Remote and distributed work is incredibly common these days. Even if you work in an office, there’s a good chance that you either work for or manage a distributed team. If that’s the case, a virtual holiday party is a must.
Virtual holiday celebrations aren’t just about having fun—though, that’s an important part too! They’re also about boosting workplace culture and connecting teammates who might not have much interaction with each other. In this sense, a virtual holiday party is essential to team success.
The question is, how do you host the best virtual holiday party for your staff?
This post is here to help! Keep reading for 15 virtual holiday party ideas you can use to bring remote employees together, level up morale, and ultimately, improve work performance. From creative games to thoughtful team building activities, we’ve compiled a wealth of strategies for you to consider this holiday season.
15 Virtual Holiday Party Ideas to Try
These remote holiday party ideas are sure to bring joy and connection to your team.
To help you get the most out of this article, we’ve separated our remote holiday ideas into four categories: games, food-related activities, team-building exercises, and themed digital boards.
Play Virtual Holiday Party Games
Spice up your virtual holiday parties with an interactive game or two. These activities will help remote team members bond, while creating memories that last the whole year through. Here are some ideas:
1. Virtual Secret Santa
A Secret Santa gift exchange is a welcome addition to any holiday party. Good news—you can play a virtual version with your remote team. You just need to make a few adjustments.
Here’s how to make it work: set a budget for gifts. Then use an online platform like Elfster to create wish lists and draw names. That way every employee knows who to buy a gift for and what to buy them. Said employees then purchase and send gifts directly to each other’s homes. When your virtual holiday party rolls around, the gifts are finally opened and enjoyed.
This activity not only spreads holiday cheer but also fosters a sense of closeness as staffers exchange thoughtful presents and messages. It’s a great way to strengthen team bonds.
2. Virtual Escape Room
Bring the thrill of adventure to your remote holiday party with a virtual escape room.
These online experiences offer a perfect blend of teamwork and excitement as participants solve puzzles to escape a specific scenario. If you choose a holiday-themed escape room, the activity will also promote holiday spirit, which will make your entire event feel more festive.
At the end of the day, escape room activities teach teammates to collaborate and sharpen their problem-solving skills, while having loads of fun. As such, they make for excellent team-building exercises in addition to being a fun holiday game. (More on team building later.)
3. Digital Holiday Trivia Match
Holiday trivia is a fantastic way to engage your employees.
This is important because virtual parties are naturally less engaging than in-person ones. After all, attendees can easily text a friend, surf the internet, or watch Frasier reruns—and the other people at the party won’t even know. Because of this, you need to hold your team’s attention.
A fun trivia game will help. Brainstorm questions that center around holiday movies, winter activities, traditions around the world, etc. (Pro tip: AI platforms like ChatGPT will help you come up with dozens of questions in seconds, though you may want to fact check the results.) To make your party inclusive, make sure that the questions don’t rely exclusively on one holiday or tradition.
Once you have a list of questions, present them to your team and track who answers them correctly. If you want to take a more formal approach, consider using a platform like Sporcle or Kahoot! Both will help you host a better trivia game. Whatever you decide to do, know that trivia games spark friendly competition, allow participants to learn interesting facts, and are super fun.
4. Festive Decorations Competition
Encourage creativity with a holiday or New Years decorations competition.
Ask your remote employees to decorate their home office or desk, then share what they’ve come up with during the virtual event. You can create different categories such as “Most Festive” or “Best Use of Lights” to reward different decorating attempts and make the contest more fun.
Decoration competitions have a few benefits for distributed teams. First, they help teammates get to know each other, as they allow a glimpse into each other’s holiday traditions and styles. Two, they can be quite entertaining—both if the decorating attempts are amazing and if they’re less than stellar. And three, they spread holiday cheer!
Engage in a Virtual Holiday Food Event
Food brings people together—even if they’re thousands of miles apart. Use your virtual holiday party, or any of the other virtual events you host this holiday season, to capture the magic. Here are four culinary-related activities to consider for your team:
5. Virtual Happy Hour
Host a virtual happy hour to unwind and connect over your favorite holiday drinks.
Encourage your employees to purchase a festive beverage like eggnog, hot apple cider, or mulled wine. Then ask them to pour a glass and sip it throughout your team’s holiday get-together.
If your video-conferencing tool of choice allows it, consider using the breakout rooms feature to split your team up into smaller groups. This will enable more intimate conversations that foster deeper connections between coworkers.
