Working remotely is no reason to give up on the idea of celebrating the festive season with your team. Work has shifted increasingly from the physical office to the virtual workspace, and many elements of corporate culture simply must keep up. One of these is the office holiday party.
Without getting all your staff into the office or into some other physical location, it may seem impossible to host an office holiday party. However, this is not true. With a little bit of outside-the-box thinking, you can come up with some creative ways to host virtual holiday parties. We’ve scoured the net to find some ideas you can try, and in this article, we’ll share some of what we think are the very best ones! Let’s get started!
What is a Virtual Holiday Party?
The concept of a virtual party might seem somewhat strange, but virtual holiday parties are exactly what the name implies: a holiday party held on a digital platform like Slack or Zoom. Virtual holiday parties are becoming increasingly popular as remote working has become more common.
Remote work offers clear advantages, but it also comes with its downsides, one of which is how little contact there is between your people. One solution is to set up holiday parties and other team-building events virtually. Technology has given us a unique opportunity to build team spirit and express appreciation in innovative ways, so you should take advantage of this as fully as you can.
Do Virtual Holiday Parties Work?
Virtual holiday parties work. You’ll need some effort to pull off a virtual holiday party successfully; however, the results are likely to be well worth the effort if you get it right. A well-put-together virtual holiday party is an effective way to achieve some of the following:
Show Your Your Employees You Appreciate Them
Just as with regular, in-person holiday parties, a virtual holiday party is a great way to demonstrate that you appreciate your employees. The trick to achieving this outcome is making sure your virtual holiday party is thoughtfully planned and executed.
In today’s remote work culture, thoughtful virtual holiday celebrations go a long way in showing employees they’re valued. A well-planned event not only strengthens team bonds but also cultivates a sense of belonging and pride in the organization.
Showing your employees that you value them as individuals and as team members may potentially lead to other benefits, such as increased employee retention and higher productivity.
Promote social bonding
Social bonding is important for every team. Unfortunately, remote teams don’t have many natural opportunities for this so you need to seize every opportunity that presents itself for social bonding. A virtual holiday party is one of many such ideas.
Virtual events and parties are a great way to emphasize that, despite the lack of physical contact, you’re still a team. When done right, these events help remote teams to break away from the monotony of work and share moments of joy and creativity that can help individuals power through the unavoidable periods of isolation.
Share, Reflect, and Refocus Energies
While you may organize more formal townhall meetings to discuss strategy, informal events like a virtual holiday party are still a great channel for keeping tabs on the pulse of your organization, building your corporate culture, and for helping to refresh and refocus your staff’s energies.
Holiday parties and events, whether virtual or physical, are an excellent opportunity for global teams to come together, celebrate achievements, and reflect on the year’s journey,” she says. “It’s a moment to energize and refocus for the challenges ahead.
You can do this by handing out awards, for example, recognizing the top individual and team performers.
The benefits of hosting a virtual holiday party are clear, and if you’re considering hosting one, we would strongly advise that you go ahead. Next, we’ll share 10 exciting virtual holiday party ideas you can try!
Top 10 Exciting Virtual Holiday Party Ideas You Can Try
Ready for some exciting virtual holiday party ideas? We’ve compiled a list of some solid ideas you may consider. But as you take a look at these ideas, remember: these ideas are not cast in stone.
A virtual holiday party embodies the spirit of innovation and its application to modern work culture. It’s about finding new ways to connect, celebrate, and recognize each other, showing how adaptable and resilient teams can be, even in the most unconventional circumstances. For the best results and to create a truly memorable virtual holiday party, be sure to think outside the box!
Here are some of the top virtual holiday party ideas we would recommend:
Virtual Secret Santa
Secret Santa is a classic holiday game that can be played both offline and online. Most people love virtual secret Santa, since it means receiving gifts which are typically paid for by the company.
Even though the budget for gifts is usually covered by the company, corporate gifting among employees is a great way to deepen social bonds at work.
How to Host a Virtual Secret Santa Event
Step 1: Create a Wish List or Set a Budget
The first thing to do to make virtual Secret Santa work is to set some parameters. You can do this by creating a wishlist that all participants must choose from—this could include thoughtful items like custom mugs, candles, or books—or by declaring a maximum budget per gift.
Whichever approach you adopt, it would be a good idea to seek some feedback from your employees on what they prefer.
Step 2: Randomly Pair Participants
To truly achieve the objective of social bonding, participants need to be paired randomly. Fortunately, this is easy to do using software and tools like a dedicated Secret Santa website or even an AI tool like ChatGPT.
Step 3: Arrange the Gift Exchange
Ideally, gifts should be exchanged on the day of the party, but this may not always be possible. If your team is distributed over a very wide geographical area, physical gifts may need to be mailed out ahead of time. Alternatively, these gifts may simply be uncovered and announced at the virtual party and then mailed out subsequently.
