The realities of social distancing and remote work have made staff parties a challenge but not impossible. You can still celebrate your employees and their accomplishments, even if everyone is working remotely — you just need to get creative. Explore these virtual celebration ideas, and find out how you can bring a festive staff party to your virtual office.
Use Social Media for an Employee Celebration
Acknowledging an employee’s contributions has a measurable effect on morale, engagement, and productivity. Everyone appreciates the recognition of their achievements. In a real-world office, an employee celebration is often as simple as praising a worker during a department meeting. In a virtual office, you need to take a slightly different approach.
You can recognize individual successes during Zoom meetings, but that’s not your only option for an employee celebration. Shout out your staff’s achievements on social media (with your staff members' consent, of course). You can tie team accomplishments to ongoing social media campaigns, or create private social media groups for your employees where you offer praise, share good news, and encourage the kind of “water cooler” chats that often prove surprisingly productive.
Host a Virtual Party
Just because your staff is working from home is no reason not to have a seasonal holiday party. Zoom and other video conferencing tools are great platforms for hosting virtual happy hours or themed parties. Give everyone advance notice of the party date, and set a theme for your virtual get-together, such as Thanksgiving, winter sweaters, or cocktail hour. Extra boss points if you arrange for meals to be delivered to your staff in advance!
Holiday Virtual Games
Online life brings plenty of potential remote work ideas, including the option of a staff game night. There are several group game apps available, from classic board games to video games. If you prefer cooperation over competition, consider hosting a virtual escape room session. Holiday virtual games foster a sense of fun and community among your employees and could even develop into regular monthly get-togethers.
Party Competitions
Friendly online competitions are fun staff party ideas and easy to include as part of your virtual party. Competition ideas include best Thanksgiving desk decorations, ugliest winter sweater, or similar seasonal themes. Have staff vote on the winner, and be sure to offer fun prizes, like travel mugs or stress relievers.
Employee Celebration Gifts
It’s common to recognize employee achievements during staff parties and award prizes for outstanding work and effort. Creative office gift ideas are ideally tailored to the individual employee’s work and interests. We have some suggestions in our Custom Gift Guide for Every Type of Employee blog article.
Gifts for Work from Home Employees
Working in a remote office can leave employees feeling isolated. Reinforce their connection to your organization with a seasonal care package. Include customized office supplies like pens, pencils, calendars, monthly planners, and USB drives. Add a few gift cards for local takeout and delivery, and you’ll have a happy team!
Pick a Charity
Giving is an essential part of the holiday season. As part of your virtual gatherings and parties, why not work together to support a charity that matches your organization’s values? Ask your employees what cause they want to work with and challenge them to volunteer or donate. You can encourage giving by offering to match donations or by providing customized outerwear to high donors.
We hope this list of virtual team celebration ideas inspires you to get your own virtual office party or employee celebration going. If you need more help personalizing party gifts, check out our holiday office gifts for employees.