How to Organize a Successful and Safe Car Parade
Photo: Pixabay
Similar to how a lot of common human activities have been modified this year, partying during the COVID-19 pandemic has also taken on some creative forms. One of those forms is the drive-by car parade. Here’s how to plan one, make the event feel festive, and help keep participants safe.
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How to organize one
The first step to throwing a kick-ass car parade is to decide on a date and time. If it’s a surprise event, make sure the person you’re throwing the parade for will be home to watch the parade from their home or apartment.
Next, invite family and friends. You can do this simply by sending a group text or by creating a Facebook event and sending virtual invites.
Use decorations to help set the mood, suggest Northern Nevada Moms bloggers Kacey Queen and Leanna Carson. To adhere to social distancing guidelines, stick to outdoor decorations like yard signs, chalk-written messages on the sidewalk, and car decorations (e.g. balloons and writing well-wishes written on car windows with window markers).
You can also encourage guests to drop off gifts beforehand. Or designate the last person in the parade as the one that gets to transport and drop off everyone’s presents to the party person before they drive their vehicle home. (Just make sure this person wears a mask and stays 6 feet away from the recipient during the delivery.)
On the day of the parade, have guests line up their vehicles down the street from the target destination. And make sure the party recipient is sitting outside on a picnic blanket or lawn chair 5-10 minutes before the parade is scheduled to drive by.
Safety reminders
Due to the threat of COVID-19, it’s important to take some safety precautions to help keep everyone healthy and avoid unintentionally spreading the virus. Communicate these guidelines to guests beforehand, via text or a post on the Facebook event’s discussion thread.
- Instruct guests to take their temperature before departing for the car parade.
- Emphasize the importance of guests staying home if they feel even a bit unwell.
- Establish a maximum car capacity of one person or household per vehicle.
- Encourage guests and parade-watchers to social distance during the event (especially if you have the guests meet in person before the event for a pep talk and you have more than one person viewing the parade).
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Whitney Russell resides in Dayton, though her spirit can be found beach-bumming in Puerto Rico (the land of her half-Puerto Rican heritage). When not crafting car-related content, she can be found chasing after the most amazing toddler in the world, watching her “beaver” of a husband build amazing woodworking projects, hanging out with two crazy dogs, and visiting family and friends. She also enjoys traveling, crafting, and binge-watching period dramas when time allows. See more articles by Whitney.