7 Tips to Virtually Celebrate the Holidays

Holiday movies always show huge family dinners, crowded living rooms, and
a suspiciously snow-dusted Main Street. Real life? Sometimes the people you
love are spread across states, countries, or time zones and your “main
street” is a Wi-Fi connection and a good webcam.

The good news: celebrating the holidays virtually doesn’t have to feel like
the budget version of the “real thing.” With a little planning, smart use of
technology, and a willingness to lean into the weirdness, you can create
online holiday traditions that feel warm, memorable, and surprisingly fun.

Whether you’re organizing a virtual Christmas party, a remote Hanukkah
gathering, a digital New Year’s Eve countdown, or an all-inclusive
holiday mashup, these seven tips will help you celebrate the holidays
online without losing the magic.

1. Start with a Real Plan (Not “Let’s Just Jump on Zoom”)

The fastest way to make a virtual holiday celebration awkward is to send a
link, say “let’s just chat,” and hope for the best. People log in at
different times, talk over each other, and before you know it, someone is
giving a tour of their ceiling fan.

Instead, treat your virtual holiday party like a real event:

Set a Theme and a Structure

• Pick a clear theme. Cozy pajama party, ugly sweater night, “holiday movie characters,” or “sparkly New Year’s.” Themes instantly break the ice and look great on camera.
• Create a simple agenda. For example: 10 minutes of greetings, 20 minutes of games, 15 minutes of sharing traditions, 10 minutes of wrapping up. It doesn’t have to be rigid, just intentional.
• Assign a host. One person should gently guide the flow, mute/unmute as needed, and keep the energy going so you’re not stuck in “you go… no, you go” territory.

Send Real Invitations

Instead of just dropping a link into a group chat, design simple digital
invitations. You can use free templates on online design tools to add your
date, time, dress code, and meeting link. It builds anticipation and helps
your virtual holiday celebration feel like an event, not an afterthought.

2. Make Games the Star of Your Virtual Holiday Party

Conversation is great, but video calls really shine when you give people
something to do together. Think of your favorite in-person parties: there
are usually activities, not just chatting.

Easy Online Game Ideas

• Holiday trivia. Create a short quiz about classic movies, songs, and traditions. Guests can answer using the chat or an online quiz tool.
• Virtual charades. Use holiday-themed prompts like “building a snowman,” “wrapping gifts,” or “lighting the menorah.” No props neededjust a willingness to look silly.
• Guess the holiday tune. Play a few seconds of a song and let people shout out titles. To keep things fair, have them type their answers in the chat.
• Holiday bingo. Make bingo cards with squares like “pet appears on camera,” “someone wears reindeer antlers,” or “technical difficulty.” Mark off as you go and award a small prize.

Rotate through short, simple games rather than one long competition. This
keeps energy high and makes it easy for people to join late or step away
without feeling lost.

3. Host a Virtual Gift Exchange (Without the Shipping Chaos)

Secret Santa and White Elephant swaps can absolutely work online you just
need to tweak the format. A virtual holiday celebration is a perfect excuse
to rethink what “gifting” means and mix in more creativity, less clutter.

Secret Santa, But Digital

• Use an online name-drawing tool. It will email each person their recipient and keep everything secret.
• Set a clear budget. For example, $15–$25, or “digital gifts only.”
• Encourage digital presents. E-gift cards, audiobooks, online classes, streaming rentals, or charitable donations in someone’s name are all easy to send and receive.

White Elephant with a Twist

For a virtual White Elephant game, have everyone:

1. Choose a silly or fun item they already own (or a digital item they’re willing to “gift”).
2. Take a photo and upload it to a shared folder or slideshow.
3. Draw numbers and “steal” gifts by choosing photos on-screen.

After the event, people can mail items if they’re physical, or just send
download links and codes for digital gifts. The real fun is in the chaos of
the “steals” and reactions even on camera, it’s hilarious.

4. Cook, Bake, or Craft Together (From Different Kitchens)

Food and handmade touches are a huge part of holiday traditions. You may
not be passing a platter around the table, but you can still share
flavors and creativity during a virtual holiday party.

