Interested in Virtual Team Building Events?
18 mins 
1. How Do You Throw a Virtual Office Party?
Throwing a virtual office party can be a fun way to connect with coworkers and boost morale, even when everyone is working remotely. To throw successful virtual office party ideas, start by choosing a platform that everyone can access, such as Zoom or Microsoft Teams.
Share a few virtual office party ideas in your company communication platform and ask the team to vote on what virtual event they’d most want to do. This helps with buy-in and excitement as people feel they have a say in the event. You can also ask if any team members want to help in planning or facilitating the event for further engagement/buy-in.
2. Virtual Office Party Ideas for Work
2.1. Virtual Trivia
When it comes to throwing virtual party games for your employees, Hooray Teams has you covered with a bunch of fun and exciting games that ensure your party is a hit. Their Virtual Trivia is an ideal way to spark engaging conversations, improve critical thinking, and find out who the ultimate brainiac in your team is.
From holidays like Christmas or series like "The Office" or trending pop culture questions, you and your team are sure to find a topic of your choice. The interesting part is that they can tailor the questions specifically for your team based on your interests and preferences.
2.2. Virtual Escape Rooms
Bring your teammates together to flex their creativity and problem-solving abilities with the Hooray Teams Virtual Escape Room Game. You and your teammates will do some serious brainstorming in virtual breakout rooms to solve some mind-boggling puzzles and cryptic codes before time runs out.
These virtual escape rooms are perfect for large groups where everyone has their fair share of fun and engagement. You and your team can choose from different themes such as The Alchemist, Patient 360, Dungeon Things, Mafia 360 for the ultimate adrenaline-pumping escapade.
2.3. DIY Virtual Cocktail Class
A DIY cocktail/mocktail class is a refreshing option for hosting a virtual office party, providing a delightful departure from the usual Zoom meetings. Hooray Teams Cocktail Making Class takes you through the process of crafting tasty cocktails, one step at a time. Guided by a skilled mixologist, it's a fun way to connect with your colleagues remotely.
They even send you all the ingredients and tools you need. As a part of the virtual office party, the participants receive a list of ingredients ahead of time, ensuring they're ready with everything for the live session. Just log on, get your kit, prepare, and enjoy the drinks and good times!
2.4. Virtual Murder Mystery
A ‘Whodunnit?’ is another thrilling way to encourage teamwork among members. The Murder Mystery at Manor, hosted by Hooray Teams, is an immersive and exciting experience. You and your team play the roles of detectives to solve a murder mystery set within the halls of a mysterious manor.
There are professional actors and hosts to guide you, and it's a 60-minute session of teaming up, having a blast, and finding the killer. The best part is you don't need extra setup – just click a link, turn on your video and microphone, and Hooray Teams will handle the rest.
2.5. Play Jeopardy with Team Online
Jeopardy! Is a widely televised American trivia game developed by Merv Griffin in the mid-60s. Virtual Team Jeopardy hosted by Hooray Teams virtual party company is an excellent way to infuse some light-hearted competitiveness into your virtual office holiday parties. This 60-minute session lets you test your knowledge across various topics by answering questions in the form of a question, just like on the show.
A lively host guides the game, sharing the Jeopardy board on your screen during a video chat. You can turn your virtual office party into a 'Trivia Extravaganza,' testing knowledge and offering prizes to the most knowledgeable participants.
2.6. Paired Potluck
In a paired potluck, you can assign co-workers based on their relationship or at random. The latter would be a better option if you want to turn this party into an opportunity for them to get to know each other better.
You can plan a perfect potluck and coordinate potluck dishes for your office party through SignUpGenius. Once everyone has their recipes, they will need to recreate it in their kitchens and present them as a group on a call!
2.7. Virtual Scavenger Hunt
You cannot go wrong organizing a virtual scavenger hunt, because everyone likes that Aha! The moment when you find a hidden item from the list. You can play themed scavenger hunts, where everyone has to find an item related to a specific theme.
