Social distancing and staying at home is so important in this time. However, self-isolation does not have to make you feel detached or lonely. Staying connected with your friends and family is more important now than ever! Here are some creative ways to stay connected with family and friends while social distancing:

Phone a Friend:

Pick up your phone and give someone you’re missing a call, they need to hear from you! This is one of the easiest ways to stay connected while practicing social distancing.

Send Good Ol’ Fashioned Snail Mail:

This is a great activity that the entire family can be a part of. Make cards or write letters to your friends and family— and get creative! Your friends and loved ones will be so appreciative of the thoughtful gesture, and it will help them feel more connected to you during this time of distancing. (You can order stamps online here if you don’t have any!)

Start a Book Club:

Just because you can’t sit down and visit face-to-face, that doesn’t mean you can’t have a book club! Pick a new book (or ebook) with your friends and family, and set up a regular time to discuss what you’ve read via group phone or video chat. For a little inspiration, here are a few books the Patrick Square team has been loving: —

Get Moving Together (from a distance):

It’s important for us to stay active during this time, and sometimes it can be difficult to get motivated when you’re stuck at home alone. Set a time every week and encourage your friends and family to join you via video chat for an outdoor walk, online yoga or exercise video, or any other creative ways you can think of to get active.

Virtual Game Night:

A great way to stay connected while having fun is playing games—even from afar. Play games like Monopoly or UNO online, or take out your favorite board or card games and play together through video chat.

Digital Dinner & Movie Date Night:

Get dressed up and cook a meal from the same recipe together on video chat! Then stream the same movie or show together. Netflix Party also allows for group viewing and interacting. It may not be quite the same as an in-person date night— but this will still help you to stay connected with the ones you love—Plus, we can all use an excuse to get out of our pajamas!

Video Dance Party:

Get out of bed and get to dancing! Start a video chat and blast your favorite dance music with your friends and family. You can even go Live on Facebook and Instagram to show everyone your sweet moves! DJ D-Nice has been hosting “Club Quarantine” virtually through an Instagram Live that quickly went viral, growing larger by the day. Join DJ and the thousands of others that are dancing along with his music, or start your own! Happy dancing!

Video Chat Resources

There is nothing like seeing the faces of your friends and loved ones. Here are a few free platforms that will help you stay connected:

Facetime: There is a built-in FaceTime app on every iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Mac that makes it super easy to connect with your friends and family.

Google Hangouts: Hangouts is relatively easy to use, you just have to have a Google account. You can use Hangouts to video chat across devices.

Skype: Skype will allow you to see the faces of those you love with group video chat and call up to 50 people for free on just about any device, tablet or computer.

WhatsApp: If you have friends or family overseas, WhatsApp works around the globe. You can see their faces- no matter where they are!

Zoom: Zoom is free and easy to use. The platform works with up to 100 people per meeting on a free account, so if you have a big family or lots of friends this is the platform for you. All you have to do is install the app on your phone or computer and then share your code or send an invitation link with your friends and family.

How are you connecting with friends, family and loved ones during this time? Share your ideas with us on Facebook or Instagram.