Virtual Cooking or Baking Session

• Pick a simple recipe. Think hot cocoa, cookies, a festive mocktail, or a snack mixsomething most people can make with basic tools.
• Send the ingredient list in advance. Include easy substitutions for people with dietary needs or limited access to specialty items.
• Cook “together” on camera. One person can lead, or you can cook side-by-side, chatting and comparing results as you go.

For families, you can also do a virtual cookie swap: everyone bakes their favorite recipe at home, shares the recipe digitally, and showcases the final results on camera. You may not taste each other’s cookies, but you will collect a whole new recipe book by the end of the night.

Holiday Crafts on Camera

If your crew isn’t into cooking, try a simple craft: paper snowflakes,
ornament decorating, or DIY holiday cards. Mail a small craft kit beforehand
or send a supply list. Crafting during a call gives people something to do
with their hands, which actually makes conversation more relaxed and
natural.

5. Engage All the Senses with Holiday “Care Packages”

One of the biggest complaints about virtual holiday celebrations is that
they feel “flat.” You see people, you hear them, but you don’t get the
full sensory experience the smells, tastes, and textures that make the
season special.

A solution: send small holiday care packages before your virtual party.
They don’t have to be elaborate or expensive. Even a few thoughtful items
can completely change the vibe.

What to Include

• A packet of hot chocolate or tea
• A mini candle with a seasonal scent
• Holiday cookies or chocolates (individually wrapped)
• A printed recipe or hand-written note
• Theme items like stickers, photo props, or a tiny ornament

Ask everyone to wait and open their package together on the call. Suddenly
your virtual holiday celebration has taste, smell, and touch, not just
pixels and audio.

6. Build New Shared Traditions You Can Repeat Every Year

The best holiday memories usually come from repeated rituals: the same
song, the same dish, the same cheesy joke your uncle insists on telling.
Virtual holidays can have traditions too you just have to be
intentional about creating them.

Ideas for Virtual-First Traditions

• Collaborative holiday playlist. Ask everyone to add their favorite festive tracks to a shared playlist. Play it during your call and all season long.
• Annual “highlight reel.” Each person shares one win, one challenge, and one thing they’re grateful for from the past year.
• Photo round-up. Create a shared album where people upload photos from their homesdecorations, pets in sweaters, kids’ crafts, or outdoor lights.
• Virtual light tour. Have guests quickly step outside (or show a window view) and show off local holiday decorations on camera. It’s like touring multiple neighborhoods at once.

Document your new traditions so you can repeat them next year even if
you’re able to celebrate in person again. Hybrid celebrations are becoming
more common, and these online rituals can stay part of your holiday rhythm.

7. Make Space for Real Connection, Not Just Screen Time

It’s easy for virtual parties to feel like one more meeting on the calendar,
especially if your group spends a lot of time on video calls already.
To avoid “holiday Zoom fatigue,” design your celebration to include quieter,
more personal moments alongside the big group fun.

Mix Big Group and Small Group Moments

• Use breakout rooms or smaller calls. Split into groups of three or four for 10–15 minutes so people can catch up in a more intimate setting.
• Try structured prompts. Ask questions like “What’s one small tradition that really matters to you?” or “What’s the funniest holiday memory you have?”
• Keep it optional. Let people turn off their camera for a while, listen, or step away. No one should feel trapped.

Remember that not everyone has the same relationship to the holidays.
Some may be grieving, stressed, or simply not in a festive mood. A
virtual holiday celebration is successful when people feel seen and
includednot when every second is filled with forced cheer.

Practical Tips for Smooth Virtual Holiday Celebrations

Before we dive into real-life experiences, here are a few quick practical
tips to keep your virtual holiday party running smoothly:

• Test your tech before the event camera, mic, and screen sharing.
• Keep instructions simple. Avoid complicated games that require installing multiple apps.
• Consider time zones. If your guests are scattered, choose a time that’s at least reasonable for everyone (even if nobody gets their ideal slot).
• Set expectations. Let guests know how long the event will last and what to bring or wear.
• Record highlights. With consent, grab screenshots or a short recording to share afterward as a keepsake.

