Being apart from your significant other or best friends can be rough, especially at a time like this. Luckily, we live in an age when it’s possible to virtually connect over video calls so we can still talk and laugh together, even if we can be in the same room. If you’re in a long-distance relationship or friendship, and looking to shake up your usual wine and chat sesh, we’ve got some ideas!

Have a Netflix watch party.

Since you can’t sit side-by-side on the sofa with a bowl of popcorn between you, do the next best thing: pick a movie to watch with your date(s) via the Netflix Party browser extension on Google Chrome. We like to choose a classic comedy or campy horror flick to keep it light. That way you can talk during the show without fear of missing anything! 

Cook dinner together.

Maybe you can’t get together for a pasta party or a romantic dinner for two, but you can still make a meal together. Find a new recipe that leans on pantry staples like pasta, beans or rice (perhaps a chili with a side of Heirloom Corn Dippers?) and have a virtual hangout as you cook and eat together. Maybe you can even have a friendly competition to see whose dinner comes out looking closest to the photo of the recipe!

Take a virtual nature walk.

We are OBSESSED with live nature cams. You can find dozens of them at explore.org and get an up-close look at animals in their wild habitats (or zoos or animal shelters). The bald eagles are some of our favorites, and please tell us ASAP if you are lucky enough to be watching when the polar bears show up at Wapusk National Park in Canada. Browse the streams with your date, rank the animals by cuteness, or each keep an eye on a stream while you chat and alert the other when the animals start doing something unexpected/adorable/fascinating.

Play a game together. 

Traditional games like Pictionary and charades still work for virtual double or friend dates, and can actually turn out to be really funny online. If you’re on an online date with someone you don’t know very well yet (or even at all!) 20 Questions could be a fun way to get to know one another better. Or if you’ve both got a Nintendo Switch, a long-distance Mario Kart or Super Smash Brothers battle will make the time fly.

Send your date a surprise delivery.

It’s always fun to surprise your date with flowers or a little gift, and luckily you can still do that even when you can’t be there in person. Order food from your date’s favorite local takeout place and have it delivered to their door, or sign them up for a fun subscription box you know they’d love! (And speaking of surprise shipments, Pipcorn is having a Buy 1, Give 1 sale—order yourself some snacks and after checkout you’ll have the chance to send a free gift pack of snacks to a friend on us!)