Questions · Holiday video call

Holiday video call questions for people too far to hug

For the call where Grandma is too close to the camera, an uncle is frozen mid-sentence and somebody is eating breakfast while you eat dinner. Questions that give a holiday video call a shape, so it’s more than “can you hear me?”.

  • 19 questions
  • EN + TL on every card
  • Free in the app
Download on theApp Store Get it onGoogle Play

Kumustahan is a bilingual conversation card app: 1,200 questions in English and Filipino across 7 decks, with a short reflection on the back of every card.

Getting to know№ 41

During a busy week, what signs tell you that you are still doing okay?

Kapag busy ang week, anong signs ang nagsasabi sa'yo na okay ka pa naman?

Tap to flipkumustahan
A note

Your signs may be small: sleep, patience, appetite, humor, or the ability to answer messages without dread.

Puwedeng maliit lang yung signs: tulog, pasensya, gana kumain, humor, o kaya mong sumagot ng messages nang hindi mabigat.

Tap to returnkumustahan

The questions

19 questions for a holiday video call

Every question in English and Filipino/Tagalog, word for word from the Kumustahan decks. Open “Back of the card” for the reflection printed on the other side.

A quick round for every square

5 questions

One-line answers so each person on the screen gets a turn early.

  1. What word would describe your week so far?

    Anong word ang babagay sa week mo so far?

    Back of the card

    Sometimes one word is enough to begin. Naming the week can help you notice what your heart has been carrying.

    Minsan sapat na ang isang word para makapagsimula. Kapag napangalanan mo ang week mo, mas nakikita mo kung ano ang bitbit mo.

  2. Pick your ideal weather: a warm rainy afternoon or a cool sunny morning.

    Pumili ng gusto mong panahon: maulan pero mainit na hapon o maaraw pero malamig na umaga.

    Back of the card

    Choose a sound to go with your weather.

    Pumili ng tunog na bagay sa pinili mong panahon.

  3. Pick one drink that makes an ordinary day feel a little special.

    Pumili ng isang drink na nagpaparamdam na medyo special ang ordinary day.

    Back of the card

    A drink can turn an ordinary pause into a tiny celebration. Sometimes that small upgrade is the whole point.

    Minsan isang drink lang, parang may small celebration na sa ordinary day. Yun na yung tiny upgrade.

  4. Which part of the day usually feels easiest for you?

    Anong part ng araw usually pinaka-madali para sa'yo?

    Back of the card

    Some people come alive in the morning, some at night, and some during one quiet pocket in between.

    May taong buhay na buhay sa umaga, may gabi ang favorite, at may isang tahimik na part lang sa gitna na hinihintay.

  5. Name one harmless opinion you take seriously, like food, movies, habits, or small preferences.

    Magbanggit ng isang harmless opinion na seryoso ka, like food, movies, habits, o small preferences.

    Back of the card

    Harmless opinions are a safe place to be dramatic. The stakes are low, but the conviction can still be strong.

    Safe maging dramatic sa harmless opinions. Low stakes lang, pero pwedeng strong pa rin ang conviction.

Actually catching up

6 questions

Better than “so what’s new?”, which always gets “not much”.

  1. Share something you wish people understood about your life lately.

    Ikuwento ang gusto mong maintindihan ng mga tao tungkol sa buhay mo lately.

    Back of the card

    You can keep this general or pass. Which part of your day would help someone understand your answer?

    Puwedeng general lang o mag-pass. Anong part ng araw mo ang makakatulong para maintindihan nila ang sagot mo?

  2. If a friend asked what matters to you lately, what is the first thing you would mention?

    Kung tanungin ka ng friend kung ano ang importante sa'yo lately, ano yung una mong sasabihin?

    Back of the card

    You do not have to list everything. Starting with one honest thing is already enough for a real answer.

    Hindi mo kailangang ilista lahat. Sapat na magsimula sa isang honest na bagay para maging totoong sagot.

  3. During a busy week, what signs tell you that you are still doing okay?

    Kapag busy ang week, anong signs ang nagsasabi sa'yo na okay ka pa naman?

    Back of the card

    Your signs may be small: sleep, patience, appetite, humor, or the ability to answer messages without dread.

    Puwedeng maliit lang yung signs: tulog, pasensya, gana kumain, humor, o kaya mong sumagot ng messages nang hindi mabigat.

  4. What is something you can handle better now than before?

    Ano yung mas kaya mo nang i-handle ngayon kaysa dati?

    Back of the card

    Growth is often noticed in comparison. What used to shake you may now take less from you.

    Madalas napapansin ang growth kapag may comparison. Yung dati kang kinakabahan, baka ngayon mas kaya mo nang harapin.

  5. What would you like to make more time for this month?

    Ano ang gusto mong bigyan ng mas maraming oras ngayong buwan?

    Back of the card

    Imagine an extra afternoon opens up. Would you spend it all on this or leave some time free?

    Isipin na nabakante ang isang hapon. Ilalaan mo ba lahat ng oras dito o magtitira ka pa ng libreng oras?

  6. Tell us about something you used to avoid that feels less scary now.

    Kuwento mo yung dati mong iniiwasan pero hindi na ganun ka-scary ngayon.

