Planned a Party, But Afraid of COVID19(2020). Fret Not! Celebrate Parties, Spread Happiness to Everyone But Take Care of Social Distancing Rules.

Man is a social animal – as the adage goes. It becomes difficult for us to stay away from our friends and family. However, there are occasions when there is no other option but to keep a safe distance from others. The ongoing unique situation due to pandemic COVID-19 has made people stay in their homes and away from meeting friends and meeting people in general.

Most pandemics, like the Spanish flu in 1918 and the plagues in the middle ages, are spread through human contact. It is the reason that governments across the world have advocated social distancing. So, what is social distancing? It is the process by which people are decreed to stay at home and to avoid large gatherings and public places. The virus is extremely contagious and spreads when people cough. People must stay at a distance of at least six feet and avoid crowds of more than ten people. It would mean visiting the bars, restaurants, etc. would be prohibited as of now.

As devised by WHO, we must have a six-feet distance when meeting other people and desist from shaking hands. Adding to this, people must not congregate in large numbers, be it at the bazaars and on the streets to protest. The marketplaces and shops are going to reopen in a few days, and this will mean additional safeguards to prevent the contagion from spreading more. The government has been releasing the standard operating procedures as the lockdown gets extended.

With domestic flights back, the government has made public the new standard operating procedures that will allow only those fliers in the airport premises who have their flights in the next four hours. All the gates of the airport will be kept open to prevent overcrowding, and the luggage of the fliers will be sanitised before they enter the airport.

Offices are reopening, but they will see lesser staff as per the regulations of the state governments. Buses are being allowed to ply on the roads with twenty passengers, and auto-rickshaws are plying with two passengers. All of this is being done to enforce social distancing norms and prevent the spread of the virus.

Precaution is always better than cure. It's an old saying and well true but in case of COVID-19, there is no cure till now. So, the only option here is, precaution. Celebrating anything is not bad but during the pandemic, it is advisable to be precautious and follow all the rules of Social Distancing.

While it is essential to maintain social distancing guidelines, does that necessarily mean that social celebrations cannot be held. Especially when the kids are made to stay at home, given the strict lockdown guidelines are in place. Why not have a small celebration at home with the kids! The kids cannot be let down without having a birthday "party", albeit on a small scale. Even seniors may not feel well when birthdays have to go by without any celebration.

You may treat your kid with a beautiful breakfast. Make them have a wash and treat them to a glorious breakfast in bed. It will give them a royal sensation! Then you can have some fun games. You can decorate the house and the yard for the birthday with simple paper cut-outs and balloons. A treasure hunt can also be organised in the house with clues presented to the family members. It is a fun game that can be played for your or your spouse’s birthday too.

Adults can organise a birthday parade. Its time to bring out your cars and have them decorated with some balloons and coloured paper. Just follow in a line across the street and it's done. Very easy, you see! You can tell your friends can also bake the same flavour of cake, all be it in your own homes. Bring out the cake while the birthday person goes live online and cuts the cake while there is a birthday song in the background.

Parents can also create the atmosphere of a restaurant at home when the parents take order from the kids and let them have their favourite cuisine with the standard effects of a typical restaurant. It can soothe the kids for a few days.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected us in numerous ways, and sports has been one of these areas. There have been no sports for a few months, and we are deprived of seeing our favourite stars in action. There has been news of a few online sporting events, like shooting and chess. But these games are not team games, and there are chances that they can be played online. But what about team games like football, hockey and basketball or contact sports like wrestling and boxing. No wonder the pandemic is going to have a lasting on sports too.

A while back, we were used to sporting events being postponed. Now, a few events are restarting in different parts of the world. For example, the Bundesliga has started, and the PGA Tour is bound to resume in June. While there have been no formal guidelines from the sports bodies in India, celebrated coaches have been voicing their suggestions. Some have suggested to break down the trainees into groups and work indoors. Sanitisation of dressing before and after games are a must-do.

While we agree to disagree very often, everyone has decided to have games being held sans the spectators. It is a bot dissatisfying for the athletes, but it is a significant change to happen once sports resume. The game of cricket has seen a debate on a crucial activity of bowlers using saliva to make the ball shinier. While it will be a strict no-no once games start, there have suggestions of alternatives too.

We can have a clear view once the global sports federations finalise on the restrictions, we can have a clue from the Bundesliga game that had happened. The pre-match procedures have been scrapped, which means the customary handshakes between captains and team photographs are prohibited. Another significant change is that players cannot celebrate with their teammates after scoring a goal. The players on the substitute bench must sit at least two metres apart with masks put on their faces.

So, what about the rest of the team sports. The FIH that controls hockey has said that international hockey can resume after the COVID-19 vaccine is developed.