Step 4: Reveal the Secret Santa
Once gifts have been exchanged and revealed, participants may reveal who their Secret Santa is, bringing the game to its conclusion.
Holiday Trivia
Holiday Trivia is a really simple game that allows your team to have tons of fun. And if you don’t have a large budget, this game would be ideal as it doesn’t require any investment at all.
How to Host Holiday Trivia
Step 1: Create Trivia Questions
You need some relevant and interesting questions to get started with. If you have a remote team with global team members, thinking of questions that are culturally relevant to everyone might be tricky but not impossible.
You can try to create questions around things everyone should have some knowledge of, such as trivia relating to your industry or even about the members of the team. For instance, which team member has two dogs, three cats, and a parrot that sings? You could also consider using online trivia generators or quiz platforms.
Step 2: Split into Teams (Optional)
Holiday trivia is best suited for smaller teams, but if you have a large one, you can make it work by splitting up into groups and playing against each other.
Online Scavenger Hunt
Scavenger hunts provide a sense of community and challenge, making them a great party idea both for offline and digital events all year round.
Participants can be given a list of items to find around their homes or in their virtual environment. The first person to find all the items wins.
How to Host a Virtual Scavenger Hunt
Step 1: Create a Scavenger Hunt List
Prepare a list of items that participants need to find around their homes or in their virtual environment. You may need to get creative, and you can include pretty much any items you like. Just remember to choose items that are culturally relevant to all the members of your team.
Step 2: Set a Time Limit
To keep things moving along, set a moderate time limit for participants to find and share these items. The first person to find all the items wins.
Virtual Holiday Movie Parties
Virtual movie parties are an excellent bonding idea for smaller, closer-knit teams, but businesses and organizations of all sizes can use them.
How to Host a Virtual Holiday Movie Party
Step 1: Build a Watchlist
First, you select a movie or a list of movies to watch during the party. As the party is happening virtually, participants will need to watch in sync on their own devices at home or anywhere else. Apps like Teleparty or Netflix Party offer the ability to synchronize movies with a large group of people watching remotely.
Step 2: Host the Virtual Watch Party
The real fun happens when you host a virtual watch party on a video conferencing platform. Participants can discuss movies or simply chat as the movie is played on a separate conferencing app like Discord or Slack.
Virtual Holiday Karaoke
Karaoke is always a great way for teams to let loose and have some fun. Participants can remotely sing their favorite holiday songs together or individually, using karaoke software.
How to Host a Virtual Karaoke Party
Step 1: Choose Karaoke Software
Select a karaoke software or app that supports virtual group singing.
Step 2: Create a Song Bank
Create a playlist of holiday songs that participants can choose from. Doing this ahead of time is important as it allows you some time to choose music that fits your corporate values.
Step 3: Host the Karaoke Session:
Use a video conferencing platform to host the session. Participants can take turns singing their favorite songs.
Virtual Holiday Talent Show
Some of your team members might be really talented in surprising ways. In-house virtual talent shows are a no-pressure stage for showcasing one’s talents, and your employees might relish the opportunity. Participants can perform songs, dances, magic tricks, or anything else they're good at—even something as unique as reciting poetry in Koine Greek.
How to Host a Virtual Talent Show
This is one of the easier virtual holiday party ideas to work on, as you won’t need an elaborate setup. Team members will be responsible for their own props if any are needed, and all you need to do is let them have the stage.
Virtual Holiday Cocktail Party
Holiday cocktail parties are usually a great way to bring people together for a light-hearted evening. But can you pull one off virtually? The answer is yes!
Everyone will have to make their drinks at home and enjoy them on their own, but with the right ambiance, your virtual cocktail party can still be quite the event.
How to Host a Virtual Cocktail Party
Step 1: Choose a Theme
Every cocktail party needs a theme to set the mood and create a festive atmosphere. Again, if you have a remote team, you should consider themes that are as culturally relevant to everyone as possible.
Step 2: Share Cocktail Recipes
Decide on cocktail recipes well in advance so you can share these with your team members before the event. Allow you to share cocktail recipes with participants in advance.
Virtual Holiday Sip and Paint
For more chilled-out virtual party ideas, consider hosting a virtual sip and paint. You may consider inviting a professional artist to provide virtual instruction, or just provide the materials and let your teammates discover their inner van Gogh on their own.
Getting Started
Ready to get started with planning your virtual holiday party? We’ve shared a few ideas to help you get started, but don’t treat this as an exhaustive list. You can use these ideas for inspiration instead and create a completely novel experience.
In addition to your virtual holiday party, if you’re considering giving gifts to your employees to mark the festivities, this guide to holiday gifts for remote employees is a must-read.