    Back of the card

    Less scary is still movement. You do not have to be fearless to know something has changed.

    Movement pa rin ang less scary. Hindi mo kailangang maging fearless para malaman na may nagbago.

Home, from far away

5 questions

Food, habits and songs that connect the kitchen there to the kitchen here.

  1. When you think of home, what small detail comes up first?

    Kapag naiisip mo ang home, anong maliit na detail ang unang pumapasok?

    Back of the card

    Home can be a smell, a sound, a person, a room, or one ordinary detail that stayed.

    Pwedeng amoy, tunog, tao, kwarto, o isang ordinaryong detail ang home. Minsan yun ang unang bumabalik.

  2. Share one food rule your household still follows.

    Mag-share ng isang food rule na sinusunod pa rin sa bahay niyo.

    Back of the card

    House rules around food can be funny, practical, or oddly sacred. They carry the flavor of how people grew up.

    Yung food rules sa bahay, minsan funny, minsan practical, minsan oddly sacred. May flavor siya ng kinalakihan natin.

  3. Name a topic your family or friends can discuss forever.

    Sabihin yung topic na kayang pag-usapan forever ng family o friends mo.

    Back of the card

    Every group has a topic that refuses to end. It keeps coming back because everyone has one more detail to add.

    May topic talaga na ayaw matapos. Paulit-ulit bumabalik kasi laging may dagdag na kwento ang bawat isa.

  4. Which song takes you back to a particular time with friends?

    Anong kanta ang nagpapaalala sa'yo ng isang panahon ninyo ng friends mo?

    Back of the card

    Picture where everyone was when the song came on.

    Isipin kung nasaan ang lahat noong tumugtog ang kanta.

  5. Who do you enjoy eating with, even if the food is simple?

    Sino yung masarap kasamang kumain kahit simple lang ang pagkain?

    Back of the card

    The company can change the meal. Some people make even ordinary food feel warmer.

    Iba ang pagkain kapag okay ang kasama. May mga taong kahit simpleng meal, gumagaan yung moment.

Before you hang up

3 questions

Something warmer than “okay, bye, bye, bye”.

  1. If you and a friend talk less often, what would you want to ask them?

    Kung bihira na kayong mag-usap ng friend, ano ang gusto mong itanong sa kanila?

    Back of the card

    Would you ask now or wait for a quieter time to talk?

    Itatanong mo ba ngayon o hihintayin mong mas tahimik ang oras ng usapan?

  2. Who do you wish you could spend more normal, no-special-plan time with?

    Sino yung gusto mong makasama nang mas madalas, kahit walang special na lakad?

    Back of the card

    Ordinary time can build closeness slowly. Not every good moment needs an occasion.

    Nakakabuo rin ng closeness ang ordinaryong time. Hindi lahat ng magandang moment kailangan may special na lakad.

  3. Choose a short message you could send a friend you have not talked to lately.

    Kung hindi mo nakakausap lately ang isang friend, anong maikling message ang ipapadala mo?

    Back of the card

    The first message does not need to contain the whole catch-up.

    Hindi kailangang nasa unang message ang buong kumustahan.

How to use them

Before you ask

A holiday video call goes better with a plan for the first five minutes: one quick question that every person on the screen answers in turn. It gets everyone talking once, fixes the audio problems early and stops two people from holding the whole call.

Group calls have a known pattern. The loudest relatives talk over each other, the quiet ones drift off camera, and after ten minutes of catching up the conversation runs dry. Questions with specific answers (the part of the day that feels easiest right now, the sign that you’re doing okay in a busy week) give people something real to report instead of “good, busy, you?”.

Save a question for the goodbye, too. Holiday calls tend to end abruptly when someone has to go, and a last warm question gives the call an ending people remember.

Good for

  • Christmas and Thanksgiving calls with family abroad
  • Grandparents who can’t travel this year
  • Military families and deployed relatives
  • Friends spread across time zones
  • Students who couldn’t fly home for the holidays

Tips

  1. Name who answers next. On a call, “anyone?” gets silence or three people at once.
  2. Ask the person in the earliest time zone first, before their coffee wears off.
  3. Share your screen with the question so everyone can read it, including those hard of hearing.
  4. Hold the deeper catching-up questions for one-to-one calls later in the week.
  5. Keep a group call under an hour. End while it’s still fun.

Decks for this

Holiday video call

Frequently asked questions

What do you talk about on a family video call during the holidays?

Start with a quick round everyone can answer in one line, like a word for their week or the weather where they are. Then move to specific catch-up questions and stories about home, and finish with something warm before you hang up.

How do you keep a group video call from getting awkward?

Give it a host who calls on people by name and a few questions with short, concrete answers. That stops people talking over each other and keeps the quiet ones from disappearing.

How can we make a holiday video call feel special?

Do something together: eat the same dish, open a gift on camera, or take turns answering questions from the same deck. A shared activity feels more like being in one room than a status update.

Do these work for relatives who speak another language?

Every card in the free Kumustahan app is in English with a Filipino translation, which helps on calls between Filipino families in the US and relatives back home.

Bring a better question to the table.

Free on iPhone and Android. 420 cards free, no account, works offline.

Download on theApp Store Get it onGoogle Play