For example, if you’re playing a beach scavenger hunt, the items to find before the timer’s up can include a pail, sand, swimsuits, or sun hats! Incorporating a virtual scavenger hunt into your virtual office party ideas can add an exciting element of adventure and competition.
2.8. Netflix Series Party
All of us have a Netflix series favorite. You could do a cosplay party where everyone dresses up as a character from their show. Ensure you assign a virtual host from the team to run this event and avoid any confusion or moments during the event where participants don’t know what they’re supposed to be doing.
To play, select the top 5 series all or some are watching or are familiar with. You can gamify this and give points out for correct guesses with the winner receiving a prize - everyone loves an event with a competition element.
2.9. Dance/Nightclub Party
Turn your virtual office into a dance floor with a DJ party. You can even hang a fake disco ball and dim the lights to create a nightclub ambiance. Have everyone turn their camera on and step away from their desk as the DJ begins the countdown to the first song. Family members or housemates can join in on the fun too!
2.10. Virtual Karaoke
If you weren’t in a band back in school or university, here’s your chance to go on a virtual stage and perform! A virtual karaoke is conducted via meeting platforms and can be facilitated either externally or by self. The host will moderate this virtual party online session, take participants through the rules, and display the song selections.
Ask around if anyone has access to a song’s lyrics that they’d like the group to sing. A fun spin on this event might be to have teams participate vs other teams with the organization by choosing songs they can all sing. Or you can allow team members to select songs for other teammates to sing.
2.11. Host an Online Talent Show
Who on your team is a talented singer, bassist, painter, dancer, or woodworker? Consider hosting free virtual team celebration ideas like an online talent show to give everyone a fair shot at showing their teammates their hobbies and personal interests!
For those of you who tend to get stage fright, the good thing about an in-house talent show event is that you can do it at home without everyone’s physical presence overwhelming you.
2.12. Let's Play Bingo
The team played Bingo virtually last Friday on Microsoft Teams, and it was a lot of fun! Our HR sent out lotto tickets individually and privately the day before. We convened in the evening and went over the rules for a full house, Early Fives, and four corners.
As the numbers were called out, the team began crossing them off on their ticket. We got 3 full houses and 2 early-fives. It brought back memories of family get-togethers in the ‘90s where someone broke out a deck of cards or played bingo in a circle!
2.13. Game Night (and Face) On!
No virtual office party ideas are complete without playing a diverse mix of online games, be it for large groups, small teams or an entire unit. Make virtual game night interesting with prizes based on the person who wins the most games or at least one game.
When we had a virtual game night, we played games such as Spymaster, Prison Break and even Pictionary using Skribbl.io to guess the object from the freehand drawing!
2.14. Social Booth
Social booth is a photobooth software that you can install on your machine to snap crazy, clownish photos of virtual office party ideas. Have everyone make silly faces at each other or at the camera and let the software do the rest. Once everyone's photos are captured, display them in a slideshow or gallery format for your internal employee wall of fame.
It's a fantastic way for everyone to share a laugh and create a digital memento of your virtual office party ideas like virtual happy hour or other fun gatherings.
2.15. Spymaster Party
The Sorry, On Mute team, clued us in on a Spymaster game they recently stumbled played. It's conducted by codenames and splits teams into two. Each team has a spymaster. The person who elects themselves to be the Spymaster has to give their team a one-word clue, and the team has to guess which tile matches the clue.
You have to manually end the guessing to let the next team’s turn The team that gets all the tiles right wins!
2.16. Werewolf
This is one of the best virtual work party ideas to keep everyone debating and guessing! The Werewolf game assigns 4 roles, such as werewolf, villager, medic, and seer, to players at random. A general guideline might be to have one Werewolf for every four or five players.
The werewolf eats other players, villagers vote on who they think the werewolf is, medics rescue the player, and seers can reveal if the player guessed to be the werewolf is one. You'll love Werewolf if you and your teammates are smart, conniving, creative, calm, and of course cooperative.
