Last Minute Virtual Holiday Party Ideas

Holiday parties are always memorable. Everyone is able to see their colleagues in a different light and share fun memories unrelated to work. Virtual holiday parties are exactly the same, just online and more planned, hosted through video conference platforms like Zoom, Google Meet or other video platforms. They can include games, activities or different forms of entertainment and can even have prizes. We’ve created a fun last-minute list with the best virtual holiday party ideas so you can host a party that everyone will remember! 

The list includes:

  • Free virtual holiday party ideas
  • Virtual holiday games
  • Cooking contest
  • Christmas movie party
  • And much more!

Christmas Quiz

A quiz or trivia night is a fun and interactive way for everyone to get involved. One of the best ways is to choose a host and create your own questions. That way you can include inside jokes and curated questions and everyone can easily answer over Zoom. An online option includes the popular Let’s Roam; a paid online platform for virtual teams to host online games and trivia that changes each week.

Virtual Pictionary

The fun guessing and drawing game is a great ice breaker for a successful virtual party. To keep to the holiday theme you can make it all Christmas themed or get the whole team to suggest words. Perfect for smaller teams of 12 and 16, skribbl.io or drawasaurus.org let you create private games with custom words. Make sure to have a group meeting in the background so everyone can talk and laugh as the game goes. End with some light chat and drinks for the perfect virtual holiday party. 

Christmas Costume Competition 

Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash

A super fun way to spice up any Christmas party is with costumes. Play some Christmas tunes, get your favourite video platform going and make sure everyone has their cameras off. One by one get everyone to turn on their cameras and do the big costume reveal. It doesn’t have to be a full-blown costume but a theme like red, green and white or an extravagant makeup look works just as well. This is sure to get everyone in the holiday spirit and lighten the atmosphere.

Virtual Holiday Bingo

One of the easiest virtual holiday party ideas is bingo. A classic game that everyone knows and is easy enough to pick up. You can quickly make your own boards and personalise them to your specific company or if it’s truly last minute, use a bingo card generator such as Bingo Baker as it also gives the option to play online. To add even more to the holiday spirit you could give prizes in the form of gift cards. 

Talent Show

This is another great ice breaker option to get the virtual party started. Everyone can go in turns showing off their trick or talent, and it may even be something they picked up during lockdown (read our article on beating the winter blues at home here). If people are at a loss at what to do, then learning a quick trick from Youtube, may literally do the trick. This is a great way to get to know each other even more and discover people’s interests outside work. It can also help spark inspiration and connections if someone who wants to learn a talent discovers their colleague does it. 

Virtual Holiday Bake-off

Photo by Sandra Wei on Unsplash

Has anyone else learnt to bake bread this year? The worldwide flour and yeast shortage in Spring meant that more time was spent in the kitchen. So what better way to showcase those new skills than with a bake-off, similar to the other famous event, The Great British Bake-off (or Baking Show). This bake-off will be held over a video conferencing platform, choose 2-4 judges and then all the contestants (teammates) must reveal one by one their creations all under the Christmas theme. This is a great way to share the diversity of culture in teams as you don’t know exactly what someone will make. You can also choose to share festive food from each respective country instead!

Movie Party 

For a more relaxed Christmas party why not choose a festive movie? Using Teleparty, formerly known as Netflix Party, everyone can watch a movie together and comment as they watch. To use the service make sure everyone downloads the Teleparty extension (it’s free) and then inserts the link given by the host on the correct platform. Platforms now include Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max, HBO Now and Hulu so you can find the perfect movie. The host can also create a poll of movies so everyone can vote on which one they like best. 

Some great classics include: 

  • The Grinch
  • Nativity!
  • Krampus
  • The Christmas Chronicles 

Holiday Playlist

To top it all off have a holiday playlist in the background. Create a playlist on Spotify with your favourite holiday songs and get all colleagues to add their own. Then once it’s ready, play it lightly in the background of your holiday party. This can also help spark conversation if country-specific songs play that not everyone may know.

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