5 Fun Holiday Ideas for Virtual Teams

You can stay safe while still enjoying the holidays with your coworkers this year.

There are many ways to share joy and togetherness this season – even when we can’t be physically together. Here are five virtual activities to try with your virtual teams…

Virtual Secret Santa

COVID-19 has changed a lot of things this year, but you can still throw your traditional Secret Santa exchange – with a virtual makeover.

1. Pick a budget and set a date.
2. Use an online sign-up form to collect participant names and wish lists.
3. Draw names with an online Secret Santa Generator.
4. Participants will mail gifts to each other and use the organizer’s address on the return label to avoid spoiling the surprise.
5. Exchange gifts on a video conferencing platform like Microsoft Teams. Take your holiday party up a notch by asking team members to dress up in their best holiday garb. The attire could include Santa hats, reindeer antlers, and their best (or worst?) ugly Christmas sweaters.

Celebrate the Holidays on Slack

Since we switched to working remotely back in March, we’ve been relying on applications like Slack to keep our team connected and productive.

• Decorate your Slack account for Christmas with a custom theme. To update your Slack theme, simply click your profile picture in the top right and select Preferences > Themes > Colors > Create a custom theme. Feel free to copy/paste this theme, or customize the color scheme to your liking. #287B61,#350d36,#C5140F,#FFFFFF,#941D26,#FFFFFF,#C5140F,#C5140F,#18493A,#FFFFFF
  

• Share photos throughout the holiday season. Our team uses a community channel to share photos of our homes, our families, and (of course) our food.

• Use Slack Polls to spark conversation. You can ask employees festive questions such as:

  • What’s your favorite holiday tradition?
  • When do you start decorating?
  • Are you a fruitcake fan?
  • Is ‘Die Hard’ a Christmas movie?

Send Holiday Gift Boxes

Sending out a physical gift box is a great way to show appreciation for team members during the holiday season.

Here are some ideas:

• Personalized mugs and hot cocoa mix
• Chocolate, popcorn, and other snacks
• Gourmet wine & cheese
• Local gift cards/certificates

Deck Your Desk Contest

The office may be closed, but you can still decorate your remote workspace. Why not start a new holiday tradition this year with a Deck Your Desk contest?

Take this free template and customize it to your liking.

Photo Scavenger Hunt

A photo scavenger hunt is a simple and fun way to encourage team building. This activity is a virtual version of a scavenger hunt that involves taking pictures around the home or outdoors. You can divide employees into teams and provide them with creative prompts such as:

• Take a picture with someone dressed as Santa.
• Take a picture of an outdoor light display.
• Take a picture with someone in an ugly holiday sweater.
• Take a picture of a festive drink.

When each team is finished, they can upload their photos to a platform like Trello for judging.