How to Host a Craft Night over Zoom

For us, there is nothing better than pouring a big glass of wine and having a good old fashioned chin wag while making things. We have been fortunate to have many fun nights of crafting over video calls in the past year. We thought maybe you might like to try it with your friends! 

Considerations: Decide if you want to do the same craft or if everyone will work on their projects already in progress. If everyone is working on their project, then skip step 6.

Step 1. Select a Theme. Use this theme to inform your details such as background decor, craft project, goodies, snacks and drinks, even your invitation fonts. 

Step 2. Make an invite list keeping it under ten people. Mix it up by inviting some new people into your circle. 

Step 3. Pick a day and time for your craft night. Keep in mind weekends may be more comfortable for some people. You could even poll friends ahead of time to find the best date and time in advance. We still use https://whenisgood.net/. It's easy to use and free. 

Step 4. Select your platform. Zoom, Google Hangouts, WebEx - whatever you have. 

Step 5: Send email invites. 

Step 6. Select a project. We have tons of fun kits at many price points, but if you are looking for something different, you can find millions and millions of easy and low-cost projects on Pinterest or Google. 

Step 7: Supplies list. Create and provide a supplies list or order the necessary supplies and have them delivered to your guests. 

Step 8: Gather supplies to make craft night bundles. Our theme was Irish Coffee, so our bundles included instant coffee sachets, mini bottles of Jameson Irish Whiskey, espresso beans, and a recipe for Irish coffee - we like this one from Cookie and Kate. That took care of the drinks. We added some chocolates and Irish candy to add to the tooth decay. 

Our craft was a small felt fox stuffed toy. This craft doesn't have anything to do with Ireland. I had already cut all of the pieces back when the felt was purchased, and we had enough for ten crafters. It was that simple. We included some black embroidery floss, white thread, and a bit of fiberfill - bagged it, tagged it, and called it a project. 

Step 9: Ship or drop off your craft night bundles. Email your friends and alert them that the boxes are coming. Suggest that they set their boxes aside until the night of the event. 

Step 10: A few hours before the event, email or text friends to open their boxes, prepare a space, and charge their devices. 

Step 11: It's GO time!

Get into your video conferencing app a bit early. It's fun to continue your theme with a fun background or staged backdrop. Make sure you have a beverage, snack, and your project ready.

Welcome your guests and encourage people to get comfortable and enjoy the snacks and drinks you have provided. Have people introduce themselves. Does everyone have their project at the ready? It's time to get crafting!

If you have guests that are new to crafting - check in with them frequently. It can be intimidating when you are new amongst more skilled people, but this type of kinetic activity is a powerful learning vehicle.

It's a good idea to have some ice breaker questions to get the conversation started and ensure everyone feels included. Here are a couple of fun questions we have used at various meetings and events. 

• If You Could Have An Endless Supply Of Any Food, What Would You Get? 
• What's Something About You That People Would Be Surprised To Know?  
• If You Were An Ice Cream Flavor, Which One Would You Be And Why? 
• What's The Worst Haircut You Ever Had? 
• If You Could Eliminate One Food So That No One Would Eat It Ever Again, What Would You Pick To Destroy? 
• Would You Rather Go Into The Past And Meet Your Ancestors Or Go Into The Future And Meet Your Great-Great Grandchildren? 
• Would You Rather Be Stuck On An Island Alone Or With Someone Who Talks Too Much? 
• If You Can Instantly Become An Expert In Something, What Would It Be? 

Share your progress and your finished items as the second-hour winds down. If your friends seem to have enjoyed themselves, consider making it a regular monthly or bi-monthly event. The most important thing is to have fun and spend some quality time with friends. We would love to see your plans and events. Please post to our FB or Instagram channels and show us what you are creating!