27 Fun Virtual Office Party Ideas Your Team Will Love

Hosting virtual office parties will be a great way to encourage employees and make them feel appreciated. Here is a comprehensive guide to help you organize a virtual office get-together that your team will remember and enjoy. This list includes season classics like virtual office holiday and Christmas party ideas.

Although most teams see each other daily in their virtual office, it is essential to make sure they have time to bond outside of work-related activities. A virtual office party is an online event hosted by the company where all remote or hybrid team members can mingle and get to know each other without discussing work. Virtual parties are similar to in-person parties, but the key difference is that one is online, and the other is not. 

Virtual office parties and in-person parties are more similar than you may have thought initially and they both enable team building, collaboration, and positive company culture. Planning a party, virtually or in person, takes time and resources to execute, but the outcome is worth it.

Employees who don’t typically work together are able to get to know one another better. Junior-level employees have more opportunities to speak with upper management. By providing an environment where teams are able to bond, you will help boost company morale and culture. Happier workers result in more productivity in the workplace. It’s a win-win situation. 

Coming up with virtual office part ideas is not always the easiest task. Don’t worry; you’re in the right place to get the creativity flowing.  

There are numerous ways you can host a virtual office party for your team. It does matter the time of year. Here is a list of not only online office party ideas but also virtual office holiday party ideas. 

Netflix Party is a place where your team can watch shows or movies on Netflix in sync. All you have to do is download the chrome extension, and the best part is…  it’s completely free. This party requires less planning and can be conducted with a  very low budget. All you have to do is set a date and choose a movie or show for your virtual team to watch. Team members are able to use the chat feature during this event to stay in contact and give opinions during the movie. Afterward, you can all meet in a virtual workspace or use video conferencing software to discuss. A nice way to make the party more fun is by sending out movie night packages to the team ahead of time. Depending on your budget, this can include popcorn, pajamas, and decorations with the movie's theme. 

Bingo night is a classic. Perfect for all ages, if there is a range of age groups within your company. With virtual bingo, you can either use a virtual bingo generator or send out bingo sheets ahead of time to all the team members attending this virtual office party. One person would then call out the space letter and number. Although some may think bingo isn’t the most exciting, you can add in some fun by including gift cards or prizes that your team could win. Having a virtual office game night is a great way to build bonds.

Who doesn’t love learning how to make new drinks? In a mixology mixer, you have to ship out Mixology packages to all the team members that are attending the party. During this time, an instructor or team member will take the lead and provide step-by-step instructions on how to concoct the beverage. It’s up to your company whether they would like to use alcohol or not. In the end, coworkers can mingle and discuss how their drinks turned out. A mixology mixer is basically a happy hour with the twist that the team member is their own bartender. 

Party in a box is exactly what it sounds like. A themed care package will be shipped to your remote team's location with all the items for the party. For example, if you’re hosting ‘90s themed party, you can include CD and record tape-shaped cookies, baseball caps, trivia challenge questions, and slime, to name a few. You can let each team member in the virtual office party read out the trivia challenge for a chance to earn points. Whoever has the highest score wins a grand prize.

If you haven’t heard of Squid Game, you may, in fact, be living under a rock. Squid Game is a Netflix show that puts the characters in a series of challenges. If they succeed, they move on to the next round, and if not, they die trying. Thankfully with Virtual Squid Game nobody dies, but you are definitely challenged. This event hosted by Teamland, takes you through 6 different games that put your skills to the test. Although they don’t tell you what the 6 games are ahead of time, they do say that the experiences help with team building and collaboration. 

Paint & sip night is perfect for unwinding after a long work day. Although this will require a little more preparation, it will surely leave your team members feeling relaxed. Find a virtual paint instructor online and ask them what materials your remote team will need for the event. Some instructors can send out the packages themselves, while others require you to do the heavy lifting. Pick which option works best for you.

You may be wondering how you can host a dinner party… virtually. The answer to that is simple, and there are two ways of accomplishing this party. The first is that the company can send a meal to all that are part taking in the dinner. The second option is providing a budget to each remote team member for them to UberEats or Door Dash their meal straight to their door. The employee can either charge it to their company credit card or get reimbursed for their payment. During this time, everybody can get together in the virtual office and play icebreakers or team-building activities. 

A great mid-day work party always includes food. A lunch and learn is a great way to show off your employees' skills while eating some tasty food. Allow team members to pick a date to showcase their skill sets. This mini party can be once a week, once a month, or even once a quarter.

Virtual board games are a great way to bring out the competitive side of your teammates. Some virtual office software, like Kumospace, has built-in games for you to choose from. Chess, Codenames, and Puzzle Game (also known as Tetris) are a couple of many games provided on the platform. And if you don’t see the game you’d like to play, you can always screen share and send a link over to team members to participate. Here is a guide on how to play 15 virtual games in Kumospace..

Virtual karaoke is the perfect way to build team bonds. Some colleagues may be shy at the beginning of the night, but you’ll see everybody’s personality emerge as the night goes on. You’ll also be able to see what genre of music your team members prefer. This is a great way for remote teams to feel more comfortable with their colleagues. 

Virtual escape the room is a perfect team-building exercise. Team members must use problem-solving skills, collaborate, and work together to escape the virtual room. Virtual escape the room comes in different themes, so you can cater it to whichever suits your team best.

This party may be overrated, but a birthday party is still an important milestone in a person’s life. You can decorate your team member's virtual office and send a care package to the birthday man or woman. Host a virtual party for the birthday team member and honor them with their favorite songs. Make their day feel special! This will set a precedent for all future birthdays in the remote or hybrid company. Kumospace has birthday-themed furniture, including a singing birthday cake. 

