Gifts, eggnog, holiday decorations and ugly Christmas sweaters are all staples of a classic company holiday party.
Your employees can still enjoy it all this year.
Whether your team works remotely part-time or full-time or a mix of both, throwing a virtual holiday party is a great way to celebrate your employees’ hard work over the past year.
Continue reading for some fun and easy virtual holiday party ideas.
Holiday Trivia Contests
Holiday trivia is a nice way to build the Christmas spirit, not to mention the competitive spirit. You can use an application to create your trivia contest (many of these apps are paid, but you can find some for free), or just come up with your own questions and use a Google Form to record answers. Here are some questions you can ask:
- Q: What made Frosty the Snowman come alive? A: That old silk hat
- Q: In the cult classic Christmas movie, Jingle All The Way, what is the name of the action figure Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character is searching for? A: Turboman
- Q: In the popular Christmas movie, Home Alone, where are the McCallisters going on vacation? A: Paris
Trivia can be played in teams (assigned by departments or at random) or if you have fewer employees, everyone can participate as an individual. Be sure to hype up the exciting prizes to be won such as an extra day off or e-gift cards.
A fully-hosted virtual holiday party
There are a number of companies that offer fully hosted virtual parties. One such option is TeamBuilding, which offers a variety of interactive options for up to 200 people. According to TeamBuilding, their standard holiday parties are “90 minutes, fully facilitated over a secure video conference line[...] Most events have both an energetic host to keep your people engaged, and a co-host to manage all of the technical aspects”.
Party options include activities such as holiday trivia and design your own ugly sweater challenge.
Holiday SWAG or gift boxes
Deliver some holiday cheer directly to your employees’ door. Whether you compile a variety of gifts from different local retailers yourself, or use a service such as Saul Good Gift Co., Seascape Gift Baskets, or Legends Haul, gift boxes are a great way to show your team how much you appreciate them. A well curated gift basket can be personalized to suit dietary preferences and bring joy to everyone in your company.
Holiday happy hour
A virtual happy hour is another great way to celebrate together from afar. You can provide a list of ingredients beforehand for the cocktail(s) you’ll be making, or you can send a cocktail making kit to your employees directly (make sure to include non-alcoholic options too).
You can either have someone from your company lead the happy hour or hire a bartender to host.
Gingerbread house contest
Send all of your employees a gingerbread house kit and have them build it during your holiday party. You can award prizes for:
- The person who successfully builds their house the fastest
- The person with the most creative gingerbread house
- The person with the most classic gingerbread house
- The person whose house looks most like it’s about to fall apart
No matter what you decide to do, remember that holiday parties are all about showing your employees that you appreciate them. You can always ask for feedback beforehand when looking for virtual holiday party ideas, so that your event is tailored to your team.
Want some do’s and don’ts for hosting a virtual holiday party? Download our FREE infographic, Do’s and Don’ts of Hosting a Virtual Holiday Party to learn more about what you should (and shouldn’t) do to host the best holiday party this year.
