9 Virtual and Hybrid Christmas Party Ideas

Virtual or hybrid: which setup suits your team?

Not every company is getting everyone into the same room for Christmas. You might have people working from home, colleagues based in different countries, or one group together in the office while others join remotely.

That leaves you with two ways to approach the Christmas event. Everyone can join virtually, or you can run a hybrid event with people taking part from different locations.

The nine activities below can work either way. Some are competitive team challenges, some are more social, and they vary in length and format depending on what would suit your team.

What does a hybrid Christmas event actually look like?

A hybrid event usually means some colleagues are together in one location while others take part remotely.

The important bit is making sure the remote people aren't left trying to follow everything that's happening in the room. If ten colleagues are talking around a table while two people are trying to join that same conversation through a laptop, it's very easy for those two people to get lost in it.

That's why we normally keep onsite and remote participants in separate teams. Everyone joins the same main online event for the briefing, then the onsite teams compete from the room while remote teams play from wherever they're based. Everyone comes back together at the end for the final scores and winner reveal.

At least one member of the Dynamic Events team runs the entire event online, with additional staff depending on the number of people taking part.

9 Virtual and Hybrid Christmas Party Ideas

1. Festive Around the World

Festive Around the World is particularly suited to companies with colleagues based in different countries.

Rather than focusing solely on Christmas, teams explore different celebrations and cultures around the world. They could find themselves answering questions about Spain, taking on a challenge inspired by South Africa or creating a video connected to Thailand's Full Moon Party.

Teams use the Mobile Adventures app and collect points as they work through trivia and creative photo and video challenges.

For companies with an international workforce, the activity can also be customised to include countries and cultures represented within your own team for an additional fee.

2. Christmas Crackers

Christmas Crackers is for teams that want something recognisably Christmassy, but with more going on than a standard Christmas quiz.

There are festive trivia questions alongside audio, photo and video challenges. Teams work through the game together using the Mobile Adventures app and collect points as they go.

We monitor the scores during the event and manually score the creative submissions. Towards the end, we switch off the leaderboard so nobody knows exactly where they stand. Everyone then comes back together for the final results and a look at some of the best photos and videos from the event.

3. Arctic Survival

Christmas is usually associated with snow. Arctic Survival takes that in a slightly less comfortable direction.

Your team has been stranded in the Arctic and needs to work out how to survive. Teams make decisions, solve challenges and follow clues as they try to reach an abandoned hut and eventually call for rescue.

Points are collected throughout the game, with additional points for successfully escaping. The team with the highest total at the end wins.

It's run through the Mobile Adventures app, with each team talking through the decisions and puzzles together as the situation unfolds.

4. Trivia Challenge: Festive Edition

If your team likes a Christmas quiz but you'd rather have more variety than round after round of questions, Trivia Challenge: Festive Edition mixes trivia with brain teasers, puzzles and creative challenges.

There are 12 festive rounds, with teams competing for points as they work through the different tasks. Some involve photos and videos, which breaks up the traditional quiz format and gives teams a chance to get a bit more creative.

It runs for around 45 to 60 minutes, so it's one of the easier options to fit around the working day.

5. Disco Bingo Online

No general knowledge required for this one.

Instead of numbers, each player's digital bingo card contains artists and song titles. Our DJ plays short clips of songs and players tick off the ones they recognise. Complete a line and call Bingo before everyone else and you've got a winner.

The MC also drops quick games into the event between rounds, so there's more going on than simply listening for songs.

Unlike most of the activities on this list, people don't need to compete in teams. Everyone plays individually, which can suit a group that wants something more social than a team challenge.

6. Quizzmas Time

Quizzmas Time gives you more than a straightforward Christmas quiz. Teams tackle Christmas trivia alongside creative photo and video challenges, collecting points as they work through the game.

It runs for around 60 to 120 minutes, so there's more room for the competition to develop than with a shorter quiz format.

The photo and video challenges also give us material to bring back into the main event before the final results, which usually produces a few moments the rest of the company didn't see while everyone was off playing.

7. Murder on the Slopes

There's been a murder at a luxury ski lodge, and your teams have to work out who's responsible.

The investigation takes place through the Mobile Adventures app. Teams examine clues, question suspects and piece together what happened before deciding who they think committed the murder.

There aren't live actors playing the suspects on the video call. The interviews, evidence and investigation are all contained within the game itself.

Teams collect points throughout the investigation, and correctly identifying the murderer contributes to the final score. Allow around two hours for this one, so it's a more substantial activity than a quick Christmas game.

8. Escape: Festive Edition

Santa has misplaced the naughty and nice list, and your team's job is to get it back.

Teams make their way through five interactive rooms, cracking codes and solving festive brainteasers as they go. Each team works separately and races through the challenge before the final scores are revealed.