Wine and cheese is a fan favorite. Send a bottle of wine (or wine samples) and cheese samples to all your remote team members attending the wine and cheese party. Although this party may be on the higher budget side, it sure will be memorable. This will promote team bonding and ensures everybody will leave the party wanting more.

A Halloween costume contest is the perfect way to start the holiday season. Let your employees have a fun night where you all dress up in your scariest costumes, followed by anonymous voting for who is best dressed. You can also share scary stories and eat candy by your virtual fireplace in your virtual office. 

A great virtual office party idea is creating a virtual gratitude wall. Get your team in the Thanksgiving spirit by spending time saying what you’re thankful for. The great part about starting a gratitude wall is that you can start it any time of the year. Some companies will choose to make their gratitude walls during a specific holiday season.

The Thanksgiving time capsule is similar to the gratitude wall. This event lets team members pick one to three things they are thankful for. The company collects all the notes from the employees and doesn’t open them for an entire year. Then when the next Thanksgiving approaches, the team can remember what you were thankful for a year ago and put in new things for the next time capsule. 

Normally pot lucks are where everybody contributes one dish in person, but consider a virtual Thanksgiving potluck like a cooking competition. Bring out your best dishes and share a Thanksgiving meal with your co-workers. This will let team members work individually and then come together to discuss their creations. Award prizes for best presentation or most thought out meal. 

After Thanksgiving comes Christmas, and nothing screams Christmas more than an ugly sweater Contest. Give your employees a budget to buy their ugly sweaters. The contest can be based on a couple of different criteria: funniest ugly sweater, brightest ugly sweater, or most creative ugly sweater. This contest will help teams get a little away from work time to bond and see each other's personalities through their sweaters. 

Secret Santa is a Christmas Party classic. Assign each team member who is taking part in this activity the name of another colleague. This can be done manually or through a random online generator. Set a date and time for everyone to unwrap their gifts from “Santa” at the same time in a virtual work environment.

Let the Christmas fun continue with a Story Creation Party! Team members can meet in a virtual office and go on room-wide audio to hear everybody in the office. Assign everybody a number from 1 to how many participants there are. Then start the creating process that will allow teammates to imagine new scenarios to build a sentence that fits in the story. This is a great collaboration and team-building exercise. 

A gingerbread house competition will require a bit of planning. Ship a gingerbread house kit to each of the employees that plan on participating in this event. Set aside a date and time to host the competition. Ensure you’re giving enough time for team members to create their masterpieces. Everybody has to be in the virtual office and have the same amount of time to complete the house. This event will bring some friendly competition into your week and let your teams get creative. 

Find out which team members start listening to Christmas music before Thanksgiving even starts. You’ll find out with Finish the Christmas Carol night. Split your team members up into two or more groups. One teammate in the virtual office will not be a part of a team and will host the event. Their responsibility is to start and stop the songs. Once the song is stopped, a team has to finish the Christmas song lyrics. The team with the most points wins. 

Virtual White Elephant is a fun and exciting way to keep the holiday spirit alive. Assign a budget that team members can not go above. Each teammate picks an item to submit to the white elephant pool of prizes. This will be a picture of an online product, and once the white elephant event is complete, then the teammate will ship the product to the person that picked the prize. 

During the event, each person should be assigned a number for their white elephant item. When it’s time to go around the room and pick your prize, team members will select a number of choices to see what gift they’ve received. And the best part about white elephant is that you can steal gifts if they’re already open.

Cookie decorating night is a fun way to incorporate some art therapy. Hang out with your coworkers in your virtual workspace, listen to some Christmas music and decorate cookies. Can you think of a better way to spend your evening?

Raffle Mania is a high-budget party, but one that employees will talk about for a long time. For this event, it’s quality over quantity. Pick awesome prizes that you would like to have yourself, such as a new MacBook Pro, Beats headphones, an electric scooter, a $500 gift card, rare sneakers, and any other cool prize you could think of. Put all employee names into a random generator and let them pick a prize until there are no more prizes left. 

A New Years Mixer is old school but still fun. This is essentially a virtual happy hour, and it does not need to take place on New Year's Eve. It can either be before or in the New Year. A New Years' mixer will help co-workers have some time to get to know one another in a more relaxed atmosphere. Work won’t be the primary focus, so teammates will be given the opportunity to build deeper connections with their colleagues. 

Giving back is always the right way to go. There are multiple ways to conduct Virtual Charity night with organizations that can use help. Dosomething.org created a list of 9 places for you to volunteer online.

After you’ve picked your event from the virtual office holiday party ideas list, it’s planning time. Here are some questions to ask yourself while planning: 

• How many people will be invited to the party? 
• What is the budget for the event? 
• How long will the event be?
• Where will the party be hosted?
  Pro tip: we recommend using an interactive online virtual office, like Kumospace, rather than making your team attend a Zoom meeting that may not hold their attention.
• What items are needed for this event?
• How long will shipping take to reach all employees? 
• What will the schedule look like? 

It’s important to send out invitations to your event as early as possible, especially during the holiday season. We recommend at least a month or two in advance. 

Aside from the invitations, it’s beneficial to have your team members look forward to the party. A great way to do that is by sending out decorations or party favors ahead of time so they can feel ready for the event. Decorations can include streamers and hats or seasonal items like Halloween candy and mini Christmas trees, to name a few.