7 Fun Holiday Contest Ideas for Remote Teams

In an office setting, this happens naturally at a Christmas party—live interactions, spontaneous conversations, and new connections with those who are actually always around. But with remote teams, the situation is different. Many employees value the remote format primarily for its freedom from mandatory activities, while others miss live emotions.

How can you reconcile these opposing expectations? This guide offers a curated list of fun contests you can run remotely to bring the team closer.

There Are Only Two Types of Remote Employees

You can broadly categorize all remote employees into two types.

The first group prefer minimal contact, value autonomy, and love turning off their cameras during Zoom calls. For them, it's important to participate in the company's life asynchronously, contributing discreetly.

The second type love diving into all the adventures. They miss the team and collective energy, happily join online negotiations, become initiators of live meetings, and want to feel the atmosphere of a classic Christmas party.

Also read:

Top Holiday Team-Building Activities for Remote and Hybrid Teams

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Key Principles of Successful Contests for Remote Teams

There are five principles that practically ensure a successful contest program for remote teams. They may seem simple, but they are exactly what organizers often overlook. If you consider these points in advance, the office holiday party will go smoothly and leave only good impressions on colleagues.

• Voluntariness—participation in the holiday event should be a choice, not an obligation. It's important that employees can join in a format they're comfortable with—camera on or off, actively participating or just observing the process.
• Fun and concise program—long online meetings are tiring, so it's better to limit the event to 60-90 minutes and move everything else to an asynchronous format. Asynchronous participation means employees can complete tasks and share results when convenient, without needing to be in a video chat simultaneously.
• Inclusivity—contests should be comfortable for all participants. In a remote setting, it's especially important to choose neutral themes that won't put anyone in an awkward position or touch on personal issues. Also, avoid activities centered around alcohol—drinking may lead to uncontrolled behavior, causing discomfort for others. It's better to rely on universal formats—like musical games and movie-watching parties.
• Easy preparation—choose contests that don't require extra preparation or props. The best option is ready-to-use digital solutions and reliable services. The fewer organizational barriers, the higher the engagement.
• Technical accessibility—participation in contests should be convenient for everyone. Organizers should check the chosen platform in advance to prevent technical issues during the event and provide colleagues with instructions on how to connect and set up a camera and microphone. Mind different time zones - if the team is spread worldwide, part of the program can be duplicated at a different time.

Also Read:

A Step-by-Step Guide To Organizing a Secret Santa for Virtual Teams

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Contests for those who appreciate tranquility

Secret Santa

The MySanta app platform offers freedom to those who aren't fond of extra chatter and to the most active participants alike. The first can keep the intrigue and calmly choose a gift from the recipient's wishlist, browsing through product cards, while the latter can add playfulness and fun, exchanging mysterious messages in anonymous or group chats.

You can unwrap gifts and share emotions during a video call, where everyone can share guesses about their Santa's identity if they wish. 

Try our MySanta app

You can create wishlists, add exclusions, and communicate with your gifree secretly. Moreover, there is an option to track gifts and ensure that everyone buys a present on time.

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Photo Challenge

Here are some ideas:

1. best winter view from your window
2. most beautiful holiday photo
3. vintage throwback
4. best pet photo
5. most appetizing holiday dish photo.

Employees need to upload their photos in folders by category if there are several, and colleagues vote by liking or using other reactions. Participation can be any time over, say, a week, and at the end, everyone can enjoy the photogallery via the screen sharing function from the contest organizer and wrap up the results. A great prize for this level of competition could be a quality corporate hoodie or devices that enhance photo quality. 

Workspace Decoration

This contest will inspire colleagues to create a holiday atmosphere right at their workspace—be it physical or virtual. There are two options for participation: decorate a real background with garlands, ornaments, candles, and more, or create a creative virtual backdrop for video calls. Participants will need to upload pictures or screenshots in a group chat or folder—from which point an independent anonymous poll can be set up in any messenger.

Contests for those who love action

Quiz on Movies, Music, and Memes of the Year

An intellectual battle which can last for hours depending on free time and each participant's enthusiasm. The grand prize—besides intellectual superiority over the losers—might be a bottle of champagne, holiday sweet sets, or the bragging rights to walk around the office with an elevated head, no fear of your crown scraping the ceiling.

Online Drawing Games

A special genre of team games where fun isn't built on knowledge, but on imagination and the ability to convey an idea with lines. Someone draws a concept, and the others try to guess it.

A classic example is Skribbl, where each participant takes turns getting a word and tries to depict it on a virtual canvas. The others type their guesses in the chat, and the faster they guess, the more points they earn. The drawing can be exact or caricatured—and that's where all the fun lies, as the most laughter often comes from clumsy attempts.

Another option is Drawful from the Jackbox collection. The principle is similar, but with an interesting twist: the guessers not only propose correct answers but also create their own versions to mislead others. As a result, points can be earned not only for the right guess but also for making others believe your fabricated version seems more convincing.

Escape Room or Detective Mystery

A format that's as close to offline entertainment as it gets, requiring active team collaboration. The essence is that participants are given a certain mysterious plot or a puzzle-filled room they need to escape from. To progress, they must share ideas, discuss clues, check each other's theories, and distribute roles. This contest helps unite the team, cultivate a sense of shared adventure, much like a classic team-building exercise but in an online format.

GeoGuessr

A browser-based online game where participants are shown random spots from Google Street View. The goal is to guess the country or, even better, the specific location—the closer your guess, the more points your team earns.

The organizer needs to create a private room or start a Team Duels mode, dividing colleagues into 2–3 teams. Each team's players will discuss where they landed—some will study road signs, others architectural styles or floral characteristics, and some will decipher languages on billboards. You can limit the time per round to maintain energy. Typically, a session consists of 4–5 rounds taking about 30 minutes.

GeoGuessr is especially fun with international teams: colleagues recognize familiar details from their own countries, assist others, argue, and joke about incorrect guesses. Ultimately, the contest becomes a joint adventure without a trip to the airport—discover geographical novelty, laugh, learn intriguing details about unfamiliar places, and maybe even spark an interest in map exploration.

The holiday season in a remote format is a special kind of celebration. A well-thought-out scenario will help everyone join in—some more actively, some more asynchronously.