Zoom Holiday Party Ideas

I’ll be honest, when we wrote this post in 2020 I did not imagine that anyone would still be looking for Zoom holiday party ideas in 2021. Turns out we were wrong! With the number of offices that haven’t returned to an in-person setting, and the number of people still hesitant about traveling, Zoom holiday parties are still a thing! Read ahead for ideas for making your party fun and festive, even if it has to be virtual.

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Related articles:

• The best Christmas cards that perfectly sum up 2020
• Birthday celebration ideas beyond the car parade

Virtual White Elephant Gift Exchange

A white elephant gift exchange is the main event during Christmas Eve at my parents’ house. We seem to zip through the regular gift portion of the evening to open some of the worst gifts ever exchanged between friends and family.

Here’s how you can plan a virtual white elephant gift exchange:

• You’ll definitely need a lead person to coordinate with everyone participating.
• Set a budget.
• Pick a specific date to exchange gifts via Zoom or another shared video platform.
• Lead person should match gift pairings and ensure gifts are sent/received before party date.
• Assign opening order. It might be fun to have a smaller family member who isn’t participating pull numbers from a Santa hat at the beginning of the video call.
• Unwrap gifts on camera!

What about stealing gifts?

Well, without stealing gifts, you’re basically playing a white elephant secret Santa game. But, there is still a way to steal those great white elephant gifts. Here’s how:

• Pick a lead person to coordinate with everyone participating.
• Set a budget.
• Inform all those playing to buy and wrap the white elephant gift they’ve purchased.
• Pick a specific date to open gifts via Zoom or another shared video platform.
• Assign opening order.
• Set “stealing” limit rules.
• Each person playing will hold up their wrapped gift to show others on the call.
• The recipient will choose which unwrapped gift they want and the gifter will open it on camera.
• The next player will take a turn by stealing an unwrapped gift or choosing a wrapped gift.
• The game is finished when all gifts have been unwrapped and stolen.
• Gifts will then be sent to its new owner after the event ends.

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Gingerbread House Competition

A gingerbread house decorating competition is a perfect Zoom holiday party idea for both kids and adults. Select a “judging committee” to rate houses or award prizes by categories such as Most Festive, Most 2020, Most Delicious-Looking and so on.

Click here to shop our favorite pre-built, ready-to-decorate gingerbread houses from Amazon.

Virtual Trimming of the Christmas Tree

Make Christmas decorating a friends and family event this year! Set up your laptop or phone to focus on the Christmas tree. Select someone to create and play a holiday playlist of Christmas music and trim those Christmas trees together.

2022 BINGO or Holiday BINGO

Does anyone else have ‘contested Presidential election’ on their BINGO card?

Ok, maybe you want to stay away from politics this holiday season! But, wouldn’t it be fun for families across the miles to play 2022 BINGO or Holiday BINGO? Go big, get some great prizes to send to winners or even maybe a cash pot. Don’t worry, we won’t tell.

You can find free sites to generate BINGO cards but we also love the following customizable BINGO cards from Etsy.

Name that Holiday Tune

I recently played “Name that Tune” during a Zoom meeting and it was so much fun! Create a playlist of song snippets and play them for everyone else on the video call. You can have participants email the song list to that Master of Ceremonies and the first person to have named all songs correctly wins. Or, create a head-to-head competition where participants square off. Have participants yell their own name to “ring in” or grab these answer paddles from Amazon.

Cocktails and Conversation

This one might be for the adults only, obviously. Get those holiday libations flowing (I’m really into these cranberry rum ginger ale cocktails this year) and tee up some questions for everyone to ask and answer.

Our 40+ Conversation Starters for Families can definitely be modified for whomever is playing.

Ugly Christmas Sweater Virtual Party

This is a no-brainer. Get everyone to show off their ugly Christmas sweaters. This can be done in conjunction with any of the other holiday party ideas shared here.

Level up the ugly by asking everyone to DIY their own Christmas sweater. Puffy paints, garland, jingle bells – nothing is off limits. You could also put together Ugly Christmas Sweater DIY kits and send them out to family members beforehand.

“Nailed It” Dessert or Craft Challenge

“Nailed It” is a hilarious show on Netflix where everyday people try to recreate a complicated dessert. We saw a lot of “Nailed It” birthday parties over the summer and they are not only fun to participate in, they are fun to watch.

Search Pinterest for “Nailed It Christmas Baking” and you’ll find a lot of ideas. I especially like this cupcake Santa.

A variation on this challenge would be a craft challenge. Make sure your party attendees all get the same craft project (we like this paper plate project from Michaels) and see what they come up with. This is a great idea for little kiddos too – just as a project, not a challenge.

Virtual Hot Cocoa Tasting

Get the kids involved in a hot cocoa tasting. Share a homemade hot cocoa recipe with friends and family who plan on participating. Encourage everyone to have plenty of toppings available and create a festive hot cocoa for sipping. You could also use the conversation starter printable for this event!

This is another great idea for a kit to be delivered to friends – say, if you have kids or tweens who want to hang with friends on a Zoom call outside of school. Suggest cookie decorating as a complimentary event.

A Walk Down Memory Lane

My daughter loves to create digital presentations and music videos. If you’re feeling creative, how about making a slide show or YouTube video of old family Christmas photos. Email family members and request any and all old Christmas celebration photos from throughout the years.

During a year like this when we realize how important family, this is sure to be a tear-jerker for anyone who watches.

Ugly Christmas Mask Competition

In the event you will be getting together with family and friends this holiday season, mask up. Better yet, forget about ugly Christmas sweaters. Require attendees to wear their best ugly Christmas mask for a prize.

We hope these ideas bring some cheer to your virtual celebrations! Tag us on Instagram if you use them!

More Great Holidays Ideas from us!

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