If you're working in a remote company, chances are that every day can begin to seem the same. Without some seasonal activities to break up the monotony, it's easy for the whole year to pass by without anything memorable. Halloween presents itself as an opportunity for office managers to organise fun team building activities based around a theme that everybody loves.
The upside of celebrating holidays in the office is more than just a matter of fun. Giving your employees a chance to socialise and talk about things outside of work is crucial for helping them build relationships with their colleagues. This in turn leads to better teamwork and communication when it comes to work related matters too.
How can people celebrate Halloween virtually?
If remote work has shown us anything, it's that anything can be done online if approached the right way. The Halloween season is no different. With the right planning and tools, you can have just as much fun with virtual Halloween party games. There are many different ways to turn your favourite Halloween activities into remote-friendly ones to host your own virtual Halloween party.
Decide on how much time you want to dedicate to the festivities
The type of virtual Halloween activity you choose will depend on how much time you want to spend dedicated to your virtual Halloween party. This will depend on your company or if you're the boss, how much time and resources you want to delegate to an online Halloween party.
The good news is whether you want to plan something big or small, there are virtual Halloween ideas listed below that will meet your criteria.
What are some virtual Halloween Activities?
- Dress up!
The most fundamental part of any Halloween celebration is dressing up as your favourite spooky or fantasy or character. The important thing when encouraging your team to dress up is making sure everybody is on board. There needs to be a sense of excitement building up to the day, so don't just mention it in passing and expect people to put in the effort. Drum up excitement by mentioning it repeatedly in your team meetings at least 2 weeks before the date, to give your team ample time to decide their costumes. That being said, seeing what last minute ideas people come up with for their virtual Halloween costumes is always fun.
2. Customize your Zoom virtual backgrounds to fit the occasion
Changing your Zoom background should be common knowledge for anyone working remotely. If you're not aware, it's a neat feature that lets you customize your background to any image. It's often used to hide the background if you feel your home is not "presentable" to the audience. But why not take advantage of that feature and make your background something spooky or halloween related? Encourage your remote team to find an image ahead of time (simply Googling one will do) and make sure to remind them to update their settings ahead of time for the Halloween party.
3. Decorate your desks
Decorations were my favourite part of Halloween. All the spooky skeletons and jack o lanterns really added to the atmosphere. Even some small props can totally change the mood of someone's desk, so why not encourage everyone to dig out the skeletons in their closet and set them up and show the rest of the team?
4. Watch a Halloween movie together
Team movie nights are when the remote team choose a movie and stream it together. This is a low-effort activity to organise and is a great way to unwind on a Friday night. A Halloween themed movie night is a chance to choose a cheesy horror flick and either get scared or laugh at the bad acting together. One way to do it easily is by streaming it together on Netflix Party.
5. Play Werewolf
Werewolf is a great virtual Halloween game to play at parties, and is one of the best known social deduction games. Some people know this game by the name Mafia, but these two games have essentially the same gameplay. The object of the game is to identify and kill the werewolves amongst the villagers. There are a few different roles to remember, and the roles in play will depend on the amount of players in the game.
You can Play Werewolf online for free here.
