Our Virtual Holiday • Page 45 of 48

Author Archives: ourvirtualholiday

Graduations

Food for Thought

Posted on by ourvirtualholiday

Whether your graduate is headed for college or headed out into this brave new world, you’ll want to set them up for success. You might have been rockin’ Top Ramen when you were in school a couple of years ago but we now know that eating right can be a matter of survival. They may not call you every day, but you can give them the gift of a delicious reminder of how much you love them at every meal.

At OVH, our favorite meal-delivery plan is from Balance by BistroMD. We’ll spare you the hard sell and just say this:

  • Highly Customizable: No Minimums and No Memberships…just order what you need
  • Plans for Specialty Diets (Gluten-free, Low Sodium, Vegetarian, Mediterranean to name a few)
  • Recipes designed by Registered Dietitians
  • Meals freshly prepared in small batches by culinary team

I think I’d study much harder if I was starting my day with Stuffed French Toast!

Movies & TV, Graduations

Great Movies to Share with Grads

Posted on by ourvirtualholiday

We’ve compiled the perfect list of movies for the Graduation season! For this year’s grads, some of these movies have been around for awhile, but the laughter, tears and memories they evoke are classic. Get ready to earn your Graduation Movie Degree (that’s a thing, right?). 

(Tips below on how to stream with friends when you’re at a distance)

Our Virtual Holiday’s personal Graduation Movie favorites are: 

  • The Graduate
  • Legally Blonde
  • Into the Wild
  • American Pie
  • Animal House
  • I Love You Beth Cooper
  • Say Anything
  • Adventureland
  • 10 Things I Hate About You
  • Dead Poets Society
  • Crossroads
  • She’s All That
  • Van Wilder
  • Superbad

 

How to stream when you’re at a distance:

Several (FREE) services allow you to stream movies from any computer to another so that you can set up your own private watch parties with your mom and share these laughs (and tears!) together! We’ve evaluated and compiled the top three based on ease of use and options:

  1. Twoseven: Twoseven was created by a couple in a long-distance relationship who wanted a better way to watch movies together. It is free to join and sync with YouTube, Netflix, HBO, Amazon, Vimeo or personal downloads. Each person watching needs to be able to sign in to the streaming service….either with your own individual accounts or a shared account. For instance, with Netflix you can have several users, if you share an account, you can both log in to the same account and stream together. Text and video functions are build in so you don’t have to be on the phone to interact with your mom while you watch. Additional streaming services like Hulu and Disney+ are available for a small fee ($3/month for a limited time). Con: The platform is only available using Firefox or Chrome web browsers and there are some Chrome extensions you may need to install. But, overall, this platform is extremely straight forward, easy to use and the team behind twoseven are extremely responsive. 
  2. Kast: Kast is a great service that essentially allows you to share your screen and can be used from your desktop or mobile device with their app. You can invite up to 100 people to join your party and you even have the option of making your party public so anyone can join. Video and chat functions are built in so that you can interact as you watch and you can share ANYTHING that you can play on your device….any streaming service, games, videos or just chit chat together. Ads are part of the free service, but you can upgrade to a paid account without ads and a higher video quality for only $4.99/month. 
  3. Zoom: Perhaps the hottest video call/meeting/chat app going right now and one of the best is the ability to screen share. You can gather all of your family members and friends (well, up to 100), pick a movie or TV show to play, share your screen and you’re all at the movies together! Because it is screen sharing, you can play video from any source: Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, a file downloaded to your computer….as long as you can play it on your computer, you can share it! You can also leave the webcams visible so that you and your party can still interact. Zoom is available via any web browser or download the app. Cons: The only downside with Zoom is that the Free plan limits “meetings” to 40 minutes. If you don’t want to upgrade to the $14.99/month plan, you’ll have to pause, start another meeting and regroup and then restart the movie. 
Graduations

Writing the future

Posted on by ourvirtualholiday

Let the graduate in your life know that their future is as bright as Swarovski crystal. This year’s graduations are going to break with a lot of long-held traditions. Although a nice pen is a traditional graduation gift, a beautiful Swarovski Cyrstal Pen celebrates the milestone in style. The most special of pens is the limited-edition 2020 pen for your Grad to write a best-selling memoir about their unforgettable graduation! Am I write or am I write?