As news of lockdown being in place across the country came, people had no postpone their marriage plans. People planning air travel across the country to be present in marriages had to change their plans. Gradually weddings took a backseat with some couples postponing them indefinitely. There were too many cancellations, and wedding planners had a tough time reasoning with hotels and banquet halls about refunds.

Once the lockdown was in place, people had to take permission from the respective District Magistrates for various functions. While some people went ahead as per plans, there were no gatherings. Some others used the online medium to get married. The bride and the groom were both online while the priest was also online, albeit at another location. The attendees had to witness the wedding from far, and the wedding was relayed over online meeting platforms like Hangout and Zoom. In some instances, the bride or the groom's parents were unable to attend. Even the boisterous sangeet ceremonies were being held online.

In the latest guidelines formulated by the central government, it has been stated wearing of face masks is compulsory and social distancing norms need to be followed by all people. There is also a threshold of a maximum of fifty people attending the wedding. However, at the same time, there is also a night curfew from 7 pm to 7 am for all non-essential items.

With the revised guidelines in place, it is back to work for the wedding industry. Photographers have requested both the parties to arrange for personal protective equipment for them and their teams. It will help them to be safe from the contagion. Wedding organisers like Shaadi.com have also come with tutorials for applying mehndi and have also been organising online marriages. The local governments are also taking precautions to stop the spread of the virus. The bride and the groom’s parties have been requested to provide details of the attendees to help in contact tracing.

After weeks of the lockdown being in place, the government is allowing offices to function. It started with factories manufacturing essential items, and now other offices have also been allowed to operate. However, they have to adhere to social distancing rules and regular cleaning of office areas with a disinfectant.

According to government guidelines, there must be thermal screening and adequate amount of sanitisers. Also, there must be a shift in lunch hours with staggered breaks and installation of Arogya Setu app on handsets have become compulsory. All these guidelines mean that the general celebrations at offices will also need a drastic change. This also means a paradigm shift in the impromptu celebrations at the office.

With a skeletal workforce operating from office, it will mean having the birthday parties and other departmental celebrations need to go online. You can create a vlog with some snaps of the person and colleagues when they were in office and circulate. It can be forwarded on the team email or the WhatsApp group. It could also be a coffee date online when all team members brought in some coffee and cheering up their colleague on his or her birthday. Someone can also sing a few of their favourite songs. Close colleagues can organise an online pub and celebrate.

Graduation has been a celebratory affair over the years, but the current COVID-19 situation has changed everything. People are staying away from gatherings with the entertainment industry running into huge losses. While the board results have been postponed for a few months, it is unlikely that the pandemic will subside by then. However, it will be unrealistic to put off the celebrations when the kids graduate.

You can start by creating a Greetings board where friends and family can post their celebratory messages. It is ideal for putting this up on a social media website or other websites like Kudoboard, Google Drive, OneNote, Trello, etc. It can also contain achievements during graduation and can also extend to those received during school or any co-curricular activities. Graduates do like to dress up for their favourite day, and it may not be possible in the current scenario. You must forget to have a photo session of your child in the graduation gown.

There can be a planned celebratory dinner at home. The favourite dishes of the new graduate can be prepared, and you can also bake a cake with the favourite flavour. It can be extended to guests online by sending out an online invite to be a part of celebrations. There can be activities like an initial speech followed by some of the favourite songs sung by the guests. Do create small videos and upload them on your social media profiles for all to see.

Online games can also be a part of the celebrations with the guests breaking up into groups and annihilating each other on PUBG or other online games. For the less initiated, there are other options, like Minecraft. Once the celebrations with friends and family are over, you must allow your child to hang out with friends online.

The ongoing pandemic and the subsequent lockdown guidelines must not bog down the party animals. While you cannot be present physically, you are mentally always in a party mode. So why not create an online atmosphere and have fun. Do not forget to dress up for the occasion and dance your hearts out. Virtual parties can also be themed with the invitees in a specific dress code, or adventure-themed too.

You may also screen movies that are streamed to all the invitees, and you can have fun over some snacks, chips and popcorn. While you may not have the same level of fun, but it will, at the very least, shake you from the reverie and boredom. You can download the streaming movie sites like Netflix and Disney+ Hotstar. While it could be troublesome for the guests to decide on a single movie, you may have options ready and then finally choose one.

Having video game sessions are another option available where you can break your friends into groups and participate in strategy and war games. If you are planning a virtual birthday party, cheese and beer could be an add-on. Rendering some of the favourite numbers or a karaoke and jazz session could enliven the online party. There can be sessions dedicated to a particular genre of Bollywood songs. If you are done with your stock of songs, you may revert to websites like Gaana or Jio Saavn.