Speaking of conversations, what should everyone talk about? Let your employees talk about whatever is on their mind. If the dialogue dries up, provide conversation starters or ice breakers. For example, encourage them to ask about their holiday plans or what they’re most excited about in the new year.
6. Digital Dinner Party
Here’s a wild idea: host a digital dinner (or lunch!) party for your team. You can do this by giving each of your employees money to order a favorite takeout meal. Then have them dig in after they join your event.
As the event progresses, ask each attendee what they chose to eat and why. This will give your team plenty to talk about and bond over. It will also help them learn about their colleagues. They’ll think, “Wow, I didn’t know Sheila liked tofu. We have more in common than I thought.”
One more thing: play holiday music in the background. This will help set a festive mood for your digital dinner party. There’s never a bad time to spread holiday spirit!
7. Online Wine Tasting Event
Want to provide your team with a truly unique experience? Host an online wine tasting event during your virtual holiday party. Doing so will add an air of sophistication to your holiday bash.
We know what you’re thinking, “That sounds great, but I don’t know anything about wine.” Not to worry. You can hire a wine expert to attend your event and guide the tasting. All you have to do is send the wine they suggest to each of your employees before the party starts.
If your team is more of a cocktail or mocktail crowd, you can send mixology kits to everyone to mix up the same drink. Invite an expert on the spirit used (bourbon, gin, etc.) to give an educational talk about it.
There’s a good chance your team has never attended a virtual wine tasting before. So, the activity will stick in their minds and give them something to talk about for months afterward.
8. Virtual Gingerbread House Contest
Channel your inner architect with a fun gingerbread house contest.
Provide teammates with kits or ask them to purchase their own supplies before your shindig starts. Then set a time limit and encourage everyone to craft their best gingerbread creations. As the clock ticks down, check in with each participant to see how they’re doing and to jumpstart conversation. You definitely don’t want to suffer through silence as your team works.
When the clock hits zero, ask participants to showcase their work. Each person can then vote for a winner in different categories like “Most Creative” or “Best Use of Candy.”
After the event, encourage everyone to share a photo of their final house.
Contests like this are entertaining, allow people to unleash their creative prowess, and stimulate friendly competition. In other words, they’re great holiday activities for remote employees.
Host Holiday Team Building Activities
Teams that work together succeed together. That’s why team building activities are so important—they teach employees how to interact in positive ways. Add a little team building magic to your next get-together with these fun virtual holiday party ideas:
9. Digital Christmas Movie Night
Watching holiday movies is a timeless tradition that can easily be adapted for virtual parties.
First, allow your team to vote on the movie they want to watch. You can include some shorter classic specials to be aware of time. Then use a platform like Teleparty to watch the chosen movie together. Finally, host a discussion afterwards. What did your employees like/dislike about the film? Who was their favorite character and why? If you were to cast your team to act in the movie, which role would each team member get?
This shared experience is a fantastic way to bond over the holidays. And it will give your staff a chance to reminisce about favorite scenes and quotes from classic movies, or ones new to them!Â
10. Online Holiday Scavenger Hunt
Everyone loves a good scavenger hunt. But remote teams hardly ever get the chance to participate in this exercise. Change that with an online scavenger hunt this holiday season.
Create a list of holiday-related items for participants to find in their homes. Then set a time limit and award prizes to those who find the most items. Alternatively, have your team work together and offer escalating prizes for the number of items they find as a collective group. For example, they each get a $5 gift card if they find 10 items on the list, a $25 gift card if they find 30, etc.
This activity is both fun and interactive. It also encourages team members to think on their feet and has the potential to produce a lot of laughs!
11. Matching Ugly Sweater Party Game
We all have heard of ugly sweater parties, but have you heard of ugly sweater team building? Build team camaraderie with a matching ugly sweater contest.
Here’s how it works: split employees into groups before the virtual party and challenge them to make or find the ugliest holiday sweaters they can. Every group wears their matching sweaters to the party. The results are then modeled and voted on. Winners get prizes (and year-long bragging rights).
This team-building activity is super fun, fosters creativity, and builds memories. So, if you’re looking for a way to strengthen team bonds, you can’t go wrong with ugly sweaters.
Create Holiday Themed Digital Boards
Digital boards are a great way to share favorite traditions, cherished memories, and more between employees. They’re an easy way to increase employee connection throughout the holiday season.
