10 (not lame) Virtual Holiday Party Games & Activities for Work in 2022
It is finally time for the end of year work celebration (again) !
That means that you’re probably looking out for some fun games and activities that you can slot into your December holiday party to spice things up.
If you are in the mood for something new, and looking for games and activities for your work virtual holiday party that won’t make everyone cringe, then look no further.
We get it - virtual events are hard to manage, and it can be tricky to maintain engagement.
No one wants to be forced to do some lame trivia with their colleagues or risk embarrassing themselves, but equally no one wants to be bored either.
Never fear- there is a lot that you can do in order to make sure people feel engaged and entertained at this year’s virtual holiday party, while keeping the balance between professional and light-hearted fun intact.
Keep reading to learn more about 10 Virtual Holiday Party Games & Activities that won’t make your team want to hide under the desk.
10 Virtual Christmas Party Ideas
Play A Holiday Misadventure
Playing a game that is lightly themed around the holidays, team-based, and a bit competitive is a great way to get people engaged.
If you are the sort of group that doesn’t mind using a bit of wit and enjoys friendly competition, then A Holiday Misadventure is the perfect choice for you.
The game begins with a master puzzle and then ten smaller mind-bending problems to solve – a fun mix of visual problems, word puzzles, riddles, and number games.
Each of the problems gives you a clue towards completing the master puzzle - a well-crafted and funny take on the traditional advent calendar.
It can be played on Teams, Zoom, Google Meet, Webex, and any other video conference platform of choice, as long as it has breakout rooms.
There are two ways to play. Firstly, you can book a professional host. This is ideal for virtual work events and meetings where you prefer to bring in an external facilitator who will lead you and your team through how to play the game, and take care of all the event logistics for you.
The price starts at $199 and varies depending on the size of your group (maximum 300 people).
Then there is also a “DIY” version if you are cost-conscious and this requires you or someone from your group to take charge.
The self-facilitated version of A Holiday Misadventure is $49 and with this you get access to an online game platform with a video walkthrough explaining how to deliver the game and all the instructions needed to make sure the holiday party is a success.
2. A music quiz that doesn’t suck
When you hear “music quiz” you probably think, “here comes Jingle Bells again”, but a lot of people don’t actually like Christmas music that much so why not skip it and get a bit creative with your holiday-themed music quiz this year.
You can easily play music through Spotify across your video conference platform and you can either have people compete individually or in teams.
Here are a few different round ideas for your music quiz:
Find songs with lyrics that include different holiday traditions from around the world. Play a sample and ask people to name the artist/song and the tradition or the country which the tradition comes from.
Play regular songs from artists that have made a holiday album, and get people to pick the name of the song.
Theme songs from holiday movies - name the song and/or artist.
Find some weird remixes (yes there are many) of holiday-themed songs
3. Learn how to make a gingerbread house
There are a lot of virtual cooking classes available online and if you are a small team, taking a cooking class can be a fun way to do something together with delicious results.
This class on how to make a gingerbread house is for up to 20 people and takes 2 hours.
During the live and interactive online cooking class with Chef Sharon, you will learn everything you need to know to make a gingerbread house completely from scratch.
From discovering the secrets to baking gingerbread walls that are both structurally sound and delicious, to mastering the art and science of buttercream, you’ll get all the tips on how to make a stunning gingerbread house that doubles as both dessert and decor.
The price of the class is $39 per person and the links to the recipe are sent upon booking confirmation.
4. Ugly sweater competition
You can take the pressure off dressing up nicely this year with an ugly sweater competition.
Ask people to find one at home, or head down to the nearest recycled clothing store and pick up a cheap and cheerful sweater to wear at your end of year virtual holiday party. It’s never Christmas without the best, worst sweater!
Vote on the best (worst) sweater in the group and make some nice memories. Bonus points for sweaters with flashing lights.
5. Visit a farm (virtually) and help fund animal conservation
Last year my colleagues and I booked a virtual tour of a farm and got to hang out with a goat!
This was a very interesting experience, as well as a fantastic way to give back to the community. Animal conservation is a cause that brings many people together.
We all care for our planet and all the friendly critters around us, but we seldom take time to acknowledge what we can do to make a difference.
Visiting a farm with a virtual tour can be a fantastic way to support the effort of animal conservationists who are looking to protect nature and make this world a better, greener, and cleaner place.
There are a bunch of different farms you can visit around the world, many of whom will use the money you pay for the tour to help fund the welfare of the animals, which is a nice way for you to also feel good about the tour at the same time.
You can book a bunch of these on AirBnb experiences and the price varies depending on the tour - this one in California is $23 per person.
6. Create your own 2022 memes
Memes are always good for a laugh, especially when they are personal to you and your team. These can be incredible team-building tools, as people at the office tend to share some good old-fashioned camaraderie through memes. The right meme can help build inside jokes, for example, and strengthen the bond of co-workers in a very casual, yet valuable way.
Although 2022 has been a pretty difficult year for many people, there is always space for making light of a situation with a good old-fashioned meme.
A great way to run a meme competition is to provide people with 2 or 3 photos or images and then get people to provide the caption. If your teammates are not particularly creative or pressed for time, you can also just ask them to find their favourite meme from this year and submit it.
There are many ways to come up with amazing memes. For instance, you can look at popular songs, musicians, TV shows and entertainment personalities. Poking fun at these people is usually a lot less controversial than doing political memes (which might make some people uncomfortable). In addition, you can also look at fictional characters, movie franchises or even books to get inspired and have some light-hearted meme fun.
This is an easy and free virtual holiday party activity that will work with even the stiffest of co-workers and colleagues!
7. Play A Very Meta Vacation
If your team is interested in poking fun at Zuck and the metaverse, then A Very Meta Vacation is perfect for your end-of-season event.
The game is themed around the metaverse but is a team problem solving challenge and a competition. It’s almost like a puzzle game or an escape room, but in the comfort of a virtual space and a lot more stress-free.
8. A Christmas Virtual Escape Room
Booking a virtual escape room experience can be a lot of fun. This is a good way to spend some time doing something that’s highly entertaining, but also quite challenging and engaging.
In addition, virtual escape rooms can help build stronger bonding between team members and highlight the connections between co-workers. In some cases, virtual escape rooms require players to put their thinking cap on and band together to solve intricate problems in order to get out. For this reason, players can showcase their co-operational skills while also having fun in a casual setting.
9. Book a comedian
Another activity for your 2022 virtual holiday party is to book a comedian. It might sound strange to have a comedian join your party virtually, but this has become a really popular thing to do.
Having a virtual comic entertain and why not, even poke some mild fun at your guests, can be a really fun way to relax and help attendees get out of their shells. Having an external person in the room, especially a comedian with a few naughty jokes, can be a great way to bring your virtual holiday party to life.
10. Play A Christmas Puzzle
The final game suggestion if you want something fun and interactive for your team to do is to play A Christmas Puzzle.
This retro-themed game is normally played in teams of 4 or 5 people and involves a mix of problem solving tasks as you try and figure out where the items on a Christmas list come from and what the final gift on the list is. The answer is pretty quirky, and the solutions might bring back some retro nostalgia!
This is a perfect activity if you are looking to capture some genuine Christmas spirit and bring a classic vibe to your virtual holiday party, while still enjoying the innovative twist of doing it remotely.