12 days of remote Christmas party ideas for online teams

Do I really need to organise a Christmas Party this year? Well, this year, more than any other the answer is YES. A bit of playfulness, a little bit of silliness, and a little bit of appropriate fun will do more to create team cohesion, build connection and a sense of belonging than anything else you can do right now. Here are my 12 Days of Christmas party ideas. Not sure how to make these happen or want more ideas? Drop me a line - I'd be happy to help. Click here for the video version of my 12 Remote Christmas Party Ideas 1. Secret Santa Awards Every person in your team is allocated somebody else and they are asked to identify what award they deserve for what they've done (results, attitudes, behaviours, contribution to team vibe) in 2020. You could give everyone a budget to send a well researched gift as a physical reward. Gather for an online Awards Ceremony on your usual channel - you could add a dress code - and take turns to announce your award winner. Allow time for acceptance speeches too. 2. Sock it to 2020 Ask everyone to bring a pair of sock, a hat, some paper and a pen (or send them Christmas socks and a Santa hat). The leader or facilitator invites everyone to write what reflections they have that they would like to stuff in one of the stockings never to be seen again and use the other sock to collect the positives of 2020 and the things they are grateful. In breakouts (if your team is large) tell them to take turns to pull something out of a sock and discuss with the other team members. Use the hat to add ideas, thoughts and actions that help you build resilience. Contact me if you need help with facilitating this. 3. It's a Cracker Help your team tell jokes better than any joke in any cracker. A Comedy Workshop will help your team work together and also engage better with customers. For online comedy workshops contact Jack Milner or Neil Mullarkey 4. Advent Audio Get pairs of your team to record a short podcast and then share them on each day through December. They can discuss a common interest, reflections on the year, what their fantasy Christmas holiday would be, what they are looking forward to in 2021 or what they love about work/the team etc. For help with podcast recording and editing contact Justin Crane 5. Switch off - off site Block of whole day in your team’s diaries. Start with a meeting and then tell them they have the rest of the day to do something that is really an indulgent treat for them. It can be anything (watch a movie, bake a cake, go for a walk, do a yoga session, play some sport) Invite them to come back a little bit later in the day for a ’show and tell' meeting where everybody shares what they've seen, done . 6. Festive Wild Art Workshop This is a chance for everyone to get a bit creative - regardless of how artistic they are. This guided workshop gets everyone to write done what inspires (or irks) them, then turn that into art. Works best if everyone is sent an art pack - and add a bit of eco friendly glitter to add sparkle to the festive feel. Contact Moyra Scott 7. Escape from Reality This year has been pants. So let’s just escape from reality. There are some brilliant companies doing some online escape rooms, and you can get them tailored and bespoke to your brand or to the themes you've got this year. Contact David Middleton at Bewilder Box. Happy to help if you're short of bespoke ideas. 8. Christmas Rapping No, I don't mean wrapping parcels. And that isn’t a typo. I mean work with a Rap artist to create your own team rap. Contact Jamal "J-mal" Ilyas-Jarret and me for more ideas on how to engage your team with a song 9. Hope for the Future session This is about looking, not at a dystopian future but what human skills have that will help us thrive in the 4th Industrial revolution. I can do a talk or a workshop that will help your team make the most of being human, help identify new opportunities and look forward to a bright future. Contact me! Gerrie Hawes 10. Team Elf To deliver all those presents in one night they must be a seriously high performing team in the North Pole! So, what can your team learn from the elves to help you work together better next year? I’ll guide you team through a C-me workshop with a festive feel. Contact me for more info Gerrie Hawes 11. Bake off Technical Challenge Send everybody the same indulgent ingredients and the same recipe. Then challenge them to see what they create. Also works for cocktails if that’s your team’s poison. Ask Helen Jack for help, ideas and online cooking lessons and @Chris Edwardes for some tasty cocktail challenges 12. Singalong Playlist Party Invite your team to an online party - asking them to pre-submit their favourite singalong song. Find the songs with lyrics online, and have a good old party singalong with lots of banter. For added class send a selection of drinks, treats and pizza delivery to their door. Fancy a live online experience? Rory of RoryandtheIsland.com can sing pretty much anything your throw at him. He's funny too. Let me know which of these appeal. Drop me line with and questions, help with design or facilitation of the experiences. Wishing you and your team a Happy Christmas and a 2021 full of positive news and hope for a better future.