Fun Christmas Activities for Remote Teams

7th December 2020

Due to the pandemic it seems we’re probably going to have a digital Christmas this year, but that doesn’t mean you should cancel your annual office festivities!

In fact, given the current situation, it’s more important than ever that you bring your people together for some Yuletide fun.

Usually, the Christmas party is one of the biggest social events of the year for a company. It’s a chance for teams from across the organisation to come together to socialise, play games, celebrate everyone’s hard work and get into the Christmas spirit.

People have faced unprecedented challenges and stress at work this year, so it’s important for their morale that you end the year on a high note.

At Trickle we’re already planning our party and thought we’d share with you some of our socially distanced Christmas ideas.

Virtual Christmas Scavenger hunt

This is a fun and active way to virtually hangout with your co-workers this holiday. It’s a great opportunity to spark dialogue and get to know everyone on a more personal level.

You need to make a list of Christmas themed items for your ‘scavengers’ to hunt. Ideally you should pick items that have a story or the potential to be funny.

Here’s our list below to help inspire you:

• The oldest Christmas item you own
• A winter boot
• An ugly Christmas sweater
• A favourite Christmas food
• A letter to Santa
• Your most festive Christmas decoration

The first person to bring back the item is awarded a point. Extra points can be earned if the object has a backstory.

Virtual Christmas Trivia

 Like an office quiz this is a fun opportunity for everyone to meet up and virtually test their Christmas knowledge.

Here are some of our questions to get you started:

1. During Christmas of 1965, astronauts broadcast which holiday song from space? (Jingle Bells)
2. Who played George Bailey in the Christmas classic “It’s a Wonderful Life?” (Jimmy Stewart)
3. What traditional Christmas decoration is actually a parasitic plant? (Mistletoe)
4. According to the folklore of Austria and other countries, what horned figure punishes naughty children at Christmastime? (Krampus)
5. In what modern-day country was Saint Nicholas born? (Turkey)
6. What Christmas movie sequel includes a cameo by Donald Trump? (Home Alone 2)
7. In what decade did NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) start tracking Santa on Christmas Eve? (1950s – 1955) Bonus point for getting the year correct.

Ugly Christmas Sweater Party Mixer

Ugly Christmas sweaters have become a much loved hallmark of yuletide culture. While we may not be going out or attending any offline parties, it doesn’t mean your people shouldn’t get a chance to don their favourite ugly sweater.

For this activity everyone should come wearing their best ugly sweater. Each person can show their top on screen and explain why they chose it.

At the end everyone can anonymously vote for the best (ugliest) sweater.

Following the vote, the group can participate in holiday icebreakers. The winner of the sweater contest gets to decide who goes first.

People are randomly paired to a question from the list. Nobody gets the same question as anyone else.

Here are some questions we will use at our party:

• Do you belong on the naughty or nice list and why?
• Does your family have a Christmas tradition?
• What is the strangest Christmas gift you ever received?
• What was the best Christmas gift you ever received?
• What is your favourite thing about this time of year and why?

Donate to a Worthy Cause

Unlike the other events we’ve suggested, this one is less of a party idea and more about getting into the festive spirit.

It’s a fact that you get a good mood boost from performing acts of kindness such as gift giving, that’s why bringing your people together to decide on a charitable business donation is a great idea.

Supporting a good cause can help bring your people together and boost their wellbeing by enabling them to take part in an altruistic effort.

Donating is a great way for organisations to show their people that their values are aligned and that the company is authentically committed to its culture.

The first step is to get everyone onboard. Using a tool like Trickle’s MoodSense you can easily gauge how people genuinely feel about the idea.

If people support the suggestion, you can then invite their charity recommendations. With a tool like Trickle you can engage with your people to collaboratively and democratically decide on which charity should be chosen.

By working collaboratively on this, your organisation can pick a charity that aligns strongly with your company ethos and supports something your people feel passionately about.

Here are some great causes you might want to consider:

• Mind
• Mental Health UK
• NHS Charities Together
• Macmillan Cancer Support
• British Heart Foundation
• RSPCA
• You can even tie into your Ugly Christmas Sweater Party Mixer a donation to the Save the Children Christmas Jumper Day on the 11th of December.

Virtual Secret Santa

One of the cornerstones of every office Christmas party is the Secret Santa, which is why we had to include a virtual Secret Santa on this list.

When you set up your event make sure that your people are aware that this is an optional activity so that nobody feels pressured to participate.

You can use websites like Elfster and Draw Names to virtually and confidentially pair people up.

A bonus of taking this virtual route is that you have the option to set up an exclusion lists, this will ensure there are no awkward pairings.

Both of these platforms also have a feature that enables participants to set up a wish list, which can help take the guesswork out of picking gifts.

Once you have everything set up and have a budget agreed it’s important that you give your people enough of a lead time to ensure that gifts get to where they need to be on time. It’s worth looking up shipping deadlines.

However, you can mitigate this problem by giving digital presents such as virtual books, e-vouchers, movies or games.

We hope these ideas will help inspire you as you plan your holiday festivities. From our team to yours we hope you have a happy and relaxing holiday.