It usually runs for around 45 to 60 minutes, making it one of the shorter options on the list.

9. Winter Games

Winter Games has ten rounds of trivia, photo and video challenges, with teams collecting points for accuracy, creativity and speed.

Some rounds test what you know. Others ask the team to create and submit something themselves, so the competition doesn't feel like one long quiz.

Once the game finishes, our host brings everyone back together and shares some of the best photos and videos submitted during the event. Then it's time for the final leaderboard and the winning team.

It runs for around 60 to 90 minutes and can accommodate groups from 8 to 250+.

How does the hybrid version work?

All nine activities above can be run virtually or in a hybrid format.

For a hybrid event, onsite colleagues form their own teams while remote colleagues compete in separate teams. Everyone starts together in the main video meeting for the briefing and comes back together for the final scores and winner reveal.

For activities using Mobile Adventures, everyone downloads the app to their own phone, including colleagues taking part together onsite. One person in each team acts as Team Captain and submits the team's answers, while everyone else can follow the game on their own phone.

At least one member of the Dynamic Events team runs the whole event online for both the onsite and remote participants. For larger groups, we'll have additional staff involved where needed.

This means the people joining remotely aren't watching an event that's really happening somewhere else. They're taking part in it too.

What do you need for a hybrid event?

The exact setup depends on where your people are going to be on the day, but you don't need to run two separate events.

If our host is joining remotely while some of your team are together in a room, we'll join early to check that the screen and room speakers are working properly. We also test the sound, screen sharing and breakout-room setup before the event.

For activities using Mobile Adventures, participants need a smartphone for the app as well as access to the video meeting. We'll send the download instructions to the organiser beforehand, and the game code is provided during the live briefing.

Our team then runs the activity, manages the breakout rooms where they're needed, keeps an eye on the scores and handles technical issues during the event.

Should you go fully virtual or hybrid?

If nobody is getting together physically, keep it virtual. Everyone joins in the same way and the setup is straightforward.

Hybrid makes more sense when some of the company will already be together while other colleagues can't be there in person.

The important thing is not to treat the people joining remotely as an audience for whatever is happening in the room. Giving onsite and remote participants their own teams means both groups can actually talk, make decisions and take part, while still competing in the same event.

We use a similar approach across our remote and hybrid team building activities throughout the year.

If you're still working out the wider Christmas plan, our guide to virtual Christmas team building goes into more detail on choosing and organising an online event.

Not sure which activity will suit your setup?

You can browse our full range of virtual Christmas team building activities, or tell us roughly how many people are taking part, where they'll be joining from and whether some of the team will be together in the same location.

We can talk you through which of the nine activities would suit that setup and what you'd need on the day.

FAQs About Virtual and Hybrid Christmas Parties

How long should a virtual or hybrid Christmas party last?

It depends on what you're doing.

Many of these activities run for around 60 to 90 minutes, but there are shorter and longer options. Escape: Festive Edition and Trivia Challenge: Festive Edition take around 45 to 60 minutes, while Murder on the Slopes runs for approximately two hours.

Start with how much time your team can realistically give the event, then choose the activity around that.

Can people in the office and people at home take part in the same event?

Yes. That's exactly how we run our hybrid events.

We normally keep onsite and remote participants in separate teams rather than mixing people sitting together in a room with colleagues joining remotely. Everyone still takes part in the same overall event and competes on the same leaderboard.

Does everyone need the Mobile Adventures app?

For the activities that use Mobile Adventures, yes. Everyone downloads the app to their smartphone, including people taking part together onsite.

One person in each team is nominated as Team Captain and submits the team's answers. The other team members can still see the game content and follow the activity on their own phones.

What does everyone need to take part?

Participants need access to the online meeting and a reliable internet connection.

For activities using Mobile Adventures, they'll also need a smartphone with the app downloaded. We'll provide the organiser with the download instructions to share before the event.

If part of the team will be together in a room, you'll also need a screen and speakers so they can see and hear the online host.

Which video platforms can you use?

We can run events through Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Google Meet and Webex.

In most cases, Dynamic Events provides the meeting link. If your company needs to use its own meeting link, that can be arranged too.

Can you run a Christmas event for colleagues in different countries?

Yes. We regularly run events with people joining from different countries and time zones.

Depending on where everyone is based, people can join the same session or we can run separate sessions where the time difference makes that more practical.

Do we need a rehearsal before the event?

For a fully virtual event, you normally don't need to attend a rehearsal. We test the technical setup internally and join ahead of the event.

If our host is joining remotely while some of your team are together in a physical room, we'll join early with you to make sure the screen, sound and room setup are working properly.

Who runs the event on the day?

At least one member of the Dynamic Events team runs the entire event online for both virtual and hybrid participants.

The number of staff involved depends on the size of the event. For larger groups, we'll bring in additional team members where needed to help manage the event while it's running.