Tips to Bring Your Virtual Holiday Party to Life

Perhaps this year, it's more important than ever to boost the mood and ring in the festivities. Throwing a company holiday party this year is not weird — in fact, it’s necessary! After a tough year, a company holiday party (even if it’s virtual) can be the perfect way to lift spirits and simply enjoy one another’s company after a long year. In most places, company holiday parties are a time-honored tradition that fosters fellowship, cultivates deeper connections between coworkers, and brings in the joy of the holiday season. Even if we have moved our social lives to the virtual world, we can still find ways to make a virtual holiday party fun. These are some of our favorite tips on how to bring your company virtual holiday party to life.

Virtual Happy Hour

Happy hour is always fun, even in the virtual world. By this point, most of us have become accustomed to virtual cocktail parties and online hangouts. Bring this party style to your company holiday party. Having a virtual holiday company happy hour is a fun way to relax and connect with coworkers without too much stress or planning. Send out a fun invitation to your coworkers or employees a few weeks ahead of time with a notice that this party is BYOB.

You can also send out a list of holiday-inspired cocktails everyone can make and drink at the party. This is a fun way to get into the holiday season and make things a little more festive and interesting. You can even go the extra mile and having custom company cups made especially for this year’s holiday party and delivered to each coworker beforehand. Perhaps add a fun printed variation of your “Bar Menu” with the cup to help bring your party to life.

Holiday Decorations Tour

You can’t decorate your office this year, but it’s likely that everyone you work with has decorated their homes to one extent or another. Whether it’s a Christmas tree, holiday lights, menorahs, beautifully strung stockings, or a simple advent calendar, holiday decorations are fun to share with others. For your virtual holiday party, have each employee do a holiday decorations tour of their home. It’s a great way to share in the holiday spirit and also see your coworkers' holiday decorating traditions.

Holiday Sweater Contest

Time to trade in your business shirts and company uniforms for your most ridiculous holiday sweater. Ugly holiday sweater contests have been a fun party and family holiday tradition in many circles. Bring this fun activity to your company holiday party. You can also encourage coworkers to dress up with other holiday-themed trinkets and accessories. For example, reindeer antlers and light-up earrings are fun holiday accessories that will brighten your holiday party's screen. Loads of laughter are most certainly guaranteed. Vote on who has the best holiday sweater (or the ugliest!), and the employee who wins receives a small token prize.

Secret Santa

Secret Santa is a fun activity to bring into offices and schools that allows for thoughtful gift giving without going over the top. Arrange a few weeks in advance for each coworker to draw their Secret Santa recipient from a hat. Obviously, the gift giver is kept a secret. Each person’s Secret Santa will be provided with their mailing address so they can send a little gift prior to the holiday party. Have everyone open their gifts during the holiday virtual party for some added fun, and even have each person try to guess who their Secret Santa is. Christmas gifts for employees are a pretty traditional practice in most offices, but this Secret Santa game shared during a virtual holiday party is especially fun and festive.

Eliminate Pressure and Focus on Gratitude

Your virtual holiday party is meant to be about fun, joy, and festivities. During a particularly stressful year coupled with a typically stressful time of the year, alleviating pressure on your employees or coworkers to participate in the virtual holiday party is going to be just as important. When you send out your invitations, perhaps request an RSVP with a little note that says this event is optional and no excuses are needed to miss it. Sometimes the best holiday gift we can give to our coworkers is the break they need. Each person is different; some employees may look forward to blowing off steam and laughing with coworkers, while others will appreciate some downtime.

What’s important is to respect everyone’s approach to letting loose for the holiday season. Part of the holiday season is focusing on what we have rather than what we don’t. Be sure to focus on gratitude with your coworkers this year rather than making it just about partying and gift giving. Even if some coworkers don’t attend your party, you can still reach out to wish them a happy holiday and express your appreciation for them.

Remember, in hard years especially, company holiday parties wrap up a year together. It’s not just a time for drinking and gift giving, but also a time to express gratitude and appreciation for one another. Let this year’s virtual holiday party not just light up the screens, but also people’s spirits.