Father's Day

Great Movies for Father’s Day

Posted on by ourvirtualholiday

We’ve compiled the perfect list of movies to share with Dad. You’ll laugh together (if you tear up we won’t tell) but most of all you will love the shared memories. This year, if you are watching one of these classic films on two different screens at the same time, at least you’ll get to eat all of your own Raisinets.

(Tips below on how to stream with Dad when you’re at a distance)

Our Virtual Holiday’s personal Dad Movie favorites are: 

  • Father’s Day
  • Kramer vs Kramer
  • Paper Moon
  • The Kid
  • Big Fish
  • Daddy Day Care
  • Father of the Bride
  • Mr. Mom
  • Three Men and a Baby
  • Cheaper by the Dozen
  • The Other F-Word
  • Big Daddy
  • Somewhere
  • Parenthood
  • Mrs. Doubtfire
  • Finding Nemo
  • Field of Dreams
  • The Pursuit of Happiness
  • Daddy’s Home

How to stream with Dad when you’re at a distance:

Several (FREE) services allow you to stream movies from any computer to another so that you can set up your own private watch parties with your mom and share these laughs (and tears!) together! We’ve evaluated and compiled the top three based on ease of use and options:

  1. Twoseven: Twoseven was created by a couple in a long-distance relationship who wanted a better way to watch movies together. It is free to join and sync with YouTube, Netflix, HBO, Amazon, Vimeo or personal downloads. Each person watching needs to be able to sign in to the streaming service….either with your own individual accounts or a shared account. For instance, with Netflix you can have several users, if you share an account, you can both log in to the same account and stream together. Text and video functions are build in so you don’t have to be on the phone to interact with your mom while you watch. Additional streaming services like Hulu and Disney+ are available for a small fee ($3/month for a limited time). Con: The platform is only available using Firefox or Chrome web browsers and there are some Chrome extensions you may need to install. But, overall, this platform is extremely straight forward, easy to use and the team behind twoseven are extremely responsive. 
  2. Kast: Kast is a great service that essentially allows you to share your screen and can be used from your desktop or mobile device with their app. You can invite up to 100 people to join your party and you even have the option of making your party public so anyone can join. Video and chat functions are built in so that you can interact as you watch and you can share ANYTHING that you can play on your device….any streaming service, games, videos or just chit chat together. Ads are part of the free service, but you can upgrade to a paid account without ads and a higher video quality for only $4.99/month. 
  3. Zoom: Perhaps the hottest video call/meeting/chat app going right now and one of the best is the ability to screen share. You can gather all of your family members and friends (well, up to 100), pick a movie or TV show to play, share your screen and you’re all at the movies together! Because it is screen sharing, you can play video from any source: Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, a file downloaded to your computer….as long as you can play it on your computer, you can share it! You can also leave the webcams visible so that you and your party can still interact. Zoom is available via any web browser or download the app. Cons: The only downside with Zoom is that the Free plan limits “meetings” to 40 minutes. If you don’t want to upgrade to the $14.99/month plan, you’ll have to pause, start another meeting and regroup and then restart the movie. 
Multi-Use, Anniversaries, Baby Showers, Birthdays, Engagements, Graduations, Pride, Retirements, Weddings

She’s Worth It!

Posted on by ourvirtualholiday

An exclusive shopping spree in the Big Apple might not happen this year, but we have access to the next best thing. Gigi is a New York-based company that offers high-end personalized gifts for that special someone in your life who loves things a little bit extra. Handbags, notebooks, wallets, watch bands….there’s truly a gift for everyone and when you stamp their initials on that leather it takes the fancy to a 10.

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