There has never been a better time than the holiday season for employers to express their appreciation for their employees. They can do this during the annual Christmas party; simply throwing the party is a good way to start. Plus, employers can improve employee retention and leadership by providing a fun and welcoming party environment where employees can relax and bond with one another.
Having a successful Christmas party for a workforce that spans numerous time zones or even countries can be challenging for businesses that use remote or hybrid workers. However, it can be done. Keep reading to find out more.
Have A Virtual Secret Santa
Virtual Secret Santa is a gift exchange with a Christmas theme where each person is given a person to send a gift to. This event is meant to bring people together and let everyone enjoy the holidays.
You can give someone an eBook, a Netflix or Amazon Prime subscription, an online gift card, a self-care package, or an Audible membership. Then, during the virtual party, you can show the team what the gifts are.
If you were to meet up as a team in a physical space, Secret Santa is almost certainly a game you would play. Thanks to digital gifts and virtual communication avenues, you don’t have to leave this tradition out of proceedings, and everyone can enjoy a great gift no matter where they happen to live.
Have A Dress Code
Something that can be missing from the fun of a physical party is all that time and effort spent getting dressed up and going out. If you’re having a virtual meet up, your team might not feel that inspired to put on their party clothes – they’re all going to be at home, after all, so they might not feel as though it’s worth it. This can put a dampener on the mood.
With this in mind, it can be a good idea to make sure there is a dress code for the party. Choose something fun, and whether it’s black tie, pajamas, or something in between, it will give people a good excuse to buy a new outfit and take the time to search out the ideal hairstyle and eyeshadow palettes to compliment the look.
If you really want to make sure people get involved, why not run a ‘best dressed’ competition, for example? No matter what you do, if you give people the chance to get dressed up as though they were going out, even if they are staying at home, it will make the atmosphere a lot more fun.
Provide Food And Drinks
It’s a good idea to take the time to think about what might be needed at a physical party and put those ideas into your virtual one. For example, if you were arranging a party at a central venue for everyone to attend, you would need to organize food and drink. Therefore, it makes sense to organize food and drink for your remote employees too. This might sound complicated or even impossible, but it can be done, and it can be done relatively simply.
The easiest thing to do is to send everyone gift cards for a place such as Dominoes or another takeout place of their choice. You can pre-load the card with a set amount of money, and your employees can then order their food to arrive during the party. Alternatively, you could give everyone a small bonus or a pre-paid credit card to enable them to buy the food and drink of their choice.
In doing this, you can give people the freedom they need to choose the food they want, and you can also show you are being generous as no one is going to be out of pocket. Giving the money or a voucher is far less complicated than ordering everyone’s food separately as well.
Watch A Christmas Movie
Maybe your team isn’t into music and games, and perhaps that’s not the ideal option for a remote party anyway – people might feel a little silly dancing on their own at home. In that case, another good idea is to arrange a Christmas movie showing instead.
There are apps you can use that mean everyone can watch simultaneously and even type comments for everyone to read. Or perhaps you can stream the movie while people are on Zoom or a similar piece of software so you can all watch together in real time. With added popcorn and Christmas snacks, this can make for a fun and festive celebration.
