Providing your team with fun & engaging holiday team building activities and virtual events — especially in a remote workforce — helps keep employees engaged and happy. Not only is this good for overall morale, but it also boosts productivity.
As we enter the holiday season, now is the perfect time to offer some holiday team building activities that spread holiday cheer AND bring everyone together.
In this post, we’ve compiled a list of unique holiday virtual events & team building activities that bring the spirit of the holidays to your team, no matter what they celebrate!
wreath decorating workshop
While wreaths are often associated with Christmas, they’re also a general symbol of growth, prosperity, and the life cycle, which is perfect for the holiday season.
A wreath decorating workshop is a great seasonal celebration that will allow attendees to get creative and work hands-on with plants (which is proven to have a number of mental and physical health benefits!).
Once the wreaths are complete, they’ll act as a unique and beautiful hanging decoration for the holidays. The host of the holiday wreath workshop can guide your team on decoration options and methods to help everyone create a wreath they’re proud of!
LEARN MORE ABOUT GARDEN STREETS’ HOLIDAY WREATH WORKSHOP HERE!
diy ugly holiday sweater workshop
“Ugly holiday sweaters” with gaudy designs and graphics have been all the rage in recent years. Their upfront silly nature allows people to let their hair down from the start and they offer built-in ice breakers for people to talk about. For this event, you can provide all the materials to your team and come together with an artistic host to create their own ugly holiday sweaters!
Iron-on patches, pipe cleaners, tinsel, felt, pompoms, and more can all be used to create some cute & festive sweaters.
This will really allow your team to get creative and decorate their sweater based on the holiday that they celebrate. It’s awesome to see how each person’s imagination will come up with something a little bit different.
Check out some DIY options here for some inspiration.
virtual gift exchanges
Giving and receiving gifts is one of the staples of the season! Gifts are about more than the material item though: they show that you’ve thought about the person and got them something that you truly think they’ll enjoy.
Just because many are now working from home doesn’t mean that you can’t exchange office gifts! For a virtual gift exchange, simply assign each person someone to buy a gift so everyone receives one thing and everyone gives one thing.
Assign a deadline to send the gifts and keep the price limit low so that everyone can participate.
Once everyone has sent and received their gift, host a virtual event where everyone opens their gifts in front of each other! You can either keep everyone’s gift giver a mystery, or you could choose to reveal who had who at the end.
Whatever the case, this is a great way for employees to learn more about each other and come together to bond & celebrate as a team.
evergreen gift box workshop
Speaking of gifts…
Make holiday shopping a little easier for your team with an evergreen gift box workshop! This workshop will provide your team with all the materials they need to create a beautiful handmade holiday gift box planter filled with live greenery & festive decorations.
This is a great gift that your team could give to one of their loved ones, or they could keep it themselves to use as a holiday display or centerpiece. This will keep their home warm and holiday-themed throughout the season.
diy ornament class
Winter ornaments can decorate your home, mantle, wreaths, and more — they’re not limited to just Christmas trees (although, they look amazing there, too).
Spark your team’s creativity with a Make Your Own Ornament Class!
Traditional ornaments, origami ornaments, themed ornaments (like seaside ornaments, for example)… the list goes on. There are so many different types out there — you can find something that will suit the members of your team perfectly.
mulled wine making class
Hot cider is to fall like mulled wine is to winter!
Mulled wine is made by heating red wine with holiday spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, star anise, and some orange to make a delicious and warming holiday beverage.
Make this a learning experience with a mulled wine making class guided by an expert instructor and paired with ingredients sent to your team’s doors (as long as everyone is 21+, of course!).
While the wine is warming with the delicious mulling spices, you and the team can share highs and lows from the year, discuss everybody’s holiday plans, or talk about what people want to accomplish in the coming year. Once it’s ready, everyone can sit back and relax with their drink and some office trivia.
Provide a non-alcoholic option so everyone feels included & comfortable. Apple cider works great.
Pair this activity with your gift exchange and you have a festive & fun virtual holiday party!
give back with community service
Studies show that giving back through volunteering and community service can help people feel better physically and mentally while also improving overall life satisfaction & social well-being.
The most important part of the holiday season is the spirit of giving to your loved ones and your community, after all. With that in mind, you could arrange a community service project for you and your team that will allow everyone to give back in some way to your community or to a cause relevant to your organization.
Volunteering will look very different in 2020 than in past years, so while big group outings to bag meals may not be happening this year, there are still needs out there. See what interests your team and how you can help!
art of gift wrapping workshop
Whatever you and your team celebrates during the holiday season, it’s often a tradition to exchange a gift or two with family, friends, and loved ones.
Help your team give beautiful and memorable gifts with a Gift Wrapping Workshop. This type of workshop will teach your team basic folding methods, more advanced techniques, and even some origami folding that will “wow” any recipient!
You could even hold this even prior to a company gift swap to help everyone’s gifts look exquisite before the day of the exchange!
seasonal cooking event
The holiday season brings some of the most delicious & warming comfort foods to the table! Stuffing, pies, cookies, casseroles, mashed potatoes, turkey, gravy, ham… the list goes on!
There are a number of virtual cooking classes that teach your team how to cook, season, and serve amazing holiday dishes.
You and your team will learn from an expert how to create amazing dishes. You can save them for your families or enjoy the food together over a team video call after the class is over.
holiday tablescaping & napkin folding workshops
Now that you have the holiday meal prepared, it’s time to set the table.
You can learn how to have a beautiful holiday table set up that Pinterest would be proud of with a Holiday Tablescaping Workshop.
During this workshop, your team will learn how to put together and set a beautiful table for four using natural materials that match the season. Napkin folding workshops pair perfectly with a tablescaping workshop to help your team put the perfect finishing touches on their holiday table.
winter painting class
Not everyone gets that picturesque winter wonderland outside their window. A winter painting workshop or class gives your team the opportunity to create a beautiful wintery scene that they can admire the entire season.
Follow along with an expert host as they guide you through the steps to make a winter landscape with watercolors, acrylics, or any other medium you like. This will allow your team to get creative — and it makes for a perfect present as well!
make your own greeting card making workshop
No matter what holiday you or your team members celebrate, it’s a common tradition during the holidays to send out cards to family and friends to wish them a happy holiday or a great new year.
Come together with your team to make beautiful, handmade greeting cards that will work for any and all holiday celebrations with a Make Your Own Greeting Card Workshop. Everyone can create their own cards with decoration and sayings that suit them and their celebrations.
You can also have them paint or draw designs on the cards as well with instructions from a professional host.
CHECK OUT OUR INTRODUCTION TO CALLIGRAPHY WORKSHOP AND OUR
SEASONAL HOLIDAY CALLIGRAPHY EVENTS HERE!
help your holiday team building activities run smoothly — work with the experts
Hopefully one of these holiday team building activities & events have sparked the holiday spirit you! Planning holiday & seasonal events like these is such a great way to boost employee morale, keep teams connected, and celebrate the holidays even during difficult times.
If you need help planning, hosting, and running a virtual event, Garden Streets can help. We have ample experience organizing and hosting nature-inspired events for all seasons.
As a professional virtual event company, we can help make your events run smoothly and make a memorable impact on your team!
Learn more about our virtual event process here. Contact us here to get started planning your next event!
