Creative Way to Hold a Family Summer Outing Despite the Lockdown

Most of us experienced canceled travel, postponed birthdays, or other deferred celebrations because of the lockdown.   But our family did not let the quarantine situation spoil the annual family summer outing, which we had already planned long before the COVID-19 pandemic phenomenon.

It has always been a tradition to have a family get-together every summer. Most of my siblings and their families free up certain weeks of their summer schedule for this highly anticipated annual family gathering.

Read the family’s summer outing adventure here: 

• Satori Cliff, Basay, Negros Oriental
• Brazaville Beach Resort, Hinobaan, Negros Occidental
• Obong Caves, Hinobaan, Negros Occidental
• Garin Farm, San Juaquin, Iloilo City
• Jitaku Private Resort, Bacolod City
• Lakawon Island Resort and Spa, Cadiz City, Negros Occidental

Usually, the planning takes so many months in advance, considering the schedules of each one, and continues until the actual event.  For this year, we already paid the hotel where we were supposed to stay for three days and two nights long before this pandemic became a household name.

 So, it is crazy and frustrating knowing that what we had planned for so many months just went down the drain.

But staying at home for a long time had made us somehow creative. Don’t you know that you can hold family activities and celebrate with food and drinks without going outside the house?

Rather than getting the government-imposed quarantine measures to get in the way of our routine, why not hold a DIGITAL SUMMER PARTY? Yes, that was what we did to make the annual family summer outing tradition happened.

Here’s a quick run-down of what occurred during the preparation and the actual event.

 One Family, One Team

 Each family was formed as a team. The family should give a name to their team. For our team name my daughter suggested “Team Bang” as our team name.  Hmm, that sounds catchy; a play on the word timbang (an Ilonggo term meaning house helper), so I agreed.

TikTok Challenge

Each team submits a Tik-Tok video. The video had no restrictions whatsoever. So, anyone can submit any video.  It was a challenge for this part because our two daughters are not with us. The daughters made a concept that would address this problem. The finished video turned out impressive. All of us participated in the video, together with our two doggies.

Here’s the entry of Team 5:  Durarat Team Tiktok Challenge

Please watch some of the cooking entries:

• Porridge with Chicken Strips
• Saucy Fried Potato Balls

The Zoom Meeting, aka FAMILY DIGITAL PARTY 

After two weeks of preparation, we are ready to attend the first-ever FAMILY DIGITAL PARTY. The venue: The Zoom.  At 8 PM, we all gathered in front of our laptops and mobile phones and connected to the Zoom Meeting.  We were happy seeing each one appearing on our computer screen. When everyone was connected, my nephew moderated the whole party. 

He had a program prepared. He also explained the mechanics of the contests. The TikTok Challenge videos were the funniest, while the Cooking Contest proved we are more of a diner than a cook. Just look at me, ha.ha.ha.  It was one big loud party, with our grandchildren running around, just like on previous occassions. 

The Winners and Prizes 

To make it a little exciting, winners were declared for each category. The prizes were pooled together from the donations of the nephews and nieces.  It was a unique experience, seeing my sisters, their children, and grandchildren after so many months in the video.  

We also had nephews or nieces with their children join the party. We were happy exchanging stories and laughing at old family jokes. What made this family affair extra special was it made family members from other parts of the country and abroad attend.

Indeed, this big event proved that nothing could hinder us from showing our concerns and love for each other as a family.

Cheers to the next summer adventure.

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