2.17. Puppet Theatre
This is one of the best virtual office party ideas we can’t wait to try it out ourselves! A puppet theater set has a plot, characters, and voices. It is a team-building activity that relies on teamwork. Just as you would a real play, each person can be in charge of something. The team comes together on a video call to brainstorm ideas.
The storyline, themes, and characters are discussed and finalized. Team members pick or are assigned roles based on their strengths. For example, someone from the marketing team can write the story, while the creative team can design puppets out of socks or gloves.
2.18. Charcuterie Chalet
In a virtual office party, a charcuterie chalet can be a delightful activity that combines creativity, skill, and festive spirit. The main objective of this activity is to create virtual chalets using charcuterie and other edible elements on charcuterie boards or plates, all within a set time frame.
The participants gather their selected ingredients and arrange them in a way that mimics the different components of a chalet (walls, roof, windows, doors, and more.). More than an activity, the purpose is to have fun, be creative, and build something that resembles a charming chalet scene.
2.19. Boozy Pictionary
If you want to see who can keep a clear head even with a few drinks in them, Boozy Pictionary is the way to go! Split teams as you would in an actual Pictionary game, and whoever guesses wrong has to take a sip of their alcoholic drink.
The team that ends up drinking the most is the losing team (sorry, guys, we didn’t specify who Boozy Pictionary would be more fun for!)
2.20. Putting the Pieces Together
If you loved spending hours fitting jigsaw puzzles together, then you’ll love a trip down memory lane with virtual jigsaw games! There are both free and paid puzzles, the former can be downloaded from Microsoft. The remote and distributed team can issue daily challenges and invite a coworker to compete to complete the puzzle in a certain amount of time.
We experimented with a free jigsaw from Ravensburger featuring a butterfly and it was both engrossing and relaxing.
Read more about virtual jigsaw puzzles
We’ve put together detailed guides to help you organize some of the most popular virtual office party activities yourself, including team karaoke, Google Meet games, bingo, a murder mystery, a wine tasting or a dinner party.
3. Themed Virtual Office Party Ideas
3.1. Virtual Farewell Party Ideas
3.1.1. Pajama Party
Pajamas are the new work suits, so your partygoers have the dress code down pat, at least! Host a pajama party where the theme is ”casual” and everyone is in loungewear. You can also decide on a movie or series episode to livestream that everyone can watch together.
A movie night with popcorn and the works is just what your coworkers need to unwind as a group before bidding goodbye to a coworker who’s leaving the firm! Isn't it one of the coolest virtual party ideas for work?
3.1.2. Virtual Mixology Classes
If you can’t make it to happy hour, keep the drinks coming with a happy hour cocktail kit under the supervision of a professional mixologist! Sign the team up for Hooray Teams mixology sessions so that they can learn how to make their favorite drink with a personal twist.
The Vendry offers 46 of the mixology virtual party ideas for adults in and around the U.S. Virtual party companies like Krafty Labs, HostEvents, and drink master bartending are other options to try, where you can book your class and have the mixology kit shipped to individuals. Events cost between $400 to $1000 depending on the number of cocktails in the package you book and the duration.
3.1.3. Who Has The Highest Spice Tolerance?
Another Buzzfeed original! The spice tolerance challenge will test your colleague’s limits by presenting them with spicy foods in increasing order of heat levels. The question is, who will reach for the glass of milk first?
The rules are simple. Contestants arrange the food items in front of the camera and eat them systematically, from the least to the most spicy. They can have a glass of milk or ice cream on standby in case things get a little heated! But if anyone reaches for the glass in a round then they can’t advance to the next round. Keep doing this till someone makes it to the final round (hopefully with their senses intact!)
3.1.4. Macaroni Art
Macaroni art is usually a classroom arts and crafts activity for young children. But who says only children can stick artwork on the family fridge? Bid your colleague farewell with a work of macaroni art. You can use either dry or parboiled pasta shells and stick them onto a pencil sketch of a subject.
You can ship your creations to a colleague, who can look at them whenever they think of you. It’ll also give them something to talk about when they have visitors over!
Planning a party to commemorate a specific occasion? Take a look at our articles on how to throw awesome virtual events for St. Patrick’s Day, New Year’s Eve, Halloween, and other seasonal holidays.
