a lost art

But Zoom parties aren’t for everyone. As a massive introvert, being on camera in front of my whole friendship group gives me the fear!! I can cope with a 1-2-1 chat, but mainly because it comes with a 40-minute time limit, which is juuust about as long as I can manage to look engaged and think of something to say…!

So, if you’re like me, you might want to try the old-fashioned approach. Before phones and internet, letter-writing used to be the way to keep in touch with loved ones. Ladies sat at their writing desks, relaying the latest gossip to their friends, and men sent passionate declarations of love to the object of their affections.

OK, I might be romanticising it a little, but still! Letter writing was a real art, and a great way to connect. Even when I was at Uni, my friend and I would send each other letters, with funny magazine clippings, photos… You just don’t get that with modern tech!

Send a little gesture

However, if you’re anything like my other half, you might struggle to pour your heart out onto paper. In which case, let us give you a hand. We have a great range of cards available that can help you show your friends and family that you’re thinking of them.

I for one have a few friends that need our I’ve Completed Netflix card, plus it comes with the added bonus that 10p from every sale is donated to the NHS urgent COVID-19 appeal. Perhaps you have a friend who needs that reminder of how awesome they are with our gold foil You Got This card, or maybe you want to tell someone that you just bloody miss them and can’t wait to see them when this is all over.

Whether you want to send heartfelt, funny or cheeky wishes, we’ve got you covered – we can handwrite your message for you and, if you’re isolating, we even sell stamps!

So let’s stay in touch and keep our spirits high until the end is in sight.   

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Header image features card by Stormy Knight