How to make virtual holiday celebrations connective for remote teams?

Question

Description:

How to make virtual holiday celebrations actually feel genuinely connective for a remote team, especially when some people might be celebrating alone while others have big family commitments? Looking for ideas beyond another Zoom quiz.

7 Answers

Sort by:

B. K. Lee 14 Mar 2025

Copy answer link Report answer
idk, i think its always gonna be a bit awkward. maybe just give ppl the time off and a bonus instead of trying to make virtual stuff happen? just my 2 cents.
42
George Hill 9 Mar 2025

Copy answer link Report answer
Our company sent everyone a small gift basket with snacks and a nice drink. Then we just had an informal chat session, no agenda. Felt more relaxed and people actually talked.
42
- Abigail Day: your gift basket idea reminds me of the time I tried to surprise my remote team with homemade cookies and it turned into a hilarious disaster because half got squished in the mail! But seriously, I agree that keeping it chill with no strict agenda lets folks open up more, which makes all the difference. Do you find sending physical goodies actually boosts the vibe, or is it just a nice gesture? Sometimes it's tricky to get snacks that everyone can enjoy with different dietary restrictions
  Report
  George Hill: Hey Abigail, I totally get the cookie mail struggle—sounds like a funny disaster! For us, sending physical goodies did help boost the vibe beyond just being a nice gesture. It gave people something tangible to connect over and made the event feel a bit more special. We tried to keep dietary restrictions in mind by offering a few snack options, plus some drinks like sparkling water or tea—something for most tastes. It's definitely a balancing act but worth the effort to make folks feel included and cared for.
  Report
Evelyn Peterson 1 May 2025

Copy answer link Report answer
Try mixing synchronous moments with asynchronous options to respect different holiday situations. Set up small breakout pods and keep them under six people so conversation actually happens. Invite people to share a single meaningful item, recipe, photo or a 90 second story rather than perform. Send a small budget and a deadline to mail comfort kits or snack boxes so everyone can open together, or stagger opens for different time zones. Consider collaborative projects like a digital recipe book, playlist or video montage people can add to over a week. Make participation optional and low friction. Little rituals matter. Quick, cozy and thoughtful.
37
- Cassandra Daniels: Ugh, juggling time zones and participation pressure is tough. We should definitely keep groups small to boost real chats and maybe add a quick poll to pick shared activities everyone’s excited about. Have you tried gamifying these projects?
  Report
  Evelyn Peterson: Hi Cassandra! I totally get the juggling act with time zones and participation. Small groups really do help with meaningful interactions. Love your idea of adding a quick poll to choose activities—getting everyone involved in the planning can boost excitement. As for gamifying projects, yes! Simple game elements like friendly challenges or badges can add fun without feeling like extra pressure. Thanks for sharing those great tips!
  Report
A. J. 14 Apr 2025

Copy answer link Report answer
Host a low-pressure "show and tell" where people bring one meaningful object from their space to share its story, no pressure to perform
33
Dominic Jones 29 May 2025

Copy answer link Report answer
Create a shared virtual space like a holiday-themed chat room or digital bulletin board where everyone posts photos, stories, or wishes anytime during the season to foster ongoing connection.
27
Anonymous 23 Aug 2025

Copy answer link Report answer
Send everyone a tiny DIY kit (like ornament making) to create together offline, then share pics or videos later for casual connection
26
- Anonymous: Great idea! Adding a live video session while everyone works on the DIY kit could boost real-time interaction and make the experience even more engaging for remote teams. Have you tried combining both offline and online elements?
  Report

Want to answer?

Join the conversation and help others by sharing your insights.

Log in to your account or create a new one — it only takes a minute and gives you the ability to post answers, vote, and build your expert profile.

Log in or Register ›

How we moderate answers

We manually review all contributions to ensure that every answer provides clear, actionable, and professionally relevant guidance. We prioritize responses that show practical experience, cite real examples, or demonstrate familiarity with hiring, skills, and job-market trends. Low-quality, duplicate, or AI-generated content that lacks substance is filtered out to maintain accuracy and credibility across the platform.

What makes a high-quality answer

A high-quality answer offers structured, practical, and experience-based guidance that directly addresses the question. Strong answers include specific steps, industry examples, tools or frameworks, and clear reasoning rather than vague opinions. They avoid emotional language, personal journaling, or lifestyle advice, and instead focus on skills, responsibilities, hiring expectations, resumes, interviews, salary insights, and career transitions. Answers written by individuals with verified professional backgrounds or direct experience in the field are prioritized.

Expert participation rules

Experts participating in Q&A must base their answers on real professional experience, not speculation or generic statements. Contributors are encouraged to reference prior roles, industry exposure, hiring involvement, or relevant technical knowledge when appropriate. All expert responses must remain objective, neutral, and career-focused, avoiding promotional content, personal anecdotes, or lifestyle guidance. Verified experts may receive enhanced visibility on the platform, but only if their contributions consistently meet our quality standards and align with Jobicy’s career-focused topic guidelines.

Accepted Answer · 2025-03-08T14:00:00+00:00

Ava Sharma 8 Mar 2025

We did a 'share a tradition' session where people voluntered to talk about something unique to their family or culture. It was really nice and we learned a lot about each other. Much better than forced fun.

Sofia Petrova: Thanks for sharing this idea! The "share a tradition" session sounds like a meaningful way to build connection without making it feel forced. Do you have any tips for encouraging everyone to participate, especially those who might be shy?
Report
- Ava Sharma: Thanks, Sofia! To encourage participation, I suggest creating a warm and low-pressure environment—maybe start by sharing your own tradition first to model openness. Also, offering different ways to share, like storytelling, photos, or even short videos, can help shy folks feel more comfortable joining in.
  Report