Are you looking for ways to make your remote team’s Christmas party extra special this year? With remote work becoming increasingly popular, finding Christmas party ideas can be tricky. But it doesn’t have to be. We have created a list of 9 virtual Christmas party ideas to ring in the holiday season with your colleagues.
From a virtual Christmas rock concert to Secret Santa, this article has many useful ideas for making this year’s corporate Christmas party a success.
Ideas For Zoom Christmas Party
There are tons of ways to celebrate special dates from home. Stir up some fun with these Zoom holiday party ideas that can turn up the interest meter for you and your remote team.
1. Virtual Secret Santa
Who doesn’t love this classic gift exchange?
If you thought this one was just for Christmas gatherings at work, you need to check out some online platforms that can help you take this tradition online. For instance, try Elfster. The virtual gift exchange platform automatically links a gift-giver with a receiver, providing the recipients’ names and addresses to send the gifts ahead of time. Your coworkers can even create a wish list to help their secret Santa understand what they would like.
Virtual secret Santa is a great game to connect with your teammates and start your virtual event the best way possible. On your virtual Christmas party eve, you and your colleagues can display the secret Santa gifts over Zoom and try to guess who their secret Santa is!
2. A Virtual Christmas Rock Concert
Sounds crazy, right? It’s possible. The traditional way of singing Christmas carols is not everyone’s style. So, if you and your coworkers are as good as Linkin Park (or not), you can give a rock twist to Christmas carols. Plan it, practice it and perform it on your virtual Christmas party eve.
If you don’t want to sing it and instead want to enjoy listening to it, invite a band to perform on Zoom for your organization. This is a cool virtual Christmas party idea for sure, but check your company’s budget before calling a rock band unless you’re okay with no pay for the next 3 months.
3. Virtual Photo Booth
What’s any party without memories captured in photos? No matter how far your colleagues are from you, it’s possible to be right next to each other in a virtual photo booth!
This isn’t a boring “Class of 1950” kind of picture, so add some fun elements. How do you do it at an in-person party? Props like reindeer antlers, Santa hats, et al. Get them on, get your coworkers in one frame on that Christmas Eve Zoom call and take a screengrab as you all say Merry Christmas. Turn that perfect shot into a virtual Christmas card and send it to everyone.
4. Enjoy an Online White Elephant
While “White Elephant” doesn’t necessarily sound like something that can be done online, it can. Some websites like White Elephant Online let users choose items from Amazon or other websites to serve as gifts.
Each member of your team can open and steal gifts virtually. Once the game is over and the prize givers know which team member won what item, they can purchase and send it to the winner.
Fun Ideas For Virtual Celebrations
Do the same things differently!
5. Christmas Snacks
If you work in a remote team, likely your colleagues are sprinkled across the globe. Is there no way you can enjoy yummy snacks and some drinks together? There is.
Order snacks and drinks online from a good eatery near everyone’s home at the same time. Everyone receives their Christmas eve delicacies together, and you can enjoy them together over a Zoom call. This gives you an opportunity to discuss Christmas traditions in different countries, the variety of snacks and drinks, and a lot more. A fun virtual Christmas party, indeed.
6. A Special Christmas Cocktail – Happy Hours
What’s a Christmas party without some alcohol? If you know how to behave on zoom calls with your team, you shouldn’t miss having a drink with your colleagues.
Your good times should include some Christmas cocktail recipes to remember. Create a calendar event – Christmas Happy Hours. Sounds fun already, but how do you get your team members to make this more than just any other Zoom call? Give everyone the same Christmas cocktail recipe and ask them to add a twist of their own to it. Go a step further with the fun and ask them to name their drink after a famous Christmas Movie or song. Everyone meets at the Christmas Happy Hours party, discloses their secret ingredient in the cocktail, and reveals the name of their cocktail. Cheers!
Pro tip: For non-drinkers, let this be a Mocktail with a twist!
7. A Christmas Eve Talent Show
Beyond the set of abilities you see them utilize at work, your coworkers are gifted in a variety of ways. A virtual Christmas celebration might be a great way for them to show off these talents. It’s also a great approach to getting to know each other outside work and forming deeper bonds. As you sit and enjoy the entertainment, let your colleagues perform their songs, dances, stand-up comedy, etc., and wait for your turn. Let this be a competition with prizes for the winner.
Still out of ideas? Check out how we celebrate Pride Month from home on Think Remote!
Virtual Holiday Party Games To Try With Your Remote Team
Remote teams can not only explore common interests during virtual Christmas parties but can also form strong bonds via playing some party games together!
8. Name That Tune
One of the best holiday game ideas is Name That Tune. In this game, players compete to identify a specific song. To play, have your teammates either hum the music or sing the song while muting the microphone. The remote team members need to be alert to catch the lip sync or the tune. The one who recognizes the tune first wins the round.
Pro tip: Try and add underrated Christmas songs like Sufjan Stevens’ “Christmas Unicorn” to make it more challenging for the players.
9. Most Likely To…
You’ve probably played this one with your friends and family. It’s time to get it to your party. This is one of the best virtual Christmas ideas, as it is most likely to (pun intended) make everyone laugh! Most Likely To… is a seasonal superlatives game where your remote teammates consider which of their colleagues is most likely to do certain things during the holidays.
Let every one answer these questions and see who they think is most likely to:
- Overspend on holiday decorations?
- Ignore calls from friends and family during the holiday season?
- Drink too much and stay hungover?
- Cry their eyes out while watching Christmas movies?
The round is won by the employee whose name appears the most times. Keep a record of all the round winners; the most cited employee is named the Christmas Queen or King.
Pro tip: There’s no fun without awkward questions! wink
Feliz Navidad!
While arranging for all of this, don’t forget to decorate your work desk too! From lights to confetti, even the smallest change to your workspace can make it go from dull to festive in minutes. The holiday season is here! It’s time to be merry and while you’re at your virtual Christmas party, remember to raise a toast to the wonderful year of remote work that went by and many more to come.
All of us at ThinkRemote wish you a Merry Christmas!
