Hybrid holiday party ideas: one party for the office and remote staff
How to throw one holiday party when half the team is in the office and half is at home. With a copyable run of show and a printable tech checklist.
A hybrid holiday party is one celebration for a team split between the office and home. The hard part isn't the games; it's making sure the people on the call are guests, not spectators watching a room through a laptop. This guide covers the three ways to set it up, 20 ideas that work on both sides, a 90-minute run of show you can copy, the tech for the room, and the deadlines for time zones and shipped kits.
Three ways to run a hybrid holiday party
If you are working out how to plan a hybrid event, pick the model before anything else. It decides the tech, the games and whether you need one host or two.
1. One virtual event for everyone
Everyone joins the same video call from their own laptop, including the people sitting in the office.
Works best for: Teams where remote people are half or more, or spread across many cities. Everyone gets the same view and the same mic.
Watch out: Office people should sit apart or wear headphones, or the room fills with echo.
2. An office party plus a virtual session for remote staff
The office runs an in-person format in the room; remote staff get their own hosted session on a video call, on the same day or the same week.
Works best for: A big office group with a smaller remote group, or remote people in very different time zones.
Watch out: Two parties can feel like two companies. Join both for a short shared toast or awards on the big screen.
3. A true hybrid room
The office plays in the room in front of a big screen, the remote people join on the call, and one host runs both audiences.
Works best for: A mid-size group with a good meeting room and a host who can run a room and a screen at once.
Watch out: It only works with a room mic, a camera that shows the room and someone watching the chat. Without them, remote people become spectators.
The general case, beyond the holidays, is in our guide to hybrid events, and for hybrid team building activities all year, our hybrid team building page lists hosted games that work in the room and at home.
20 hybrid holiday party ideas
These hybrid event ideas work for the room and the call at the same time, with a line on how remote people join. For 45 more by setting and budget, see our office holiday party ideas.
Games both sides can play
1. Mixed survey-says teams. A Family Feud-style game where every team mixes office and remote players, and the faceoff alternates between them. Hosted version: Festive Family Feud.
Remote: Play on their own laptop; the team talks it over in a breakout room or on the main call.2. Whose holiday desk is it? Everyone sends a photo of their decorated desk, at home or in the office, and the group guesses whose is whose.
Remote: Send the photo the week before; guess in the chat or a poll.3. Whiteboard drawing relay. Teams take turns sketching a holiday word on one shared online whiteboard while the rest guess.
Remote: Draw in the browser; the office team draws from the room laptop.4. Cross-screen charades. An office player acts out a holiday word on the room camera for their remote teammates to guess, then a remote player acts one out for the room.
Remote: Guess out loud or in the chat, then take a turn acting on their own camera.5. Holiday movies in emoji. The host shows a row of emoji on the screen and teams race to name the holiday film.
Remote: Type answers in the chat; first correct message wins the point.6. Remote-directed office treasure hunt. A remote player directs an office runner with a phone camera to find items on a list: the oldest mug, the tallest plant.
Remote: Remote players give the directions, so they lead this one.7. Party moments bingo. A card of things that happen at the party itself: a pet walks past a camera, the office waves at the screen, someone wears antlers.
Remote: Get the card as a link and mark it on a phone.8. Holiday caption contest. The host shows a work-safe photo from the year and everyone writes a caption; the group votes on the best.
Remote: Submit captions in the chat; votes run in a poll.9. Assigned party buddies. Pair every remote person with a named buddy in the office, who says hello at the start and makes sure they land on the same team.
Remote: Get a buddy's name in the invite and a quick check-in in the first five minutes.
Kits, food and a shared toast
11. Matching mugs toast. Everyone makes hot chocolate bombs in a guided session, the office at one long table and remote people at home, then raises a mug together. Hosted version: Hot Chocolate Bomb.
Remote: Their kit ships to their door ahead of time; they open it on camera.12. Pressed-flower frames, made together. A guided craft hour where everyone builds framed floral pieces from the same kit, in the room and at home. Hosted version: Holiday Framed Pressed Flowers.
Remote: Their kit ships to their door; the instructor sees everyone on the call.13. Team recipe booklet. Everyone sends one favorite holiday recipe; print a booklet for the office and share the same pages as a PDF.
Remote: Submit a recipe and a photo; get the PDF on party day.14. Lunch delivered to both sides. Cater the office and send remote staff a meal delivery for the same hour, so everyone eats while the party runs.
Remote: Order ahead so the food arrives before the call starts.15. Three short toasts. Three people give a 60-second toast each, and at least one of them speaks from home.
Remote: A remote colleague gives the first toast, not the last.
Awards, gifts and small touches
16. Colleague-written award citations. Anyone nominates anyone through a form a week ahead, and the nominator reads their own two-line citation at the party.
Remote: Nominate and read from home; alternate remote and office winners.17. One-catalog gift swap. Each giver picks a gift for their drawn name from the same short catalog, and it ships straight to the recipient.
