Let’s imagine for a moment. You are throwing a holiday party at your company. But somehow, there’s no team bonding. And it doesn’t feel festive at all. Your colleagues are scattered all over the place—some are sleepily propping up the walls all evening long, while others are clung to their mobile devices, idly scrolling through social media posts.
Although most companies (64.4%) hold in-person holiday parties, the same can happen in a remote team. Your remote workers may be just waiting for the virtual holiday meeting (via Zoom, is it?) to end.
You can hardly call it a team-building activity (if it is an activity at all). Moreover, this kind of partying leaves everyone with an unpleasant aftertaste (and nope, it’s not because of the holiday cake; it was super delicious).
To prevent this, we’ll help you weave fun and unity into your holiday celebrations so that your team members will recall such together moments long after with delightful and heart-warming memories.
Let’s make your holidays more cheerful and team bonding more effective, remotely, in the office, or outdoors. We’ve divided holiday team-building activities into three blocks.
Virtual Team-Building Ideas for Holiday Celebrations
Since COVID-19 opened online gates for organizations, virtual team building has grown 25-fold.
So, let’s start with the virtual block.
1. Virtual Escape Rooms
Why not test your problem-solving skills and strengthen teamwork in a virtual escape room designed for the holiday?
Actually, you can use it as an interactive and enjoyable team-building idea for work-at-home employees on different holidays.
Example:
Aledade participated in a Halloween-styled escape room activity this year as a fully remote team. The team worked in collaboration to answer Halloween history questions and solve riddles. They laughed a lot and, surely, escaped!
Source: LinkedIn
If you’re looking for team-building activities during winter holidays, especially Christmas, you can find tons of Christmassy escape room ideas, such as “Save Santa!” or “Reindeer Escape.”
2. Online Scavenger Hunts
Along with a virtual escape room experience, an online scavenger hunt is one of the most engaging team-building ideas frequently implemented by remote teams on holidays.
The rules are simple: individually or in teams, find all items or complete all challenges from a specific list within a timeframe (typically 30 minutes) and make photos or screenshots proving that. The list can include anything, from a coffee mug to a holiday-related item, such as Christmas tree décor or something heart-shaped on Valentine’s Day.
Source: TeamBuilding
Example:
The Infinity STS team played a virtual scavenger hunt with a few other team-building games online to connect the distributed workforce and brighten up the Christmas holiday celebration.
Source: LinkedIn
3. Unique Masterclasses or Workshops
Now, how about a llama-drawing masterclass for your team?
The Winnie team brought that idea to life during their virtual holiday celebration via Zoom. They met a llama online and then learned from a professional artist how to draw it.
Source: LinkedIn
Just in time for the holidays, try something new and enjoy sharing those exceptional experiences and creative results with your colleagues in a real-time mode:
- Gift-wrapping masterclass
- Culinary class
- Yoga session
- Improv comedy workshop
- Songwriting class
- Gingerbread house building
In-Office Team-Building Examples on Holidays
4. White Elephant Gift Exchange
If Secret Santa often tops the charts of the most popular team-building activities for Christmas celebrations specifically, White Elephant Gift Exchanges are suitable for any office holiday: Thanksgiving, World Gratitude Day, Employee Appreciation Day, etc.
Example:
Muvinai employees celebrated Día del Amigo (Friend’s Day) with a White Elephant Gift Exchange in person in their Argentina office.
Source: TikTok
But before exchanging holiday gifts with your teammates, make sure to check the rules, which differ greatly from those in a Secret Santa gift exchange.
Source: Pinterest
5. Costume Contest or Dress-Up Challenge
“Had so much fun today with our Ugly Sweater Contest!”
Or
“My holiday spirit has been activated!”
This is what different employees said about their “Ugly Sweater” contests amid winter holiday celebrations in the office.
Whether you dress to impress in your silliest sweaters or run any other holiday costume contest, it could leave your employees happy with memorable impressions.
Source: LinkedIn
Alternatively, encourage your teams to make outstanding group costumes to enhance the sense of community and belonging.
Example:
Look at this Halloween dress-up challenge at Nikola Corporation with the supply chain team’s costumes inspired by the Squid Game series.
Source: LinkedIn
6. Holiday-Themed Quiz
And here’s another idea for your holiday team-building event: prepare thematic quizzes to brighten your office parties and help your workers bond in a more relaxed atmosphere.
Several suggestions are:
- Internet Day Quiz
- Women in Tech Day Trivia
- World Environment Day Quiz
- International Olympic Day Quiz
- April Fools’ Day Trivia
- Poetry Day Quiz, etc.
Plus, you can also gamify employee experiences during this team-building activity for holidays with prizes, awards, or badges.
Example:
After successfully mastering the Earth Day quiz at work, one of the PPD Global workers earned the “Earth Hero” badge.
Source: LinkedIn
Outdoor Holiday Team-Building Activities
7. BBQ or Picnic in the Nature (or Even a Campsite Party!)
Did you know the Fourth of July is the most popular US holiday for barbecue parties?
In fact, 68% of Americans prefer BBQs and picnics on that day, with hot dogs, steaks, and burgers.
If you’re located elsewhere, you can celebrate Independence Day in your country with a team-bonding picnic. But not necessarily!
