09 Dec Ho, Ho, Homebound—How To Celebrate With Your Team (Virtually) This Holiday Season

Let’s think back a few months—somewhere around the February/March timeframe. Because of COVID-19, many of us headed home to work, doing our part to slow the spread of the virus. We embraced (some faster than others) the novelty of hopping on Zoom in our PJs, thinking all this was just a bump in our worklife road. Surely by the time the winter holidays rolled around, we’d be back in the office—ready to celebrate with our teammates over a ginormous potluck and smart eggnog, right? Right? Not so fast there. COVID-19 is still with us, and we’re still soldiering on with social distancing and virtual meetings. So does that mean we ditch our holiday team events and wait to see what 2021 brings? Absolutely not. We need human socialization and team bonding now more than ever. It may just mean being creative with how you bring your team together. Here are some thought starters:

Secret-And-Socially-Distant Santa

Set up a shared document with names and addresses of your team members. Each person picks someone from the list and marks that person as taken, and mails a gift (set a strict budget or do some regifting—money is on many people’s minds and this should not be an added stress). Then host and online event where the team takes turns unwrapping his or her gift.

Virtual Holiday Costume Party

Host a virtual team party and encourage everyone to dress up as their favorite holiday character (or invent something totally new)—and give prizes for different categories. 

Holiday Movie Watch-and-Comment

This is one time when talking over movies is allowed. Gather your team virtually to watch a cheesy holiday classic and encouraging comments and wisecracks. If you have a fun and playful team, it’s a great way to relieve some of the stress of the year.

A Little Company Caroling

It’s time to rewrite the classics! Let everyone pick a traditional holiday carol and put their own spin on it, with lyrics relevant to company happenings or job functions. During the online meeting, everyone sings their creation!

On The Holiday Hunt

Here’s a holiday twist on the good-old scavenger hunt. Come up with a list of items (quirkiest, oldest, most meaningful, ugliest…you get the idea—the options are almost endless) you’d like everyone to find in their home, then ask them to go get it during the online party and tell the rest of the team about it.