Virtual Holiday Ideas

Send Goodie Boxes

Host a virtual party and send your co-workers, friends and family a goodie box the week before the virtual party.

Some suggestions on what to include:

• Hot cocoa mix
• A mug
• Cookies, candy, or other snacks
• Fun holiday accessories like headbands, hats, and sunglasses
• Holiday activities such as puzzles, crafts, games
• Photo props for a video call “photo booth” shoot
• Stationary
• Gift cards for online subscription services

Holidays are times of togetherness, but employees, family and friends spread far apart might have trouble getting into the spirit. Sending a physical gift box is a great way to help everyone feel included and appreciated.

Christmas Scavenger Hunt

If you’re looking for kid-friendly virtual Christmas games, one of the easiest things you can do is create a Christmas-themed scavenger hunt. You can collaborate with the other parents in your family and hide specific items around your respective homes to make it extra special, but if not everyone is able or willing to do this, you can keep it simple and write out a list of generic items for kids to find during your virtual Christmas celebration. Send the list ahead of time (or share it via the screen sharing option on Zoom) and challenge participates to see who can find all of the items the fastest!

Virtual Gingerbread Wars

Gingerbread Wars is fun, virtual holiday event that includes themed games, competitions and actual cookies. Before your event, we send each of your participants a gingerbread kit in the mail that includes gingerbread people, frosting, candies and more. Then, we bring everyone on a video call for games like holiday trivia and gingerbread self-portraits.

Chubby Elf

Growing up, The Polar Express was my favorite Christmas story. I read the book dozens of times, along with other classics like “The Night Before Christmas,” “Frosty the Snowman,” and “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.” By now, I know every word to these stories by heart, but even I would fail to recognize these tales if the storyteller’s mouth was full of marshmallows.

Chubby Elf is a similar game to Chubby Bunny. The rules require the storyteller to recite the plot to a classic Christmas story with a mouth full of marshmallows. Teammates will try to guess the story as quickly as possible. The team or individual with the most points at the end of the game wins a holiday-themed prize, like a snow-globe, or maybe the rest of the marshmallows.

Name That Tune: Holiday Edition

Name that tune is a game where players race to identify a specific melody, and is one of our favorite virtual holiday game ideas. You can give the classic game a modern and festive twist by playing during your virtual holiday party. To play, ask teammates to either hum the tune or mute the microphone and sing the song. The other players must listen carefully or read lips to pinpoint the holiday carol.

Song suggestions for name that tune holiday edition:

• All I Want for Christmas is You
• Feliz Navidad
• The Chanukah Song
• Lift Every Voice and Sing
• The Dreidel Song
• Rocking Around the Christmas Tree
• Carol of the Bells
• Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer
• Run Rudolph Run
• Last Christmas

You can throw a couple of curveball songs into the mix, like Sufjan Stevens’ “Christmas Unicorn,” to add an extra challenge among the typical holiday earworms.

The Naughty List (Fun Game)

The Naughty List is a unique holiday variation of the game Never Have I Ever.

To play:

1. Every team member starts the game by holding up ten fingers.
2. Each team member takes a turn making a statement starting with “You are on the naughty list if…”
3. If a team member has committed the act, the team member will lower one finger.
4. The game continues for a set number of rounds, or until only one employee has fingers in the air.
5. Whoever has fingers in the air at the end of all rounds wins the game.

You can add your own items to the Naughty List too!

Would You Rather? 

‘Would You Rather’ is easy to setup and suitable for every age. To play this game, all you need to do is write out a list of questions with 2 scenarios, and then read them off while everyone takes turns shouting out which scenario they prefer. You can make this easy for younger kids (Would you rather it be summer or winter? Would you rather eat cookies or cupcakes?) and more thought-provoking for the rest of the family (Would you rather be able to fly or be able to breathe under water? Would you rather travel back in time or visit the future?)

Simon Says

Everyone loves this game. Have everyone stand up in an area where they have room to move around, and then lead them through different gross motor movements: ‘Simon says stand on one leg’, ‘Simon says do 3 jumping jacks’, ‘Simon says hop like a bunny’, etc. At some point during the game, provide a command without saying ‘Simon says’ first, and whomever completes the movement is out. Continue playing until you have a winner, and then appoint that person to become ‘Simon’ and play again!