Remote: Gifts arrive at home before the party and get opened together on the call.18. Live thank-you board. A shared online board where people post thanks to a colleague, shown on the office screen through the party.
Remote: Post from home; the host reads a few aloud.19. Sixty-second traditions. Three or four volunteers share one family or local tradition in a minute each, alternating home and office.
Remote: Share on camera, with a photo on screen if they like.20. Team-built party playlist. Everyone adds two songs to one shared playlist the week before, and it plays in the office and through the call.
Remote: Add songs from home and hear their picks come up.
Browse the office holiday party ideas for more, and for a party that works for every faith and none, our inclusive holiday party ideas.
A 90-minute hybrid run of show
Times run from the start of the party, so the plan works in any time zone. Copy it as text, paste it into the invite and change what you like.
| Time | What happens |
|---|---|
| 0:00 | Doors open: music on, the office gathers, the call goes live 10 minRemote: Join five minutes early; the host greets people on camera by name. |
| 0:10 | Welcome and the plan for the next 90 minutes 5 minRemote: A remote colleague co-hosts the welcome with a leader in the room. |
| 0:15 | Main game with mixed teams (hosted or your own) 45 minRemote: Play on their own laptop, on teams with office players. |
| 1:00 | Food break and gift reveal 10 minRemote: Open the shipped kit or gift on camera at the same moment as the office. |
| 1:10 | Awards: five colleague-written citations 10 minRemote: Remote winners are named first and their prizes ship that day. |
| 1:20 | Three short toasts 5 minRemote: The first toast comes from someone at home. |
| 1:25 | Group photo and close 5 minRemote: Everyone waves at the room camera for one screenshot with both groups. |
Short on time? Keep the main game, the awards and the toasts, and cut the food break to five minutes. The game is the part both groups remember, so protect it.
Tech checklist for the hybrid room
Nothing here needs special gear. Most of it is about sound: remote people forgive a so-so picture, but not a room they can't hear.
The week before
- One calendar invite with the call link for everyone, office included.
- A room mic or speakerphone booked, not a laptop's built-in mic.
- A camera placed to show the whole room, not just the person speaking.
- A remote champion named: an office person who watches the chat all party.
- A ten-minute test call from the room with one remote colleague.
On the day, in the room
- A second screen or TV showing the remote faces at eye level.
- One laptop runs the room's audio and video; every other laptop in the room stays muted, speakers off.
- Power and a wired or strong wifi connection for the room laptop.
- A spare HDMI or USB-C adapter and a charged phone hotspot.
- Light on faces from the front, not a bright window behind them.
During the party
- The host repeats anything said off-mic in the room.
- Remote people answer first in every round.
- The champion reads the chat aloud at least once per round.
- Side conversations move away from the room mic.
Time zones and shipping deadlines
Timing across time zones
For a team spread across the continental US, start between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Eastern. That's lunch or early afternoon in every zone and still inside the working day on both coasts:
| Eastern | Central | Mountain | Pacific |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 p.m. | 12 p.m. | 11 a.m. | 10 a.m. |
| 2 p.m. | 1 p.m. | 12 p.m. | 11 a.m. |
| 3 p.m. | 2 p.m. | 1 p.m. | 12 p.m. |
With people in Europe or Asia too, one slot can't fit everyone. Hosted games can run as two sessions for teams split across time zones: in December, 11 a.m. Eastern is 4 p.m. in London, and 7 p.m. Eastern is 8 a.m. the next morning in Singapore. Share the photos and the awards across both sessions so it still feels like one party.
Shipping deadlines for kits
Kit workshops ship a box to every address. Book at least 3 weeks before the party for US addresses; with international addresses, allow 4 weeks for shipping and book about 5 weeks out. Custom or branded work needs 4 weeks. December dates fill first, so book as early as you can:
| Party on | US addresses: book by | International: book by |
|---|---|---|
| December 5 | November 14 | October 31 |
| December 12 | November 21 | November 7 |
| December 19 | November 28 | November 14 |
Shipping a gift instead of a workshop? Our holiday gifts ship to every home with your note inside; branded or 100+ gift orders need 4 to 6 weeks.
Hybrid party etiquette
Six hybrid event best practices that decide whether remote people feel like guests or an audience.
- Remote people speak first. In every round, toast and question, the call goes before the room.
- Never say "we'll fill you in later". If something happens off-mic, repeat it on the mic right away, or it didn't happen for half the party.
- Mix the teams. Teams with office and remote players on each side make people talk to each other, not across the screen.
- Don't eat cake on camera alone. If the office has food, the remote people get something too: a kit, a delivery or a treat that arrived in the mail.
- Name people, not "the screen". Wave at Priya and Marcus, not at the TV.
- End on time. Someone on the call may be joining from a time zone where it's already evening.
