Retirement Party, 2020 Style
July 7, 2020 9:28 AM Subscribe
My mother just retired, and I want to throw her a retirement party via Zoom with some of her close friends. How can I make it special?
She’s retiring from teaching art, and this group of friends are also all former teachers (there are four friends). They are all in their 60s or so, and talk about politics and the news, family/friends, etc. They’ve been close for about 15 years.
She doesn’t drink, so I can’t send them all something to toast her with. She likes coffee, but just regular Folger’s drip, and doesn’t really drink tea. She doesn’t have some special food that she’s wild for (except maybe chocolate?) and isn’t doing carry-out anyway because of covid fears. She doesn’t enjoy games.
What could I send to everyone or have them do for her to celebrate her retirement, given those restrictions on food, alcohol, and games?
I thought about plants, but her colleagues in her department got her a nice plant as a retirement present already.
(I also have a present for her (not a plant!), but will give that to her separately. I want her friends/fellow teachers to be able to acknowledge her retirement, too. In normal times they would have thrown a party, as she has done for them, but...🤷🏻♀️)
She’s retiring from teaching art, and this group of friends are also all former teachers (there are four friends). They are all in their 60s or so, and talk about politics and the news, family/friends, etc. They’ve been close for about 15 years.
She doesn’t drink, so I can’t send them all something to toast her with. She likes coffee, but just regular Folger’s drip, and doesn’t really drink tea. She doesn’t have some special food that she’s wild for (except maybe chocolate?) and isn’t doing carry-out anyway because of covid fears. She doesn’t enjoy games.
What could I send to everyone or have them do for her to celebrate her retirement, given those restrictions on food, alcohol, and games?
I thought about plants, but her colleagues in her department got her a nice plant as a retirement present already.
(I also have a present for her (not a plant!), but will give that to her separately. I want her friends/fellow teachers to be able to acknowledge her retirement, too. In normal times they would have thrown a party, as she has done for them, but...🤷🏻♀️)
Response by poster: To clarify, I won’t be on the Zoom with them. This group of friends has a monthly hangout that they have taken to Zoom, and the July Zoom is when I hope they can throw a mini retirement party.
I plan to ask one of the friends for some help (for info like addresses, to introduce the gift/etc during the Zoom), but I’m just setting things up, not participating directly.
Also, please no games. She doesn’t enjoy them.
Thanks!
posted by rue72 at 9:43 AM on July 7, 2020
I plan to ask one of the friends for some help (for info like addresses, to introduce the gift/etc during the Zoom), but I’m just setting things up, not participating directly.
Also, please no games. She doesn’t enjoy them.
Thanks!
posted by rue72 at 9:43 AM on July 7, 2020
Could colleagues be prompted to share a story? Themes might be navigating change, creating progress, shared joy...student experiences that changed teachers (My teacher-niece posts thank you notes from students, without names)
posted by childofTethys at 10:07 AM on July 7, 2020
posted by childofTethys at 10:07 AM on July 7, 2020
Is there a craft project that they might enjoy doing? You could send the supplies to everyone separately, but wait until the zoom to share the instructions.
Similarly, a friend of mine went to a bachelorette party that was also a zoom cooking class. If you have the budget, check out the hosted online experiences being sold via air-bnb.
posted by tinymegalo at 10:23 AM on July 7, 2020
Similarly, a friend of mine went to a bachelorette party that was also a zoom cooking class. If you have the budget, check out the hosted online experiences being sold via air-bnb.
posted by tinymegalo at 10:23 AM on July 7, 2020
Could you help assemble a video of colleagues, students, etc. talking about the impact that she had on them? Her friends could help with the facilitation/recruitment and perhaps you could help with logistics/editing, and then they could show it to her on the zoom call.
posted by mosst at 10:25 AM on July 7, 2020
posted by mosst at 10:25 AM on July 7, 2020
If you want an unforgettable call, schedule a llama to participate for ten minutes.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 10:33 AM on July 7, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 10:33 AM on July 7, 2020 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Ooh I love the idea of taking the group on a guided virtual tour or having a surprise visitor (like a llama) pop in!
Does anybody have suggestions for that sort of thing specifically, beyond Tell Me No Lies’s idea for the Sweet Farm “Goat-2-Goat” tour? Manufacturing, art, or politics (left wing) would be up her alley.
Thank you for that suggestion, TMNL, I had no idea that option even existed!
posted by rue72 at 10:47 AM on July 7, 2020
Does anybody have suggestions for that sort of thing specifically, beyond Tell Me No Lies’s idea for the Sweet Farm “Goat-2-Goat” tour? Manufacturing, art, or politics (left wing) would be up her alley.
Thank you for that suggestion, TMNL, I had no idea that option even existed!
posted by rue72 at 10:47 AM on July 7, 2020
You can hire a celebrity to join your Zoom through Cameo. A friend did this for her dad’s retirement party and it was a big hit. Depends on whether there’s someone on there your mom especially likes!
posted by sallybrown at 12:53 PM on July 7, 2020
posted by sallybrown at 12:53 PM on July 7, 2020
This thread is closed to new comments.
*I'm not 100% certain if the annotate feature is available on free Zoom*
What we've done is the host (that's you) shares the screen in "whiteboard" mode and then proctors the game by sending a private chat with the clue word. Then the drawer uses the annotate feature to draw the clue. Everyone else guesses, makes jokes about everything being shaped like certain parts of anatomy, and generally has a great time.
This obviously isn't like a toast or gift like you're specifically asking about, but it IS a fun and easy thing to do for 20 minutes in a Zoom party.
posted by phunniemee at 9:36 AM on July 7, 2020