9 Virtual and Hybrid Christmas Party Ideas

Getting everyone into the same room at Christmas isn’t always possible.

You might have most of the team together in Dublin with a handful joining from home. You might have colleagues spread across Ireland, Europe and further afield. Or nobody might be getting together physically at all.

We see all of those situations.

If everyone is remote, a fully virtual event is straightforward. Everyone joins the same online event before splitting into smaller teams to play.

Hybrid works when some colleagues are already getting together while others need to join remotely. The important part is making sure the remote people are actually involved, rather than watching the office Christmas event through somebody’s laptop.

What Does a Hybrid Christmas Event Actually Look Like?

We normally start with everyone together in the main online room for the briefing.

Once the activity begins, colleagues who are physically together play with their teammates in the boardroom or meeting space. Remote participants head into online breakout rooms with other remote players.

And that’s usually where the craic starts.

People have something to get stuck into rather than being expected to make conversation on a Christmas video call. Depending on the activity, they could be answering trivia, solving puzzles, competing for points or creating photos and videos as part of the challenges.

At the end, everyone comes back into the main room for the results. With activities that include creative challenges, we’ll also show back some of the best photos and videos people created during the game.

We’ve run this format enough times to know that the flow matters. An online Christmas event can feel forced or clunky very quickly if people spend most of it listening. Giving smaller groups something to actually do together changes the whole atmosphere.

There doesn’t need to be an even split between online and in-person participants either. We can organise the format around where your people will actually be joining from.

9 Virtual and Hybrid Christmas Party Ideas

Start with how your team will be joining. Then look at group size, available time and whether they’d rather tackle trivia, creative challenges or a problem to solve.

Here are nine ideas to consider.

1. Festive Around the World

If your company has people based in several countries, Festive Around the World is a good place to start.

Teams work through trivia and challenges based on Christmas celebrations and traditions around the world. Rather than assuming everyone celebrates Christmas in exactly the same way, the activity gives different countries and cultures a place in the game.

For an additional fee, it can also be customised to include countries and cultures represented within your own company.

Choose this if: you have an international group and want that reflected in the activity.

2. Christmas Crackers

Christmas Crackers has plenty of festive trivia, but teams aren’t sitting around answering question after question.

There are audio, photo and video challenges mixed into the game, with teams competing for points along the way.

The leaderboard disappears towards the end, so nobody knows exactly where they stand. Everyone then comes back together for the showback, where some of the best photos and videos from the game are put on screen before the winners are announced.

Choose this if: you want Christmas trivia, competition and creative challenges rather than a straightforward online quiz.

3. Arctic Survival

If your group would rather solve a problem than answer Christmas questions, Arctic Survival goes in a completely different direction.

Your team is stranded in the Arctic and needs to work through puzzles and decisions to get out of trouble. It has the winter setting without making every challenge about Christmas.

Choose this if: your group likes puzzles, decisions and problem-solving more than festive trivia.

4. Trivia Challenge: Festive Edition

This is a good option for groups that like the familiarity of a Christmas quiz but want more variety in the game.

Teams work through 12 festive rounds featuring trivia, brain teasers, puzzles and creative challenges, competing for points as they go.

Choose this if: your group likes quizzes but you want more going on than question, answer, repeat.

5. Murder on the Slopes

Murder on the Slopes gives you something longer and more involved.

The team is snowed in at a ski lodge when a murder takes place. Players need to examine the evidence, question suspects and work out what happened.

It runs for around two hours, so it works better when the activity is a bigger part of the Christmas event rather than something being squeezed into a short gap at the end of the working day.

Choose this if: your group enjoys getting stuck into a story and solving a case together.

6. Escape: Festive Edition

Santa has lost his naughty and nice list, and teams need to work through a series of festive rooms to recover it.

Players tackle puzzles, riddles and logic tasks against the clock, so the emphasis is much more on solving things together than knowing the answers to Christmas trivia.

Choose this if: you want something recognisably Christmassy for a group that enjoys puzzles and escape-room style challenges.

7. Quizzmas Time

Sometimes the brief really is as simple as: “We want a Christmas quiz.”

Quizzmas Time puts festive questions and competition at the centre of the activity, giving you a hosted option for groups that don’t need a murder mystery, escape challenge or longer storyline around the game.

Choose this if: your group wants a straightforward, hosted Christmas quiz.

8. Winter Games

Winter Games mixes trivia with photo and video challenges, so the format keeps changing as teams compete.

Those creative challenges also give us plenty to work with when everyone comes back together. Some of the best submissions can be shown to the whole group before the final results are revealed.

Choose this if: you want plenty of competition and variety without making every part of the event explicitly about Christmas.

9. Disco Bingo Online

Not every remote Christmas event needs teams solving puzzles or chasing points through a series of challenges.

Disco Bingo mixes bingo with music and gives the event a lighter, more social feel.

Choose this if: you want music and something more relaxed than a problem-solving team activity.

Which Christmas Activities Can You Run as a Hybrid Event?

Most of the activities above can be adapted when some colleagues are together and others are joining online.

Arctic Survival, Christmas Crackers, Escape: Festive Edition, Festive Around the World, Murder on the Slopes, Trivia Challenge: Festive Edition and Winter Games can all work in a hybrid setup.

You don’t need an even split between the office and remote players. If most people are together and only a handful are joining online, we can still organise the playing teams around that.

What Do You Need for a Virtual or Hybrid Christmas Event?

For a fully virtual event, participants need a reliable internet connection and access to the online meeting.

Some activities also use our award winning app, so participants will need access to a smartphone. We provide the relevant joining and download information before the event.

For a hybrid event where colleagues are together in a boardroom or event space, you’ll also need a suitable screen and speakers so the group can see and hear the online host.

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

If our host is joining remotely while part of your team is together, we join early to check the room setup, sound and screen before everyone arrives.

Does Hybrid Work if Most People Are in the Office?

Yes.

You don’t need half the company online and half in the room.

If most people are together and a much smaller group is joining remotely, we can structure the playing teams around that setup. The same applies if you have several offices joining alongside people working from home.

What we try to avoid is putting remote colleagues into an in-room team where they struggle to hear the conversation and end up watching rather than playing.

The people joining remotely should be talking, playing and competing with their own team, not watching what’s happening in the office through somebody else’s laptop.

Can People Join From Different Countries?

Yes. In fact, that’s one of the situations where virtual Christmas events make the most sense.

We regularly hear from companies whose people are spread across different countries and offices. As long as everyone can make the same event time, they can take part in the same session.

If you have a particularly international group, Festive Around the World is worth considering because the activity itself looks at Christmas traditions and celebrations in different parts of the world.

Should You Go Fully Virtual or Hybrid?

If everyone is working remotely, keep it virtual. Everyone joins on the same terms and the setup is simple.

If part of the company is already getting together while other colleagues can’t be there, hybrid gives those remote employees a way to properly take part.

Don’t worry about achieving a particular split between the two. Start with where people will actually be on the day and we can work the format around that.

The important bit is that everyone gets to play.

Nobody wants to be the person on a laptop in the corner of somebody else’s Christmas party.

Planning Christmas for a Remote or Hybrid Team?

If you know roughly how many people are taking part, where they’ll be joining from and how much time you have, that’s enough to start narrowing down the options.

Explore our Virtual Christmas Team Building activities to see what’s available, or tell us about your group and we can help you work out which format makes sense.