Team Partners Telecommunications

Virtual Christmas Party Inspiration

Posted on Dec 15, 2020  | Tags: remote working, home worker, WFH

It would be good to think that all of us have sufficient patience to be able to listen to yet more people telling us how awful 2020 has been without wanting to be violent towards them. Yes, it’s been different and deeply challenging for many of us and, yes, we’ll be living with the economic repercussions for a long time to come, but where this pandemic has hit most of us, other than in our pockets has been socially. As a nation we’ve been almost forced to recognise the level of our interdependency; we don’t do solitude very well. 

Christmas, of course, is that time when that interdependency most shows itself. There is an expectation of sociability, it’s the season of HoHoHo and having to meet and greet family members seldom seen and preferably never heard from. Is it worth hoping that one side effect of this last year will be a greater awareness of our need for each other and a preparedness to put up with each others’ foibles, at least over the “festive” season.

One of the several Christmas casualties this year will be the office party. The volume and intensity of the sigh of relief escaping from an employer’s boardroom at this will be a pretty good measure of how well a company looks after and values its workforce. There’s a lot of truth in the saying that a company that parties together works hard together. Our suggestion is that instead of shelving your Christmas party this year you embrace it warmly and see it as an excuse to bring a little light into what could so easily be a pretty grim time.

Here are some ideas! 

How about a recipe party? The idea here is for all your staff to be sent the necessary ingredients to make up one, two or three dishes. You can either run the cooking side live, asking them all to set up their laptops or phones so they can watch each other at work, or you can get them to record their steps (less fun!), prizes for the best looking efforts!

Or, you could send them all either flowers, or a bare wreath and get them flower arranging or wreath making. It’s worth saying that for all these activities you can either let your people get on with it for themselves or run the event as a tutorial, with someone taking them through each step.

How about mixicology? For those of your staff who imbibe why not send them a bottle or two or three or four (you get the idea) together with some mixers and take them through a cocktail making and “sharing” evening? Who knows, it could end in some online karaoke!

Here’s another idea. Cheese. Sounds fun? Well, add some taster bottles of wine and introduce a cheese master to take your people through a cheese with wine pairing event. Actually, why bother with the cheese? How about several taster bottles of wine and a wine tasting session? Now you’re talking a virtual party! And with no need for a designated driver either…

So, whatever you choose to do this Christmas and however you choose to do it, try and include at least one person who might otherwise be alone. They’ll add something positive you weren’t expecting!