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How To Celebrate VE Day 2020 At Home

How To Celebrate VE Day 2020 At Home

How To Celebrate VE Day 2020 At Home

Posted on - 4th May 2020

Friday 8th May 2020 will mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day. On this day 75 years ago, fighting against Nazi Germany came to an end in Europe, which was a great day of celebration across the continent. Since then, we have marked the occasion with street parties, observed two minute’s silence in honour of a generation who made huge sacrifices, and gathered together as communities to celebrate and mark the occasion in our own way. 

This year the normal Early May Bank holiday has been moved from Monday 4th May to Friday 8th May to mark the occasion. However, the world looks very different now due to the coronavirus outbreak and subsequent lockdown. Which means the way we are able to celebrate are also different, however nonetheless very important. 

National VE Day Celebrations During Lockdown 

While we are still in lockdown, a number of remote ways to celebrate the occasion have been arranged. All of which can be done from home. To begin with, at 11am on Friday 8th May there will be a two minute silence. These precious couple of minutes will give us all a chance to stop, wherever we are, and take a few moments to honour and remember all of those who gave their lives and sacrificed so much in the war effort. 

At 3pm, there will also be a ‘toast to heroes’, where you can raise a glass, mug or cup (of whatever beverage you choose) and say a rousing ‘Cheers’ in honour of VE Day. 

Finally, at 9pm (the same time King George VI gave a radio address to mark the end of the fighting in 1945) the Queen will address the nation from Windsor Castle. This will be broadcast on the show The People’s Celebration on BBC One. This will be followed by a national singalong of Dame Vera Lynn’s We’ll Meet Again

Ways To Celebrate VE Day At Home 

Decorate Your Home

First of all, how about a few decorations? While we might not be able to get out to the shops, half of the fun is in making your own! This is a fantastic activity to get the kids involved with and have a chat about VE Day and why it’s so important. 

There are plenty of resources online that will inspire you, including this handy toolkit featuring bunting, colouring for kids and printable posters that can be proudly displayed in your windows. Or, if you're feeling super creative, you could whip out the sewing machine, card or even just an old fashioned pen and paper to create your very own decorations! 

Throw A Garden Party For Your Household 

If you’re living with family or friends at home right now, get everyone involved by throwing a garden party for those in your household. 

The beauty of this is you can do as little as much as you like. Dust off your outdoor furniture, fire up the barbeque, lay out the refreshments and raise a toast to VE Day. You could even go all out by recreating food of the 1940s like corned beef hash, homity pie, and scones! You might also arrange to play some games, such as charades or bingo, providing a nice little break from your screen and the chance to spend some rip roaring family time together. 

Get Involved With A Stay At Home Street Party 

While we would love to see nothing more than communities coming together for a good old traditional street party, that’s just not possible at the moment. But, a few keen celebrators have decided to organise Stay At Home Street Parties, where people comply with social distancing guidelines by staying on their driveways or in their front gardens. 

If you’re planning on decorating you could also get the flags out, hang your bunting outside and enjoy toasting to the heroes along with your neighbours - from a safe distance, of course! 

Try Out A New Hair Do 

If it’s not possible for you to safely celebrate in the company of your neighbours, you could get involved with VE Day Celebrations by styling your hair in a victory roll. This once popular hairstyle was associated with the victory manoeuvre of fighter aircraft during the Battle of Britain in 1940s. 

There are a huge amount of video tutorials online to help you with this and, you never know, you might find yourself falling in love with your sweet new do. 

Take A Trip To The Museum (Virtually, Of Course) 

To mark VE Day, The Imperial War Museum has created a soundscape called Voices of War, which you can enjoy from your own home. This four minute audio track features first hand accounts of VE DE day from the War Museum’s Archive. 

This will be available to listen to here on Friday 8th May. 

Celebrating VE Day At Home 

While we all would have loved to be doing the Lindy Hop with neighbours, family and friends this year, that is just not possible at the moment. But with all of the fantastic virtual and remote events being held across the country, there’s no reason why you can’t get involved. Whether you make your own bunting and decorate the house VE Day style or quietly raise a toast in the comfort of your own home, we hope you have a fantastic time. 

Please remember, whatever you do, to observe social distancing by staying 2m (6ft away) from others outside of your household. In doing this we are all contributing to supporting the NHS and keeping one another safe, something which is (we think) entirely in the spirit of VE Day.