3.2. Virtual Work Anniversary Ideas
3.2.1. Give Them a Day Off
What better way to celebrate a virtual work anniversary than to announce you’re giving your teammate the day off? Virtual office party ideas are a creative way to celebrate milestones and maintain team spirit in the digital age. If the work anniversary falls on a weekend or public holiday, the employee can opt to take the next day off for an even longer time off.
Read our work anniversary ideas blog
3.2.2. Master of the Day
The master of the day is one of the fun virtual office party ideas where the person whose work anniversary it is, gets to command the office for that day. Everyone on the team has to do what they say (within reason, of course!). Funny suggestions include -
- Doing desk exercises for 10 minutes.
- Taking a silly selfie and posting it on the group chat
- Office charades
- Make tea or coffee the way your coworker takes it.
3.2.3. Pick Your next Office
Even if the celebration is virtual, it's fun for everyone to choose the type of office they want to work in. The Officefinder offers 360-degree virtual tours of real office spaces that let viewers experience what it's like walking across a lobby or waiting in the reception area. We liked the digital tour of the MeadowCreek Business Center that I clicked on.
This work anniversary idea isn’t limited to space renters only. You can also create your own office VR experience as a gift for those employees who miss being at work. You can film your current office space from different angles and upload the footage on an interactive VR platform like Eevo.
3.2.4. Sandwich Tower
Create a sandwich tower with fillings of your choice. The rule is that your tower should stand without being held in place by toothpicks or any other placeholder. You’ll need a loaf of bread, condiments of your choosing (vegetarian or non-vegetarian), a serving tray, and napkins.
Set a time limit of 30 minutes to make the sandwiches and an extra 5 or 10 minutes for everyone to stack the tower up. They can be near the creation to ensure it doesn’t fall over when they’re creating it but they have to step back once the countdown ends.
3.2.5. Distributing Personalized Gifts
To celebrate virtual work anniversaries, companies can present bulk personalized gifts to team members. It is a great way to acknowledge the hard work that employees put in to help the company meet its goals and develop steadily. At GS-JJ.com, there are various styles of customized promotional gifts, such as lapel pins, challenge coins, lanyards, and more.
Ensure those celebrating work anniversaries get the same gift and the gift should increase in value as the tenure increases.
If the goal of your virtual event is to recognize your staff’s hard work, check out these posts on how to throw an employee appreciation party or celebrate a work anniversary.
3.3. Virtual Retirement Party Ideas
3.3.1. You've Got Mail
How cool would it be to have a mailbox full of wishes from your coworkers? Since we’re talking virtual retirement, you’re unlikely to be able to drop by and pay a social visit in person.
You can instead arrange to mail cards to your retiring coworker’s physical address. Coordinate with everyone to send it out in unison so that they are more likely to receive the cards at once or within a few days.
Read more about virtual retirement parties
3.3.2. Autograph
Gift your soon-to-be retired coworker a book full of everyone’s autograph. This autograph book can be filled with thoughtful quotes or funny anecdotes that your colleague can read at leisure. Invite everyone to contribute using a Doc or Presentation and design it the way you would an eBook!
3.3.3. Roast or Toast
A roast is a panel of coworkers, colleagues, managers or even friends and family members who gently tease the outgoing employee. Remember to keep it respectful and impersonal. If the virtual work party ideas like roasting your coworker don’t appeal, you can opt to toast to their future happiness!
3.3.4. Dress Up As Your Coworker
Does your colleague have a particular dressing sense? Why not wear outfits that are their style! And turn on your camera to show them how their look looks on you?
4. FAQs
4.1. How to do a virtual office party?
You can organize virtual office party ideas by selecting a platform like Zoom or Teams, sending out invites with a set date and time, and planning a mix of activities and virtual office party themes to engage participants.
4.2. What games are good for virtual work party?
Some of the popular games for a virtual work party include trivia quizzes, Pictionary, charades, and online escape rooms, which can ensure lively participation.
