6 Festive Virtual Event Ideas for the Holiday Season

Get into the holiday spirit with these festive virtual and hybrid event ideas

The year may be winding down, but holiday festivities are definitely ramping up.

The last few months of the year are filled special occasions from Thanksgiving and Hanukkah to Christmas Day, Kwanzaa, and New Year's Eve. Each occasion is special and celebrated in unique ways with family, friends, and colleagues.

However, it might not always be possible for loved ones and work mates to gather in one place. This is where festive virtual and hybrid event ideas step in to save the day!

Here are 6 event ideas to help you plan events for this time of year that would really resonate with your audience.

Virtual Holiday Foodie Fest

If there's one thing that festivities during the last few months of the year have in common, it is food. This is a perfect time for you to host a virtual foodie festival.

There are lots of people out there who are struggling to plan that perfect Thanksgiving menu, or maybe they can't figure out how they got roped into hosting Christmas dinner. Then there are those who are all thumbs when it comes to finding their way around the kitchen! And of course, there are also those who can handle the kitchen like a pro but are in need of something extra special to inspire the magic they can do with food.

You can create a foodie festival that caters to all of these needs, with cooking tutorials from beginners to advanced. You could include videos and downloadable nutrition guides.

A virtual recipe and kitchen accessory shop for the sale of recipes and specialty items would be ideal for a virtual foodie fest. Additionally, your event could make it possible for attendees to pre-book one-on-one virtual sessions with guest chefs.

Festive Sip ‘n Paint

This is a fun online or hybrid activity that companies can do with their staff or their clients, or an activity that associations can do with their members. It is also an ideal event for relationship building.

You should move early to get in touch with and hire the person who will be conducting this creative event. Next, you will need to provide attendees with an event box containing the painting kit filled with all the materials needed to participate in the event. This event box should be delivered to attendees ahead of time.

If your organization is planning to do this as a hybrid event, you will need to organize a few things first:

1. a physical space that can accommodate in-person guests
2. equipment such as display screens, speakers, and microphones, along with the necessary computers and Wi-Fi so virtual and in-person attendees can speak to each other

Don't forget the wine! You really can't have a sip 'n paint without that. Perhaps your organization could even find a local wine house to sponsor your event!

Virtual Mixology 'n Game Night

Learning to mix cocktails like a pro is an activity that many would enjoy. This event could even be used to amplify networking with event attendees.

Again, an event box would need to be sent to attendees ahead of time. If the event is hybrid, all the necessary things would need to be put in place at the event venue.

Hire a mixologist to take your event attendees on a journey of blended spirits for holiday season cocktails and a specialty cocktail created exclusively for the event.

Increase the fun by adding a themed game night by playing charades and other popular games right after the mixology session. Including activities for a themed game night is a fantastic and fun way to incorporate relationship and team building into your mixology and game night event.

Holiday Team Virtual Bake-off

Kick-start the fun and friendly competition with a timed virtual bake off. Gather the various ingredients and have the bake-off supply kits delivered to your event attendees. Do a bake off featuring holiday cookies, pies or cupcakes, the choice is yours.

To get you thinking, you could create this event around a cookie theme. For instance, attendees could be asked to bake two types of cookies made only from ingredients chosen from a set list.

Attendees could also be asked to bake a third type of cookie that is free for all! This third cookie can be made from any of the ingredients from the batch supplied for the event. Add a twist by specifying a secret ingredient!

You can do this as a 3-person team event with each person taking charge of a particular cookie recipe. To make it family friendly, you can allow the teams to recruit 1 person from home to assist.
Combine this event with customized bingo made up of possible comments and mishaps that might occur while attendees compete to become the champion team.

Online Pub Quiz and Trivia Night

There is no such thing as a quiet pub quiz and trivia night. There will be laughter, cheers, and general fun-filled uproar. And there will most definitely be competition.

This event is another team event that is very useful for team building. Set your questions based on particular themes. Throw in some questions on general knowledge, music, and pop culture. Stick to the theme while making your questions diverse to keep participants on their toes.

Make the event challenging but not overly difficult - you still want event attendees to achieve a win.

Since this is a virtual pub quiz and trivia night, you need to include key visuals and use gamification to keep attendees aware of team progress and scores.

Ugly Sweater Virtual Karaoke

That's right! This festive virtual event idea gives everyone the freedom to be silly and carefree for one night. Everyone must wear an ugly sweater - no exceptions.

Create your custom virtual karaoke venue on a virtual events platform and set up the tracks and lyrics so everyone can watch together. Turn on the karaoke and take turns belting out favorite tunes.

Allow attendees to customize avatars with their own virtual ugly sweaters. Award special prizes throughout the event and include opportunities for event attendees to play a part by voting and engaging throughout the event.

Combine this with an ugly sweater fashion show and let attendees cast their votes. The person with the most ugly-sweater points wins!

Are you wondering what you will need from a virtual events platform in order to host the type of event you need? Here are the Top Virtual Event Platform Features to Consider Before Planning Your Next Event.

Make it happen

All of these events are flexible, that is, they can call all be virtual or hybrid events and can be further customized to suit your needs. In keeping with the festive nature of these events, you could allow attendees to download select keepsakes of the event.

Virtual events for the holidays or any other time of year also allows your organization to enjoy the benefits of hosting virtual events that are innovative and cost effective!

Let social media be part of the wider conversation. Create unique event hashtags that attendees can use to tag the holiday event while they use social media to talk about the fun they are having. And allow attendees to download snap-shot images of customized avatars and special prizes that they can share with their social media network.

Take these fun tips for festive virtual and hybrid event ideas this holiday season and use them to create memorable moments for your event guests!