2020 has certainly dealt us a challenging hand and it’s not quite done with us all yet. At the end of a usual year, it’s become the norm to celebrate with a traditional work Christmas party. But with the announcement of the new tiers, continued working from home and social distancing, this year’s celebrations will need to be very different.
A Christmas party is synonymous with taking time out of work to unwind, relax, celebrate the year, mingle and get to know your fellow work colleagues a little more. But even with restrictions in place, that doesn’t mean you can’t get creative and come up with some new ideas for ways to thank, reward and engage with your staff, albeit virtually?
Festive fun for everyone
Whilst many people have embraced working from home, others have missed the daily interaction with work colleagues, teams and friends. So, whatever you come up with it needs to be something festive, fun and enjoyable for everyone. It also needs to be easy for everyone to join in and feel valued.
Obviously, you could simple send everyone a gift and host a video chat, but that isn’t going to impress your hard-working employees who may be a little sick of sitting at their desks and having yet another Zoom call! We think that you need to give it some serious thought, stretch your imagination and deliver the perfect virtual Christmas event.
Here are some top tips to help you plan the perfect event.
- Agree a theme
Every great event has a theme. You could stick with festive ones i.e. Christmas jumpers, winter wonderland, masked ball, Christmas movies and secret Santa. Or you could ditch the traditional themes and go for something a bit different – awards night, carol karaoke, beach or dance party, murder mystery etc. Sometime the quirky the better!
- Team or individual activities
Decide whether you want employees to collaborate and help each other or whether you want people to do things themselves. If you choose to put people in teams, they can have better quality conversations and be more sociable. This will help with team building and the development of vital communication skills.
- Get people moving and doing
No one wants to sit at their desk for a party. You want to encourage people to move and perhaps do something. There is a massive selection of DIY kits that you could send out in advance, everything from Christmas cake or hat decorating packs, angel making and mulled wine sets. By making it into a competition, it will enable employees to show off their work as they pit their skills against those of their work colleagues.
- Break the boundaries
A quiz or a drinks party are not new or exciting. Look at ways to break the mould and do something that you’ve never done before. There are plenty of options to choose. Everything from a virtual wine tasting to Christmas bingo and Christmas song charades, virtual scavenger hunt to guess the gift.
- Party etiquette
Remember to send out timely personalised invites with clear start and end timings. As it will most likely be online, it doesn’t need to last hours, it will be more impactful and memorable if it’s short and sweet.
Whatever you do to bring the Christmas spirit to your employees, we want to wish you good luck. Online parties will allow remote co-workers to gather, connect, and enjoy unique activities that are fun. So, what are you waiting for? Time to get your thinking cap on and host a festive event that will be talked about for all the right reasons.
2020 has certainly dealt us a challenging hand and it’s not quite done with us all yet. At the end of a usual year, it’s become the norm to celebrate with a traditional work Christmas party. But with the announcement of the new tiers, continued working from home and social distancing, this year’s celebrations will need to be very different.
A Christmas party is synonymous with taking time out of work to unwind, relax, celebrate the year, mingle and get to know your fellow work colleagues a little more. But even with restrictions in place, that doesn’t mean you can’t get creative and come up with some new ideas for ways to thank, reward and engage with your staff, albeit virtually?
Festive fun for everyone
Whilst many people have embraced working from home, others have missed the daily interaction with work colleagues, teams and friends. So, whatever you come up with it needs to be something festive, fun and enjoyable for everyone. It also needs to be easy for everyone to join in and feel valued.
Obviously, you could simple send everyone a gift and host a video chat, but that isn’t going to impress your hard-working employees who may be a little sick of sitting at their desks and having yet another Zoom call! We think that you need to give it some serious thought, stretch your imagination and deliver the perfect virtual Christmas event.
Here are some top tips to help you plan the perfect event.
- Agree a theme
Every great event has a theme. You could stick with festive ones i.e. Christmas jumpers, winter wonderland, masked ball, Christmas movies and secret Santa. Or you could ditch the traditional themes and go for something a bit different – awards night, carol karaoke, beach or dance party, murder mystery etc. Sometime the quirky the better!
- Team or individual activities
Decide whether you want employees to collaborate and help each other or whether you want people to do things themselves. If you choose to put people in teams, they can have better quality conversations and be more sociable. This will help with team building and the development of vital communication skills.
- Get people moving and doing
No one wants to sit at their desk for a party. You want to encourage people to move and perhaps do something. There is a massive selection of DIY kits that you could send out in advance, everything from Christmas cake or hat decorating packs, angel making and mulled wine sets. By making it into a competition, it will enable employees to show off their work as they pit their skills against those of their work colleagues.
- Break the boundaries
A quiz or a drinks party are not new or exciting. Look at ways to break the mould and do something that you’ve never done before. There are plenty of options to choose. Everything from a virtual wine tasting to Christmas bingo and Christmas song charades, virtual scavenger hunt to guess the gift.
- Party etiquette
Remember to send out timely personalised invites with clear start and end timings. As it will most likely be online, it doesn’t need to last hours, it will be more impactful and memorable if it’s short and sweet.
Whatever you do to bring the Christmas spirit to your employees, we want to wish you good luck. Online parties will allow remote co-workers to gather, connect, and enjoy unique activities that are fun. So, what are you waiting for? Time to get your thinking cap on and host a festive event that will be talked about for all the right reasons.