​How to Plan the Perfect Office Party...Online!

Halloween is just around the corner, which means the holiday season is fast approaching. It’s already time to start planning for the annual office holiday party in December. This year’s festivities will look a little different, much of the merry-making and nog-chugging will have to move online. If you are planning a virtual Christmas party, here are some suggestions for preserving all the good cheer over the world wide web.

You might not be able to enjoy the same seasonal mixed drink in the same room, but you can share the experience nonetheless. Consider sending your employees the ingredients to a special boozy concoction. We recommend a French 75! You can even make the drink together during the party. Laughs and good cheer are sure to follow.

A little entertainment will go a long way to marking the occasion. You can hire a sommelier or magician - these performers can take your guests through a program that can include lots of participation from your guests. An online performance will give everyone a break from socializing via webcam and add some flair to your holiday soirée.

Consider requesting that all your guests wear a specific colour and clothing item. Social gatherings on video conferencing can feel very similar to regular meetings, so it’s nice to do something that can help visually distinguish the experience from day-to-day conferences. For example, you could send all your employees a santa hat and request they wear it for the gathering.

A high participation activity for your holiday party is trivia! You can offer prizes, rewarding correct responses in trivia related to your industry, general knowledge, or personal facts about your employees. You can use the hands up feature of Zoom to call on guests who have the right answer. Make sure you have a participation prize for all your guests so everyone wins!

If can be difficult for new or lower level employees to feel comfortable jumping into a zoom conversation. One nice way to ensure everyone is involved is to ask questions via the chat feature and solicit text responses. For example you can ask “What is your favourite holiday dish?” and get people chatting that way in addition to spoken conversation.

You can still run a White Elephant or holiday gift exchange among your office team. Assign your staff a colleague to buy a gift for and have your staff open these gifts on camera during a video call. You can organize gift delivery so all the gifts are couriered to their various recipients in time for the holiday doo.