To state that 2020 was an “eventful year” would be the biggest understatement of the decade. After navigating through the challenges of lockdowns since March, we are finally at the holiday season. While everything else is being canceled, we are dedicated to creating a sense of normalcy in whatever safe way that we can. 2020 has taught us numerous life lessons that have helped shape us into kinder, wiser (and cleaner) individuals.
Like every other holiday this year, Christmas and Hanukkah too will have to be celebrated virtually to keep everyone safe. If you are feeling down about having to host your office Christmas party online, we hear you.
But it’s not too late to turn this holiday party around. Here are some surprisingly fun festive ideas that will make your employees enjoy and truly remember this remote holiday celebration.
1. Ho Ho Holiday Trivia
Divide your team members into different groups and host a holiday trivia competition. Test how well your colleagues know about the holiday traditions across the world or something as simple as the names of all of Santa’s reindeer.
Fun fact: The first guess is almost always “Rudolph”, and he is not a part of the original eight.
You will be able to get hold of many ready-made quizzes online. Just download, choose the questions, and voila! You’re all set to roll.
2. A Very V.R. Christmas
With the help of experience-driven toolsets like Event Farm, you can host an entire Christmas party using Virtual Reality. The attendees can download the software on their personal systems, build their avatars and check into the party, where they get to interact with their colleagues and enjoy wine and hor d’oeuvres; which can be delivered to each employee beforehand.
3. At-home Spa
As we all know, the holiday season can be quite stressful—on one side, you have caught up on all the shopping, decorating, gift wrapping, and baking, and on the other, you need to tackle the mount of deadlines that keeps growing as you near the holidays. Not to mention how managing everything gets doubly challenging when you have to do everything from home. Treat your employees to an at-home Christmas spa experience. Ship ingredients like rejuvenating face masks, massage oils, and scented candles to them; apply it together on screen. Sit back and relax with some eggnog, cookies, and gossip.
4. The Ugly Sweater Knit Off
Let’s take the ugly sweater contest up a notch. Mail your employee’s sweater kits in advance with detailed instructions on what to do. And then you can see things unravel during the video call. The first person to embellish the ugliest sweater wins. This can be a real bonding moment for all the participants as they will either end up creating something hilarious; or fail at it hilariously.
5. The Digital Secret Santa
If your team is particular about playing Secret Santa this year, don’t discourage them. You can find multiple Secret Santa organizers and generators like Draw Names and Elfster that allow the host to enter the names of the participants, which will then randomly assign the names to each participant. Once your team members have their drawn names, they can send the gifts via Amazon or any online store of their choice.
Looking for more ways to build your team culture?
5 Easy Ways to Encourage Mental Health at Work!
6. Christmas Watch Party
Who doesn’t love binging on Christmas movies? Try hosting a holiday binge party using Netflix Party, Amazon Prime Video Watch Party, or Group Watch in Disney Plus. You will be able to add up to 10 participants on Netflix, about 100 on Prime, and about 6 on Disney Plus. Netflix or Disney Plus would be ideal if your team is small or if multiple groups of people want to watch different movies, whereas Prime can support a larger audience without any plugins or downloads.
Some of our all-time favorites are the Home Alone Series, How The Grinch Stole Christmas, Elf, The Holiday, and The Christmas Chronicles.
7. Wine & Dine Online
Why not send out a full course Christmas dinner to your employees, complete with wine, cocktail ingredients, and dessert. 2020 has been a tough year for everyone, so, help them unwind with some wining, dining, and socializing on-screen. The participants can dress up, play drinking games, sing carols—it would be every bit like a real Christmas party, minus the open bar and the crowd. As a bonus, you will not have to depend on a designated driver or an Uber to get home, as you are already home.
8. Virtual Scavenger Hunt
What better way to come together as a team than a scavenger hunt? Don’t worry, you wouldn’t have to step out for it. Digital scavenger hunt platforms like GooseChase and Watson Adventures cater to massive business teams who are looking for remote team-building activities. The organizer can mix and match mission types and design the hunt based on the strengths and weaknesses of the team members. These platforms include numerous real-time features that cannot be experienced in the case of conventional scavenger hunts, like a live leaderboard of team rankings or an activity feed that tracks the moves of each player. The winner could take home a fat Christmas bonus or get an extra day off.
9. Cat’s Out Of The Bag
This activity could work as a great ice breaker for the holiday season. Every employee is asked to submit one embarrassing Christmas story about themselves to the organizer. The organizer will read out each story to the team and gives five clues about the employee involved. If the team is able to guess the right name within five attempts, the employee’s name is revealed, else it stays anonymous and the organizer moves on to the next story.
10. Seasonal Swag Bag
Add to your team’s seasonal swag with a company-themed goodie bag containing winter essentials like fuzzy socks, beanies, sweatshirts, coffee mugs, or chocolates. These kits could be customized based on employee preferences or requirements. This will not only lift their holiday spirit but also instill team spirit.
Conclusion
The holiday season is a time that reinforces our trust in magic and miracles. Don’t let the shadow of the pandemic put a damper on this year’s festivities. Your employees need a spark of hope now more than ever. Some of them may be away from their families, facing financial difficulties, or battling mental struggles. As a leader, it is up to you to keep them close even when they are miles away. May your work family be every bit as safe and happy this Christmas as your real family.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
About the Company:
Peterson Technology Partners (PTP) has partnered with some of the biggest Fortune brands to offer excellence of service and best-in-class team building for the last 25 years.
PTP’s diverse and global team of recruiting, consulting, and project development experts specialize in a variety of IT competencies which include:
- Cybersecurity
- DevOps
- Cloud Computing
- Data Science
- AI/ML
- Salesforce Optimization
- VR/AR
Peterson Technology Partners is an equal opportunities employer. As an industry leader in IT consulting and recruitment, specializing in diversity hiring, we aim to help our clients build equitable workplaces.
