How to do Virtual Holiday Parties

Transcript

Welcome to Teambuilding.com’s guide to virtual holiday parties. 

Online holiday parties give remote teams the chance to celebrate the year’s hard work, feel appreciated by employers, and spend time with coworkers.

In this video, you’ll learn 7 tips to make your virtual corporate holiday party fun, memorable, and well-attended. Stick around until the end, and we’ll even include a printable prop for your party!

Let’s get merry!

Tip #1: Set the seasonal scene

Your end-of-year party isn’t just any other Zoom meeting, and it shouldn’t look that way. Encourage attendees to dress up in loud sweaters or fancy dress like they might for an in-person party. 

Virtual backgrounds are also a must. Tell team members to change their backdrops to a cozy cabin or snowy scene for instant holiday vibes. You could even hold a contest and vote on the best background!

Tip #2: Include Food 

Santa gets milk and cookies, and office workers get catered spreads–your remote team should have something to nibble on while they party online.

Free food turns a Zoom meeting into a Zoom party and makes the event feel like more of a treat. Also, staff are likelier to attend if there is a meal stipend. 

You can reimburse the cost of takeout, give gift vouchers for meal delivery services, or send a digital credit card. Since this is a special occasion, budget a little more than you would for a normal lunch meeting. 

You can also send gift boxes with holiday goodies like cookies and cocoa for dessert!

Tip #3: Holiday spirits inspire holiday spirit

If you want to toast your team during the online holiday party, you’ll need something to toast with! Mixed drinks create that cocktail party feel and help your team loosen up. Best of all, no one has to drive home after!

You can send cocktail kits to staff and make holiday drinks together as part of your party. Be sure to offer nonalcoholic mocktail options for non-drinkers too!

Tip #4: Use breakout rooms!

The remote holiday party is your staff’s time to socialize, but it’s hard to chat with 100 other teammates in a Zoom room! Take advantage of breakout room features to split employees into smaller groups for conversation. We recommend no more than 10 people per breakout room.

Once there, employees can catch up with coworkers, do icebreakers, play games, or do activities. Speaking of which…

Tip #5: Play games

Great games and activities are the key to any online event. You want partygoers to participate, and that means giving them something fun to do!

Good games get folks moving, like a lightning scavenger hunt. To host this activity, have employees grab items like ski goggles or eggnog and race back onscreen. 

Or, choose an activity that captures guests’ full concentration, like a holiday heist or very merry murder mystery.

There are tons of games you can play–Google “teambuilding.com virtual holiday party games” for our top picks!

Tip #6: Make a detailed calendar invite

Once you nail down the details, include all relevant info in the calendar invite. Putting an event on employees’ online calendars will help maximize attendance. You can include the food budget, dress code, any special instructions, and of course, the link to the meeting room. 

Tip #7: Book a pro to run your party

You can certainly run super fun virtual holiday parties by yourself– but you don’t have to! Save time by booking a pro to plan and host your party instead. For a fee, virtual holiday party companies can organize activities, send email invites, mail gifts and kits to guests, and emcee the festivities. This way, you can kick back and have fun with your staff!

There you have it. Now, you know how to throw fantastic online holiday parties. In case you want to make your screenshot party pictures more memorable, here is a link to some printable photo props.

Need more activity inspiration? Google “virtual holiday ideas by teambuilding.com” for more of our favorites.

Know a team leader putting together a virtual party, or want to send a hint to your boss? Hit “like” and “share” to help them find this video. Then “subscribe” to get notified when we post our next one!

A question for the comments –what’s something from a past company holiday party that you still remember fondly?

Happy holidays, and see you next time!