Real-Life Experiences: What Virtual Holiday Celebrations Really Feel Like

It’s one thing to talk about virtual holiday party ideas in theory. It’s
another to actually log on at 7 p.m., wearing festive socks, wondering
whether your relatives will remember how to unmute. To make these tips more
tangible, here’s what a virtual holiday celebration can feel like in
real lifeand what people often learn from the experience.

Imagine a large family scattered across the country. One sibling is on the
West Coast, another on the East Coast, and the parents are somewhere in the
middle. They haven’t spent a December together in years. This time, instead
of just exchanging messages in a group chat, they decide to host a virtual
holiday evening using many of the ideas above.

A week before the call, they mail each other small care packages: a hot
cocoa packet, a cookie, and a handwritten note. On the day of the event,
they log onto a video call and agree to wait to open the packages together.
That moment aloneeveryone tearing into their envelopes at the same
time, laughing at the identical cocoa packsfeels surprisingly emotional.
It’s a reminder that someone thought about you in advance, not just in a
last-second “Merry Christmas!” text.

Next, they run a quick holiday trivia game. The questions are a mix of
classic movie quotes and personal history: “Which family member once set
off the smoke alarm trying to make fudge?” Questions like that turn trivia
into a shared memory lane. Even the quieter family members start speaking
up, correcting details and adding their own perspective: “It wasn’t fudge,
it was gingerbread. And it was totally worth it.”

Then they shift to a short virtual cookie swap. Each person made a
different recipe at homesnickerdoodles, sugar cookies, chocolate crinkles,
and a gluten-free option. On camera, they hold up their plates, talk about
what worked (and what didn’t), and share their recipes in a shared
document. No one tastes anyone else’s cookies that night, but within a few
weeks several people have tried each recipe in their own kitchens. The
next year, when they repeat the tradition, those cookies feel like “family
recipes,” even though they were discovered online.

Toward the end of the evening, they do one more activity: a “rose, thorn,
and seed” round. Each person shares a “rose” (something good from the
year), a “thorn” (a challenge or loss), and a “seed” (something they’re
hoping to grow in the coming year). It’s simple, but it shifts the mood
from party small talk to real connection. When someone mentions a tough
health scare or a stressful move, the family has space to respond, offer
support, and acknowledge that the year wasn’t just cute sweaters and
cookies.

Was this virtual holiday celebration exactly the same as being in the same
living room? Of course not. No one bumped elbows at the sink while washing
dishes. There was no collective gasp when the pie almost slid off the
counter. But the core feelingsbeing seen, being remembered, being part of
a story bigger than yourselfwere still there. In some ways, the structure
of the video call even made space for people who tend to get drowned out
at in-person gatherings.

People who’ve tried virtual holiday celebrations often report a few
unexpected benefits:

• More intentional conversation. Instead of fragmented side chats, people take turns sharing and actually listening.
• Less pressure. Guests can join in their own space, wear comfortable clothes, and step away if they need a break.
• Lower cost and travel stress. No plane tickets, no long drives, no scrambling to find lodging for extra guests.
• More inclusive. Friends and relatives who might not travel due to health, finances, or work schedules can still show up and be part of the celebration.

These experiences highlight a key mindset shift: a virtual holiday party
isn’t a sad substitute for “real life.” It’s its own format, with its
own strengths. When you stop trying to recreate every in-person detail and
instead focus on connection, interaction, and shared memories, the screen
becomes less of a barrier and more of a bridge.

Final Thoughts: Make Connection the Main Event

At the end of the day, holidays aren’t about the perfect table setting or
the most elaborate travel plans. They’re about feeling connected to people
you care about. A thoughtful virtual holiday celebration can absolutely
deliver that feelingsometimes more reliably than an overcrowded, chaotic
in-person event.

Start with a plan, add interactive games, share food or crafts, engage the
senses with small care packages, and build new online traditions you can
repeat year after year. Most importantly, design moments where people can
slow down, share stories, and be honest about what the year has really
been like.

If your holiday plans look more like a grid of faces on a screen than a
crowded dining room, that doesn’t mean they’re less “real.” It just means
your traditions are evolvingand you’re using the tools you have to keep
love, laughter, and connection at the center of the season.