Looking for alternative Christmas party ideas? Look no further, we’ve rounded up a few of our favourite suggestions to help you celebrate with your staff if you’ve got a remote team.
Here are some of the top ideas we have found from our clients and partners:
Overcome video fatigue
Many of us are sick of video calls and online quizzes have lost their novelty. However, hosting a virtual Christmas party is one of the simplest and most obvious ways to connect with your team as an alternative Christmas party. But it doesn’t have to be boring. There are many inventive activities you can do as a team online including:
- Chocolate making party: staff can collectively take part in a group activity having been sent ingredients in advance. This can be transferred to any crafty activity to do at home (ginger bread house making / wreath making / cake making etc.).
- Virtual escape room: teams can search for hidden clues and work together to find their way out of the virtual room.
- Murder mystery: numerous apps are available to help your staff work as a team to solve the mystery. You can get props sent out in advance and costumes at the ready!
- Virtual fancy dress party: with prizes for the best costumes. Set a theme, whether it be based on a TV series or a decade. You could run the party in tandem with a quiz from that decade (try music rounds or picture rounds to make it more interesting).
- Afternoon tea; where all staff are supplied with a hamper and treats in advance. Allocate a time and then all sit down together to enjoy it. Pinterest is a great source of inspiration for ideas and suppliers.
- Karaoke: if your team is up for a bit of singing this can be a great way to get everyone in the festive mood.
- Virtual meal: everyone orders their favourite takeaway, timed to arrive at the same time, and you can enjoy a virtual meal and drink together.
Awards for staff that don’t break the bank
All employees need a boost to see them into the new year and what lies ahead. Rewarding staff for their efforts will go a long way. This doesn’t have to be expensive; you can award each member of the team with their own accolade – recognising their hard work. For example, “Team player of the year” or “most positive person in the office”. Staff will feel valued and it will add a bit of fun as an alternative Christmas party idea. Canva has some great free certificate templates to customise (you can also sign up to Canva for free).
Charitable donations
You may want to canvass opinion amongst staff to see whether they would prefer that any party budget is re-directed towards charitable causes. Making a donation on their behalf, and on behalf of your business, could be more meaningful to workers this year. Ask them to choose charities and make donations on their behalf. Consider donating to a food bank this Christmas. Visit the Trussell Trust to find your local bank.
Keep the Secret Santa tradition going
If it’s too difficult to get your team together and you’re unable to swap gifts in person doesn’t mean that this tradition has to end. There are numerous gifting sites such as Draw Names specialising in Secret Santa presents. Arrange a time for the team to get together on video and open gifts in succession. Try to encourage staff to buy local this year (see below).
Shop local for gifts
If you are buying gifts for staff (or clients), it’s now more important than ever to shop local and support your local businesses. You can also use Instagram, Twitter and Facebook to find suppliers using hashtags such as #shoplocal or your local area, for example #guildford #madeinGuildford #guildfordbusinesses. Also check out the Small Business Saturday campaign which champions local businesses on 2nd December.
The gift of time
If budgets are tight and none of the above ideas would work in your business, then giving staff the simple gift of time is always a great idea and works well as an alternative Christmas party idea. Offering everyone a day off for Christmas shopping, or to spend time with their families will be greatly received. If you stagger the days off then it shouldn’t impact your business. Also check out our guide to incentivising your staff without money.
Set a team challenge
If your team is a competitive bunch why not set 12 days of Christmas challenge for them to complete? It could raise money for charity at the same time. If they are sporty then how about a virtual relay where each employee has to complete a leg before passing the (virtual) baton to the next? Virtual runner helps to track time and log mileage.
Or think about a Bake Off challenge where you set a different brief each week and award prizes for the best bakes? You can see all the recent recipes from the show on the Bake Off website – ask your team to have a go at recreating.