Virtual Christmas Party Ideas for 2025

If your team is spread across the country, or you want to add something extra to your in-person celebrations, a virtual party is a brilliant way to bring everyone together. It is fun, flexible, and makes sure no one misses out on the festive cheer.

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In this guide, we’ll share everything you need to host a memorable virtual Christmas party for your team.

What to Expect for your Virtul Christmas Party

An in-person Christmas party is often a single event that lasts several hours, with food and drinks, entertainment, speeches and music to round off the evening.

A virtual Christmas party works a little differently. Instead of one long event, organisers often create multiple smaller sessions for people to join. For example:

Speeches
Interactive activities
Team or department breakout rooms

Think of it as a festive mini-convention rather than one big party.

Planning one is easier than you might think, but it still requires the same care and attention to detail as organising an in-person event.

Choosing a date and time

While the location is no longer an issue, the date and time still are worth thinking about.For in-person company parties, evenings or weekends are often the go-to. With virtual events, it can be better to think differently. A weekday afternoon may work best, especially if you want to avoid clashes with family commitments or personal plans.

Here are a few things to consider:

Will employees be given time off for the event, such as a Friday afternoon?
Does the date overlap with busy times for certain departments? For example, sales might be at their peak in mid-December while other teams are winding down.
Are you inviting employees only, or their families too?
Will the time interfere with school runs or family responsibilities?

Pro-tip: A Friday afternoon in December often works well. It avoids evening clashes, feels like a natural wind-down to the week, and gives you plenty of space to run different festive activities online.

Setting up the tech

Most companies already have the tools they need to host a virtual Christmas party, whether that’s an internal video conferencing system or an external platform. A good internet connection, microphones and webcams are usually enough to get started.

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Your chosen platform should support group calls, breakout rooms and screen sharing, so you can run activities smoothly and make it easy for everyone to take part.

It can also help to prepare some pre-planned content in advance. For example, slides for a quiz, a short presentation, or festive graphics. This keeps the event flowing and makes it feel more polished, while still leaving plenty of space for live interaction and fun.a live event. That doesn’t mean you need to stay away from it entirely but you want to find the right balance between pre-recorded and live.

Planning breakout rooms and activities

When setting up your virtual Christmas party, remember that this is a celebration, not a business meeting. The goal is to keep things fun and engaging.

Group sizes

The size of each breakout group will depend on the activity. The more interactive it is, the smaller the group should be. For example, a digital card game might work best with just 6 players, while a workshop could handle more.

The good news is that it’s easy to create additional breakout rooms on the spot. If one fills up, simply open another so no one misses out.

How many groups do you need?

This will depend on how many people are attending. If you expect 80 employees, you might plan five breakout activities of 10 people each, plus a “main room” where everyone comes together for things like the CEO’s speech.

Don’t overcomplicate it. Just make sure there are enough activities so everyone gets to join in.

Activity duration

Keep each activity short and lively. Under an hour is best, with many working even better at 15–30 minutes. Ten fun minutes are far better than a drawn-out hour.

Ideas for breakout activities

The possibilities are endless, so think about what your team would genuinely enjoy. Here are some ideas:

Speeches – a CEO or manager could reflect on the year and thank the team.
Virtual Santa – book Santa to make a live call, either for employees’ kids or just for fun.
Magic shows – a magician can perform virtually, bringing surprise and laughter.
Music bingo – play online with festive songs, or book an entertainer to host.
Pub quiz – run a quiz with fun, company-themed questions to make it personal.
Workshops – from cooking classes to cocktail making, give people a new skill to try.
Games – choose simple, easy-to-learn online games that everyone can enjoy.

Festive Game Ideas

Whe it comes to games choose simple, easy-to-learn online games that everyone can enjoy. Here are some festive twists:

Christmas Tree Guessing Game – for smaller teams who know each other well, ask everyone to send in a photo of their Christmas tree before the party. Then, during the event, share the pictures and have people guess whose tree is whose.
Festive Scavenger Hunt – give everyone a list of seasonal items (a Santa hat, wrapping paper, a mince pie) and see who can find them in their home the fastest.
Christmas Emoji Quiz – prepare a list of festive films, songs or traditions written only in emojis, and have people work out what they are.
Guess the Christmas Film (Charades Edition) – split into teams and act out festive favourites like Elf, Love Actually or Home Alone. No words allowed, just festive fun.
Two Truths and a Lie: Christmas Version – each person shares two real festive memories and one fake one, while the rest of the team guesses which is which.

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Choosing the hosts

Once you’ve decided on your activities, you’ll need to assign someone to lead each one. They’ll be responsible for keeping the group engaged and making sure everything runs smoothly.

In some cases, this will be obvious. Senior managers can handle speeches, and if you’ve booked external entertainers, they’ll naturally lead their own session. The only activities you’ll need to cover are the ones without a built-in host.

Pro tip: Choose people who are confident with the technology and comfortable speaking to a group. A little preparation goes a long way in making the activity feel seamless and enjoyable.

Virtual helpdesk

Most video platforms are straightforward to use, but there will always be a few people who run into technical issues. To keep things stress-free, set up a simple way for employees to get help during the event.

This could be a dedicated chat channel, a shared inbox, or even one person on standby to answer questions. For small events, the organisers themselves can usually manage this. For larger events, it’s worth assigning a dedicated helper (or even a small team) so the party runs smoothly for everyone.

Adding some physical elements

To make your virtual Christmas party feel more tangible, you can add a few physical touches that bring the celebration to life. Here are some ideas:

Prizes

For any games or competitions, send out physical prizes to the winners. It adds excitement and makes the event more memorable.

Food vouchers

Instead of catering for an in-person event, consider sending vouchers for popular food delivery services. It’s a thoughtful way to treat your employees and ensures everyone can enjoy something festive at home.

Care packages/gift boxes

Surprise your team with a seasonal gift box filled with snacks, treats or small festive goodies. Think of it as the virtual version of a party goodie bag.

Do-as-I-do activities

If your pods require your employees to get their hands dirty, for example by following along with the pod presenter in a DIY activity, it will make them feel more in the moment.

Interactive activities

Choose activities where employees can join in from home. For example, a cocktail-making class, festive bake-along, or DIY craft workshop. Sending out a small kit in advance makes it easy for everyone to take part.

Wrapping up

Hopefully, this article has given you some inspiration for planning a virtual Christmas party. Whether your team is spread across the country or you simply want to add a digital element to your celebrations, there are plenty of ways to make it festive, fun and memorable.