Top Holiday Team-Building Activities for Remote and Hybrid Teams
Christmas is just around the corner, and it’s time to plan team-building events. In this article, you will find engaging team-building activities and games that will foster connections and improve morale in remote and hybrid teams.
Christmas team-building events strengthen team connections, improve team productivity, and let people unwind after a busy year. Organizing team-building activities in remote or hybrid work environments may seem challenging, but worry not. Today, we have prepared a list of exciting activities to foster camaraderie and build connections even if some people in your team are a thousand miles away.
Why organize a team-building event for remote and hybrid teams?
Like in-person team events, remote team buildings can help team bonding and increase efficiency. Here are the specific benefits of organizing a virtual team building:
- Foster communication and collaboration – people who rarely (or never) meet in person find it more difficult to collaborate with each other. Team-building activities help them connect on a personal level which leads to bonding and better communication.
- Overcome isolation – remote team members can feel isolated and lonely at times. Group events and team-building games help them feel included and connected with the workplace, promoting engagement and well-being.
- Welcome new team members – if there are new people on the team, use a Christmas team building to welcome them aboard and let them communicate with everyone informally to build trust and shared experiences.
- It’s cost-effective – organizing a virtual event is often more affordable than the in-person one. All you need to do is to plan the activities to keep everyone engaged.
Christmas Team-Building Activities for Remote and Hybrid Employees
Here is a list of simple and fun virtual team activities for your holiday team-building event:
Christmas icebreaker questions
Starting your virtual Christmas meeting with an icebreaker session will get everyone communicating and let the team learn more about each other. Icebreaker questions help make connections even with coworkers who live far away.
Examples of holiday icebreaker questions
- Which of your colleagues would make the best Santa in our department/company?
- What Christmas carol is your favorite?
- Have you ever re-gifted a Christmas present?
- Do you often do last-minute Christmas shopping?
- What is your holiday guilty pleasure?
- What Christmas gift would you find offensive?
Secret Santa
Secret Santa is a holiday office classic that helps team members exchange personalized presents. You can host a remote gift exchange using the MySanta organizer. All players sign up to the platform, and remote employees contribute their physical addresses.
After everyone joins, draw names to see who gives a present to whom. Remote employees get presents delivered to their homes. On the exchange day, players open their gifts during the video call and guess who their Secret Santa is. The game helps coworkers learn more about each other and fosters a sense of mystery.
Gingerbread house contest
Building a gingerbread house is a popular activity for in-person meetings, but you can do it remotely, too. Order gingerbread house decorating kits for everyone and schedule a video call. Everyone decorates their creations and discusses them in the process. On-site team members can work in small groups. In the end, everyone votes for the most creative and delicious-looking house. To save your creative efforts, make an album with pictures of all houses on Google Drive.
Photo scavenger hunt
While playing a scavenger hunt, participants share emotions and develop their creative thinking and problem-solving skills. Here is how to do a Christmas scavenger hunt remotely. Each player receives a list of items they need to capture in a week or so. They can use old photos or take new ones. Players upload all photos in a shared album.
Here are the examples of prompts:
1. Your home Christmas décor
2. A creepy-looking Santa or elf
3. Pets dressed up for the holiday
4. Your Christmas cocktails
5. Photo of your dinner
6. Fun winter Christmas activity
Holiday Trivia
Christmas trivia games are perfectly suited for remote or hybrid workplace parties. You can do on-site vs remote employees or mix up everyone. For Christmas trivia, there are options to use holiday-themed questions or create your own questions about the company and your department. To make it more interactive, incorporate images and videos in your questions.
Holiday Never Have I Ever
This popular party game can be adapted for the office. It lets everyone have fun and reveals the personalities of your coworkers. Here is how it works: each participant reads a statement, and players who have done it keep the camera turned on while others turn it off. This simple game is accompanied by a lot of laughter and can provoke insightful conversations.
Christmas Never Have I Ever prompts for work:
1. Forgotten to get a present for Secret Santa
2. Proposed to someone (or been proposed) at Christmas time
3. Worn matching pajamas with my spouse
4. Been called a Grinch
5. Pretended to be sick to skip the corporate party
6. Made a break in my diet during the holidays.
Movie night
It is easy to organize a holiday movie night for a hybrid team. On-site employees can gather in the office while remote coworkers can watch the movie via Zoom or an app like Teleparty to sync the video for all participants. Create a chat for everyone to leave their commentary and discuss the movie. You can stream the holiday classic or any Christmas movie that appeals to the team.
Virtual dinner
Christmas dinner is an important part of any gathering, so don’t neglect the tradition! Compensate each team member $30 to order delivery of their choice and gather everyone for a virtual dinner. The team members can have their turkey, pizza, salad, or beef tenderloin with a glass of wine and share a conversation with coworkers who live far away. All in all, a delicious dinner can help bonding.
Christmas bingo
A holiday bingo is another fun and easy activity that you can do remotely. Participants are divided into small groups and discuss who fits the clues, and the first player who finishes a line gets a small reward.
Here are the free bingo cards you can use:
1. Free printable bingo cards about Christmas movies
2. Online Christmas bingo card
Virtual wine tasting
If the team wants something classy and sophisticated this year, organize a remote wine-tasting event. Order wine-tasting kits for all participants and a video call with a wine expert to guide the process. Have everyone prepare cheese and snacks (if not included in the kit) and enjoy delightful flavors together while building rapport with the team.
Organizing a virtual team building this Christmas will keep your team entertained and engaged while helping people bond with each other and collaborate more effectively. Celebrate this holiday season together using the team-building activities above and stay motivated and energized for the next year!
FAQs
How to organize a Secret Santa with a hybrid team?
To set up a hybrid Secret Santa exchange, you will need an online generator, such as MySanta. All players need to sign up and share their mailing address to deliver gifts. After you draw names, on-site employees bring gifts to the office and players who live far away receive presents by mail. When sending gifts, add the company's address as the sender address for anonymity. On the exchange day, everyone joins the Zoom call and unwrap their presents.
What tools can help organize team-building events for hybrid teams?
To run a remote team-building event smoothly, you will need apps that allow in-person and remote participation. Use Zoom or Microsoft Teams for video conferencing and Slack for effective communication during the event. To set up a Secret Santa exchange, try the MySanta app. To organize team-building activities, you might try QuizBreaker or similar services to promote collaboration and engagement.
What are the best Secret Santa gifts for a remote coworker?
For a coworker you've never met in person, pick something practical and accessible. Consider small and shippable items, such as a personalized mug, scented candles, tortilla blanket, phone charger, notebook, or water bottle. For last-minute gifts, give them an e-gift card, yearly subscription to a streaming or wellness app, or other subscription based on their interests.
How do you handle time zone differences in remote team activities?
When remote participants are located in different time zones, choose a time that accommodates the majority. If some people cannot connect anyway, consider asynchronous activities, such as a photo scavenger hunt or virtual escape room that don't require real-time participation. If you're doing a virtual Secret Santa, participants can record videos as they open the present and share them in a group chat.
