So, it’s almost time to plan the annual office Christmas party again, but you still don’t have all of your employees back at the office. Sure, some of them are still working from home, but that doesn’t really make planning the traditional Christmas party any easier. How are you supposed to get everyone together for a party when they’re all so far apart?
That’s easy – throw out the idea of the traditional Christmas party! Your remote and in-person employees don’t have to physically be in the same room in order to kick back, celebrate, and enjoy some time together. They can still get to know each other and collaborate together through video conferencing – as long as you provide the fun and inspiring activities, of course.
To help inspire you, here are 3 of our favorite Christmas party ideas for hybrid staff.
Christmas Team Challenge Party
Does your staff enjoy group activities mixed with a healthy dose of competition? Then you should consider throwing a Christmas Team Challenge party!
Simply divide your staff into teams, whether they are in-person or online, have them come up with a festive team name, and get them compete in a variety of team-based challenges. If you want to do a Christmas theme, you could try activities such as:
- Christmas Photo Scavenger Hunt – come up with a list of Christmas-themed photos and have each team try to find all of them as fast as possible, using old or new pictures. You can set a time limit or play the game live over video conferencing, or even spread it out over a few days and have everyone upload their pictures online.
- Christmas Trivia – come up with some questions about Christmas carols, movies, traditions, etc. and assign points to the teams with correct answers. Consider using video conferencing breakout rooms for each team so they can privately discuss their answers.
The team with the most points at the end wins!
Christmas Happy Hour
This is basically a virtual cocktail party, where coworkers can come together via video conferencing to mingle and have a few drinks. You can bring in a bartender to mix drinks for those in the office, and for those at home you could always send them a bottle of something or a holiday drink kit.
You can then just let everyone chat together or come up with some fun drinking games. Be careful though – you don’t want anyone getting a little too tipsy and spilling drinks on their keyboards!
Host an Awards Show
If you want to do something for everyone at the end of the year that isn’t specifically Christmas-themed, then this may be the perfect time to host an awards show featuring everyone at your office. Come up with a list of serious and fun categories and let everyone in the office vote on the winners. You could even assign people to be presenters, have special trophies made, and implement a strict dress code. Creating an entire awards show may seem like a lot of work for the host, but it is truly one of the best ways to celebrate your staff and their achievements throughout the year.