(Note: A digital board is an online platform that allows companies and/or employees to share messages, photos, and even videos. Tools like Kudoboard will help you display digital boards and cards at virtual events to increase attendee participation and build stronger bonds.)
12. Favorite Holiday Traditions Board
Invite team members to write about their favorite holiday traditions on your board. Or, if they don’t have much to say on the topic, share a picture or video to illustrate a beloved tradition.
Doing so will help coworkers get to know each other on a deeper level. It can also spark meaningful conversation between colleagues and foster mutual respect. All of these things make this digital board idea a wonderful addition to any virtual holiday party.
13. Delicious Recipes Board
Create a “Favorite Holiday Recipes” board so that your employees can post about the prime ribs, creamed spinach, and spiced punches they serve every holiday season.
Encourage contributors to explain why they love the recipe, too. Does it just taste good, or does it hold a special place in their heart because their grandma always made it when they were growing up? The stories behind the food will connect employees on a personal level.
This board gives team members something to talk about during your virtual holiday party and you a collection of recipes to experiment with. You can even print it as a company recipe book. Who knows, you might just find a new dish that your kids will look forward to eating every year!
14. New Year’s Resolutions Board
Ask team members to add their New Year’s resolutions to your board.
What do they want to achieve over the next 365 days? Maybe they want to run a marathon. Or finally go on that family vacation they’ve been dreaming about. Or learn to bake the best croissants.
After everyone posts about their goals, take time to talk through them. Why does each person want to achieve these specific things? Just make sure you create a judgment-free zone!
Revisit the board throughout the year to track progress and offer support. This is a great way to build a workplace culture of accountability and encouragement.
15. Rockstar Employee Board
Finally, dedicate a digital board to recognizing the contributions of your team. You can call it the “Rockstar Employee” board, or the “Team Love” board, or something that resonates with your company.
Start by writing a message for each person on your team. These messages should acknowledge your employees’ hard work and reinforce their value to your organization. Once done, ask your staff to contribute by writing their own kind words about three to five of their coworkers.
Employee recognition, both top-down recognition and peer-to-peer recognition, will help boost morale and engagement, leading to a better, more positive work environment.
Tips to Host a Company Holiday Party Online
A virtual holiday party will bring your team together—assuming you plan and host it correctly. Here are three practical tips to ensure your virtual party is a big success.
Set Your Budget
How much do you want to spend on your digital shindig?
A virtual holiday party will almost always be cheaper than an in-person one. But you’ll still need to pay for things like food, activities, and prizes depending on your event. You might have to spring for virtual conferencing software too, if your company doesn’t already have it.
A clear budget will help you plan an enjoyable virtual holiday celebration without breaking the budget. Who says you can’t be fun and financially responsible?
Pick a Date and Time
When will your virtual holiday event take place?
You need to choose the right date and time to maximize participation. Do your best to accommodate different time zones if your team is spread across multiple regions. Also, consider a mid-week event to break up normal routines without encroaching on personal weekend plans.
Before deciding on a specific date and time, however, talk to your employees to gauge their availability and preferences. This will make sure everyone feels included—and actually attends.
Choose Holiday Party Activities
What will you do at your virtual holiday party?
You need to plan fun activities to ensure your get-together is engaging. Fortunately, we’ve given you tons of great activities ideas in this article!
Tailor the activities to your team’s interests and culture. That way the event feels personalized and everyone who attends can have an enjoyable and memorable experience.
Level Up Your Next Virtual Holiday Party With Kudoboard
Virtual holiday parties allow remote teams to connect and engage during the holiday season. They often boost team morale and contribute to a positive workplace culture.
The question on everyone’s mind before they host a virtual holiday party is, “What are we going to do at this event?” After reading this article you know the answer to that question! You’re going to play holiday trivia, or share a meal, or participate in a matching ugly sweater contest, etc.
Whatever activities you decide on, make sure to add holiday-themed boards to the mix, which you can do with Kudoboard. Our platform makes it super easy to create digital boards that employees can contribute to. (Pro tip: digital boards are great for an in-person or hybrid holiday party, too!)
The best part is, Kudoboard can be used throughout the year to facilitate employee recognition and engagement. Give it a try this holiday season to see if it’s right for your remote team.
Bring the Holiday Spirit to Your Remote Team
Kudoboards are a fun, easy-to-set up addition to any virtual holiday party
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