The new era of the workplace has called on business professionals to be innovative and agile in finding ways for colleagues to come together. While hosting virtual events has been a concept since the nineties, their popularity has skyrocketed in 2020 due to the social distancing requirements of the pandemic. Now that meeting in person is often not possible, many types of online events serve as fitting substitutes. With the holidays quickly approaching, hosting a virtual holiday party is a great way to boost employee morale and keep teams inspired through the New Year.

Tips for Hosting a Virtual Holiday Event

Create an Event Strategy: Like any event or project, building a strategy is an important step in ensuring the process goes smoothly. Be sure to make the necessary considerations while planning your virtual holiday event, including hosting platform, timing, event itinerary, event access, giveaways/gifts, and invitations.

Choose the Date and Time: Data has shown an increasing trend where the best time to hold an employee holiday party is during lunch hour, as it reduces the obligations on employees’ personal time and commitments.

Because traveling is no longer an inhibiting factor to participation, notice for your event does not have to be months in advance to accommodate holiday travel plans. However, be sure to send invitations to the event at least two to three weeks in advance so that members of the team can plan accordingly.

Get Festive: From digital or print invitations to the event itself, have fun! Use festive imagery and holiday colors to get people excited. Be sure to also note any themes or gift exchange guidelines. Festive ideas include:

• Virtual Cocktail Hour: Suggest guests have their favorite beverage ready or send a recipe that everyone can try on their own. Depending on state guidance, you can even ship the necessary supplies to each guest or an allowance to buy it themselves.
• Themed Dress Code: Make attire part of the fun by asking guests to either dress up for the occasion. You can even go in the opposite direction by asking everyone to wear their ugliest holiday sweater. Incentivize participation with a contest and prize for the winner.
• Virtual Holiday Games: Holiday Bingo, At-Home Scavenger Hunts, and Trivia Games are all great choices. Games are what you make of them, so keep things light-hearted and upbeat. When in doubt, coveted prize options always get people more involved.

Find the Right UCaaS Provider: Virtual holiday parties are celebrations for online offices held on video meeting software. Cloud9 by VOIP Networks creates connections across great distances, making it the perfect choice for any virtual event. Our rich offering of unified communications services allows streamlined collaboration during planning and one-click access to the online party. Choosing the right cloud communications provider will give you peace of mind, allowing you to focus on enjoying yourself and celebrating the season with your team.

Happy holidays to you and your team from VOIP Networks!