Quarantine Happy Hours
THE CHALLENGE:
MAKE VIRTUAL HAPPY HOUR HAPPY AGAIN
A longtime client recently called us with a fun request. She wanted a solution for her current happy hour situation, which is our collective happy hour situation really. One beautiful thing about the COVID-19 measures is that we are all in this together. Apart, but together. So we immediately knew exactly what she was talking about and wanting to create. In the absence of in-person bonding, she was looking for a way to make a virtual happy hour feel intentional and connected.
She enlisted Craven + Co. By the Hour to create the concept that we came to call our “Happy Hour Bento Boxes” around the office.
Our starting point was a disposable bamboo box we had sourced for a twins’ birthday party a couple of summers ago. For that client, we had customized the boxes for the party and included everything inside that was needed to eat lunch on a bus on the way to the festivities.
For these Happy Hour Bento Boxes, we needed to give the idea a remix.
The morning of the scheduled zoom call, each girlfriend received a box personalized with her name. We even shipped a box to her friend in North Carolina. When it was time, the party hopped on zoom and opened their boxes to an array of the same goodies they would share if they were meeting in-person. This touch warmed up the whole call + let everyone feel closer together, even if just for an hour. ♡
HAPPY HOUR BENTO BOXES: THE INGREDIENTS
A cocktail shaker filled with Vodka + Elderflower Gimlet for one
Lemon + Rosemary Oloves [that’s right, O-loves, not just olives]
A Creminelli Artisan Charcuterie Snack with Casalingo Italian salami, white cheddar + cherries
Redstone’s Dark Chocolate Bar with Fleur de Sel Caramel
A Yeti Lowball Rambler for the friends to use for the happy hour and then night after night for their evening, neighborhood quarantine walks
Various props that were unique to each box, so that everyone could have their own surprise lewk when the video started rolling - think 70s sunglasses, mustaches, tiaras, sequin headbands, pink wigs
Header photo by Lizzie Munro for Punch, who has a great article on the history of the classic drink + recipe.