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How to Throw a Virtual Christmas Party

Written by: Victoria Strange
Published on: 15 Dec 2020

virtual Christmas party

‘Tis the season to be jolly… virtually. Due to ongoing restrictions across the UK, it’s not possible to celebrate the holidays with our colleagues the way we usually do this year, but there’s no need to cancel your work Christmas party when you can take it online. The question, then, is how to replicate the same festive fun over Zoom.

We understand that it’s going to be a little more challenging to organise a virtual Christmas party than it would be to plan a regular work do. Many professionals are suffering with a bit of ‘Zoom fatigue’, so we need to be even more creative how we virtually socialise with colleagues over the Christmas period.

GAAPweb has come up with six ideas for your virtual Christmas party, with some twists on conventional video meetings to help you and your team let your hair down and relax at the end of a tough year.

The Ultimate Quizmas 

What’s a more appropriate way to round off 2020 than with a quiz? Put your knowledge to the test with a quiz that includes classic rounds such as music, food and drink, history, film, and general knowledge, but add a festive twist to each set of questions. 

Shake things up a bit by introducing some more imaginative rounds. A GAAPweb team favourite is ‘What’s in my fridge?’ This round involves every team member sending in a picture of the contents of their fridge and then guessing which fridge belongs to who. You could even try this with bookshelves, drinks cabinets or food cupboards. Again, add a festive twist by encouraging your team to show off what festive food or drink they’re stocking up on for Christmas.  

Virtual Escape Room 

If you’re suffering with a bit of ‘Zoom fatigue’ and looking for something a bit different to round off the year, then a virtual escape room could be the perfect solution. Virtual escape rooms offer your team the chance to escape the reality of 2020 and work together to solve a challenge. Split your team into smaller groups and work within your group to figure out a series of clues and riddles against the clock. The first team to escape wins! There’s a whole host of virtual escape rooms out there with fun themes that will really get your team immersed - perfect for an alternative virtual Christmas party. 

Christmas Cocktails

Cocktail making is a fun way to get the whole team involved in your Zoom Christmas party as it can be done with alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. We recommend encouraging everyone to create the same drinks in order to make everyone feel more involved. Create a poll to find out the most popular cocktails in the team and then send a list of ingredients a week or so before. Encourage a bit of healthy competition on the day by nominating a panel of judges to choose the best cocktails, with points for professionality and presentation.

Christmas Crafting

If cocktails aren’t really your thing but you still want to opt for an activity, then some festive crafting could be the solution for your virtual Christmas party. Get creative with Christmas cards, bauble painting or making wreaths.

Building gingerbread houses is also a popular traditional Christmas activity as it requires little practice beforehand and can be as simple and easy or as spectacularly elaborate as you like. Most activities have kits or bundles that are readily available online, so require very little organisation from all parties. 

Christmas Scavenger Hunt

Scavenger Hunts are another GAAPweb team favourite. Ask your team to find items in their homes, such as their favourite Christmas film or drink, or even just something that begins with a randomly selected letter of the alphabet.

For example, if you ask your colleagues to find something beginning with the letter ‘P’, they all then run off to find something such as a pan, a pen or a plant as quickly as possible. Points can then be awarded for speed and creativity. This is a good virtual Christmas party game that requires less organisation than cocktail making or crafting but is a little different to a quiz. 

Team Christmas Meal

Replicate a traditional work Christmas meal by sending your team a Deliveroo voucher and asking everyone to hop onto Zoom and tuck into their takeaway of choice together. Your team can enjoy the social aspect of sharing food, having a few drinks and talking about their Christmas plans, all while remaining COVID-safe. 

We hope these virtual Christmas party ideas and tips have inspired you to organise a remote get-together for your team that will be remembered for many years to come. Merry Christmas from all of us at GAAPweb!