Virtual Holiday Company Games & Activities For Remote Teams
The two largest commercial holidays in the U.S. – Halloween and Christmas – are going to look very different this year. While wearing a mask is a natural at Halloween, sadly social distancing will probably prohibit you from wearing one at a Halloween party. And, this year kissing strangers under the mistletoe will put you on Santa’s naughty list! But, you can still spread holiday cheer without fear of spreading COVID-19…
Following are some ideas for virtual holiday games and activities to keep your team engaged and in the holiday spirit!
Send Surprise Care Packages to Celebrate the Holidays Virtually…
The idea of going out trick-or-treating may be the scariest part of Halloween this year. So, the trick is…bring the treats to your group! Mail out a Halloween candy care package, a pumpkin carving kit, or even a fun, Halloween-themed face mask. In December send out gifts, materials to paint your own ornament, or have fun with the 12 days of Christmas theme (i.e. send everyone an email with a Partridge Family song embedded in it on the 1st day of Christmas)! And, don’t forget about Secret Santa! You can use one of the many free Secret Santa name generators online to randomly select names this year and encourage your group to either buy a gift (make sure to set a price limit) and/or do small nice things for the person whose name they selected throughout the month. View more fall and Halloween team building options here.
Host Virtual Holiday Contests
Zoom meetings aren’t only for meeting! They can also be used to celebrate virtually. For Halloween, have everyone dress up in costume and then have everyone vote in the Chat area for their favorite costume. In December, consider hosting “reindeer games” – a different holiday contest at the end of each weekly meeting. Contests should use everyday items people have in their homes, or you can send a care package with the contest items. For instance, have players dab a bit of Vaseline on the end of their nose and see who can shovel the most “snow” (cotton balls) from one bowl to another before time is up! Or, flash up rebus puzzles on your screen that relate to different Christmas carols. I.e. which carol relates to an infant wearing a white beard and a red hat? It’s Santa Baby of course! The first person to identify it in Chat wins a point and the one with the most points at the end wins a small prize.
Plan A Remote Holiday Party
You may not be doing the Monster Mash or rock around the Christmas tree together this year, but you can still host a virtual holiday party. This can be a themed happy hour over a Zoom chat where you send everyone a box with the ingredients to make a festive holiday cocktail to enjoy together. If getting people talking can seem awkward, give them something to talk about by hosting one of our holiday virtual games! These include a Halloween-themed “Haunted Trail” and winter-themed “Oh What Fun” remote game. People are placed on teams in breakout rooms where they work together to answer festive trivia challenges, solve clues, take photos and make videos that bring the holidays to life. At the end of the game, everyone regroups to learn who won and they get to see the fun photos and videos that others took while enjoying food and drink over conversation that is now animated instead of awkward.