Example:
Conscia treated their project managers to a BBQ on International Project Manager Day.
Source: LinkedIn
Leading a team of outdoor adventure buffs, Matt Wouldes, Founder at Land & Sea NZ, says, “There can’t be anything more joyful and engaging for our team than camping adventures with campsite holiday parties. It’s not only about team cohesion but also about unity with nature. This double experience works as a powerful team spirit booster with a lasting effect.”
8. Culturally Immersive Trip
Wouldn’t it be fantastic to dive into the holiday with a full cultural immersion?
Consider this idea particularly if you have culturally diverse employees from various locations.
However, “Even if your team members come from the same place, you can improve the feeling of camaraderie during a team traveling experience to another country,” notes Toni Farrell, Marketing Manager at Coastal Motorhomes & Caravans, with travel at heart.
Grab the following ideas:
- Spain → La Tomatina (last Wednesday of August)
- Mexico → Santa Muerte festivities (from October 31 to November 2)
- Germany → Oktoberfest (from the Saturday after September 15 to the first Sunday in October)
- China → Chinese New Year (between January 21 and February 20)
- Finland → Santa’s Village in Rovaniemi (every day of the year!)
So, remember to mark culturally immersive trips on your organization’s calendar.
9. Volunteering
And, of course, this selection of the best holiday team-building ideas for outdoors wouldn’t be complete without charitable initiatives, such as:
- Clean-ups in local parks
- Trees planting
- Donation drives (clothes, toys, or books drive)
- Outdoor pet adoption events
- Fundraising walks or runs
- Community meal events for the homeless
Example:
During an off-site team-building activity on Veteran’s Day, the Teradata team volunteered at Fisher House in Dallas, cooking meals for veterans as a “Thank You” for their service.
Source: LinkedIn
Chris Aubeeluck, Head of Sales and Marketing at Osbornes Law, says, “Such philanthropic team-building activities are particularly crucial for the Gen Z workforce, which expects higher social responsibility from employers.”
Expert Tips to Organize Joyful Team-Building Events on Holidays
Boost Holiday Spirit with Office Decorations
Much like you decorate your workspace for company or employee anniversary celebrations, you should uplift the holiday mood with vibrant décor.
“The better holiday atmosphere you create with your office décor, the more inspired and cheerful your team building will be,” claims David Speedy, General Manager at Workspace Direct. He suggests, “There’s no need to empty your wallet on it: hand-crafted decorations made with leftovers can help you add a sprinkle of holiday magic to your workplace at zero cost.”
Tap into Innovative Technology
As a tech-first company manager, Max Tang, CMO at GEEKOM, remarks that today, many organizations choose AR/VR games for holiday events in teams. He adds, “Then, there’s the Metaverse, a three-dimensional digital space where you can celebrate winter holidays, say, with a virtual skating tournament or a snowball fight. It’s possible to create enthralling VR gaming experiences for your team either in physical venues or on platforms like AltSpaceVR, Virtway, or VRChat.”
Source: MirageVR
Actually, you can design any theme in the Metaverse to put your holiday team-building ideas into action. While doing so, don’t overlook branding. “The brilliance of advanced technologies like augmented, virtual, or extended realities lies in branded holiday designs. Branding enhances emotional connection and instills a feeling of togetherness in team members, even virtually,” mentions Rhami Aboud, CEO at Arch Web Design.
Strive for Diversity and Inclusion
When striving for workplace inclusion, you should respect the diversity of identities, religions, and national traditions.
For that, consider inclusive team-building examples on holidays like these:
- Diwali (Festival of Lights) → Storytelling about light overcoming darkness.
- Thanksgiving → Gratitude circle
- Hanukkah → Candle-making workshop
- International Day of Persons with Disabilities → “Wheelchair for Charity” buildathon
- Pride Day → Participation in a Pride parade as a team
Rodger Desai, CEO of Prove, shares, “Diverse holiday celebrations in the company bring us the joy of being our true selves. Everyone is valued as a unique identity, but together, we form an unbreakable chain of support for each other and our digital community.”
Example:
The Prove Identity team celebrates diverse holidays, such as Lunar New Year (cultural diversity) or Pride Month (LGBTQ+ diversity), to achieve DEI in the workplace.
Source: Instagram
Make Sure Everyone is Engaged
Do you fully engage every worker during your corporate holiday celebration?
If you see room for improvement, here’s what can help you. “You should have psychological employee profiles at hand when organizing team-building events on holidays,” recommends Maryanne Fiedler, Director of Marketing at Psychic Source. “These may include factors like personality traits, cognitive abilities, motivational drivers, or others.”
For instance, let’s take the introversion/extroversion factor as one of the personality dimensions.
While extroverted individuals are okay with noisy celebrations accompanied by collaborative tasks and much chatting, introverted personalities prefer cozier spaces and solo challenges. In this context, you might need to select the proper team-building activities for introverts and extroverts on your team. For example, it could be a silent disco party at work; why not?
Anyway, ask your team members what they’d be comfortable with.
Let It Be the Best Holiday Team-Building Experience Ever!
And as we’re rounding it up, here’s one final word.
Take a human-centric approach to work management with Nimble to make your workplace more connected, collaborative, and inspiring. Sign up for a free trial at Nimble and build a happier team every single day, not only on holidays!
