Enjoy a virtual Christmas with your favourite people across the globe

The show must go on and it will, thanks to all the ways we can still connect with our loved ones no matter where in the world they are. Social-distance the right way this Christmas with these festive-themed activities.

Host a Secret Santa Christmas party

Face-to-face gatherings of large groups are prohibited, but don’t let this impede your festive spirit. If you can’t visit local friends and family, organise a Secret Santa event and exchange presents anonymously.

There are online websites that can assist with choosing people randomly, such as Online Secret Santa. The organiser will then send an email to each participant with the name of the person they must buy a gift for.

Each person can order or courier a gift or an online voucher to the lucky recipient. To make the experience a truly magical one, create a Zoom/group call where everyone can open their gifts together.

Share a meal over the internet

Many family gatherings will be put on hold in 2020 due to the pandemic. But there are creative ways you can still have a seat at the table — even if it’s not all together.

Give the “dinner/lunch party” a theme and let everyone dress alike. Choose a certain cuisine or let your “guest” choose what they would like from an eatery that offers delivery services. You could also enjoy a home-cooked meal and invite your family to “look in” on the delicious meal you have prepared.

Christmas carols or online free concert

Caroling is a great way to bond with friends and family. Search for virtual Christmas caroling services and events, and host a “watch party” on Facebook where you can enjoy the same event with your loved ones.

You could also host a Zoom call with your nearest and dearest, and opt to “share your screen” showing the other people Christmas lyric videos from Youtube which they can sing along to.

Have any musos in your circle? Let them or each person prepare a Christmas-themed song to play or sing over the computer screen.

Christmas Trivia Party

Schedule a trivia or quiz night, and send your participants an invite via e-mail. Once you have decided who the quizmaster is, they need to create “slides” with questions they can flick through during the course of the evening.

Applications such as Microsoft Powerpoint and Canva can help you create themed slides, and should be downloaded to PDF form. If you decide to use Zoom, you’ll need to mute your participants’ microphones so they don’t share answers with the other teams.

Add the points up and declare a winner. It’s as easy as that!