A virtual holiday party celebrates any event or occasion on any online platform. These celebrations could be done on Google Meet, Skype, Cisco Webex or the highly popular Zoom.
A virtual office party uses creative ideas for activities, themes and games for participants to enjoy — without having to be in the same location and even time zone.
But why organize one for your company?
What are the Benefits of a Virtual Holiday Party?
A virtual holiday party for some may seem like a waste of time. They may consider it an event that forces people to participate, discounting the probability of “Zoom fatigue” and a general disinterest in doing to a work function online.
But this shouldn’t be the case because the online celebration offers numerous benefits.
Brings Together a Remote Team
People working from different locations may find it troublesome to bond with one another. They may face difficulties understanding the working style, personalities and methods of various team members, limiting the potential for collaboration. The lack of face-to-face meetings that work from home enhances this feeling of separation.
A virtual holiday party, with the right theme and activities, has the potential to bring different personalities together in a social setting. Some ice breakers may help teams begin to understand one another and learn about their likes and dislikes. Understanding each other is a good start to building a sense of cooperation, community and collaboration. All of which generate increased productivity and efficiency.
Encourages Appreciation and Recognition
A virtual holiday party can serve as an effective platform to demonstrate gratitude and appreciation for employees who have performed well in the past year. Such recognition and appreciation, coupled with the jolly mood of the event, can motivate the rest to work harder.
Recognition of a job well done also works as an effective employee retention strategy, preventing star employees from leaving.
Increases Morale and Determination
No person enjoys monotonous work because humans are social creatures that seek out company. Thus, a virtual holiday party gives a remote team anticipation of what is to come for an event. It helps them look forward to completing their due share of work and enjoying it to their fullest at the party.
The celebrations allow a remote team to manage stress, boosting morale and determination of teams.
What 9 Virtual Holiday Party Ideas Would a Remote Team Enjoy?
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Awards Show
An award show is an engaging event that allows a remote team to express their gratitude and appreciation. The prizes and titles given out do not have to be anything serious. They can consist of trivial tags such as the most disciplined individual or the funniest person. Overall, it allows the participants to have a refreshing time.
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Karaoke
A remote team can organize a karaoke session to celebrate an occasion. The participants can select songs that they want to sing. In other cases, they can choose a melody or track that ends with the last alphabet of the previous one. Those who are not good at singing or feel embarrassed can lip-sync to join in the fun.
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Mocktail-Making
A remote team can make colorful and unique mocktails and share the process with the rest through a video platform. Those new to it can learn something and the experienced employees can guide the others.
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Trivia
Quizzes and trivia are something that almost everyone enjoys, irrespective of their age. The participants of a virtual holiday party are no exception. A remote team can arrange some fun and exciting questions that test knowledge on general things, novels, movies and sports, among others.
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Dumbsharas (Dumb Charades)
Dumbsharas is an engaging game in which a person can choose a movie and act out its title using their actions. The rest must guess the name. To make the event even more appealing, a remote team can introduce a point system.
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Bingo
A remote team can play a game of bingo during a virtual holiday party. However, instead of mere numbers, the bingo card can have a few actions written on them. It can state something like “Still Deems Santa Real” or “Has Anniversary in March.”
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The Naughty List
The Naughty List is like bingo. However, the actions written on it are mischievous or wicked. It can be something like “Knocked Over a Christmas Tree” or “Has Re-gifted a Present.” The person who has been the best in the past year gets a prize at the end.
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Gift Exchange
In the gift exchange event, all the participants can send any present of their choice to the host beforehand. During the virtual call, the organizer would pick up two papers. One would have the names of the members written and the other, the name of the gift. In this way, a remote team can exchange presents excitingly.
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Treasure Hunt
A treasure hunt is a fun game that can fetch the attention and interest of numerous people, even virtually. In it, the host will specify an object or a color. The participants must run about their house or room and seek anything like the given specifications. The person who cannot find something or finds it the slowest loses the round and must carry out the penalty.
You have many other ideas to do for a virtual office party for the holidays. But whichever theme and activities you go with, make sure to keep the festivities inclusive and fun. Done right, and this online social gathering will likely have some offline results that benefit your business.
