Friday night calls are the best time of the work week! You can finally talk with your coworkers and catch up on everything that happened during the workweek. Let’s be honest, these days virtual happy hours have become essential for co-workers to keep bonding with each other in a fun way, while working remotely.
But what if you don’t want to do another boring happy hour? What if you’re ready for something different? Inserting a theme in your virtual happy hour can be the answer. You’re not sure what to do? Let us help!
Here come some ideas for virtual happy hour themes that can transform those Friday calls in Fri-yay.
Introducing Themed Virtual Happy Hour
What is a virtual happy hour?
A virtual happy hour is a virtual meeting, usually scheduled on Friday after work, where you can share your experience and discuss different topics in a more informal environment with your remote co-workers.
These virtual meetings are often more enjoyable than the usual conference calls and are great to keep working relationships healthy.
What do you do at Zoom Happy Hour?
During a Zoom Happy Hour with your remote team, you could do plenty: Discuss the week, organize some team building challenges, a virtual happy hour activity or some games, ask questions to your team to get to know them better, share a dinner or a drink through a video call.
Check out our blog post on Virtual Happy Hour ideas to get inspired and find the fun and great way that can fit your team for your event.
You can also add a theme to those ideas to take it up a notch… Keep on reading, we will tell you everything!
What if virtual happy hours were different?
By incorporating a theme into your virtual happy hours, you can transform them into what feels like an offline get-together, without even leaving the house!
With a theme, dive in a different world and forget about everything else for a few hours.
What are some good zoom themes?
For the next virtual happy hour you will host, good theme options can be based on movies, books, tv shows, or popular topics that you know your team appreciate and have in common.
Once you pick it, you can organize games and activities related to it so that your guests can enjoy some after-work fun.
Let us introduce virtual happy hour themes that you can use to spice up your next virtual happy hour:
1. Game Night Virtual Happy Hour
Virtual happy hour games will be a perfect way to start your weekends!
Board Game Night
It’s time for some team bonding! With virtual board game nights, play a game with your remote coworkers and have some fun during these end of the week calls.
Challenge them to a classic game of Trivia game, Bingo, Pictionary, Monopoly or Rento, the online version of Monopoly. You can either organize it through a specialized platform / app or build it up yourself.
You could also transform some of those as a drinking game if your team feels like it!
Check out some ideas on how to play games with your teammates via video conferencing on our dedicated virtual happy hour games blog post.
Video Game Themes
Bring out your favorite video games and show off your skills against each other on the digital battlefield.
Suggest a video game tournament and challenge each other at Mario Kart, Madden, Smash Brothers, NBA 2K21, or any other game you wish.
But first, make sure that everyone is attracted by this idea and have access to the selected game.
If your team is not equipped with a same video game, then you could consider investing in a digital game on an online multiplayer cross-platform such as Steam. Many genres are available like Adventure, Action, Racing, Sports, Strategy and more. You should be able to find one that please every happy hour party guest.
Who will be the virtual champion?
Immersive Game Night
Another type of game could be to host an immersive theme play, such as a murder mystery party or a scavenger hunt. Those can be fun virtual activities that will stimulate the team’s creativity and allow them to be in a different environment.
Pro tip: If you decide on this option, make sure to have everything ready beforehand, as it would require some set up for each participant.
2. Musical Virtual Happy Hour Theme
You know how music can gather hearts. Well, a second great idea for virtual happy hour can be a Musical theme.
Pick one song for everyone and sing along together, have a karaoke competition, or just have a dance party! It’s up to you, but here are a few tips.
Karaoke Night
Confess what you prefer, pop or rock?
With this theme, you’ll get to sing together in a virtual karaoke party or have the team members battle it out in a virtual karaoke competition.
Music Quiz
Play a music quiz together, and guess what are the title of the songs or the singers.
You can either create your virtual happy hour music quiz yourself if you are on a budget or use an app to just relax and enjoy.
Either way, it’ll surely be a fun virtual happy hour for everyone on the team!
Build a Choir
Maybe virtual happy hour is a good time to come together as a choir!
Find a dynamic song for everyone to sing, hire a choir master for the event and let him/her guide you to build a wonderful choir for a day. You will see how a unison of that many and different voices can be surprising and can even make choir very addictive!
So watch out for your vocal cords and beware of goosebumps.
3. Stand-up Comedy
Friday calls should be fun! So, make sure to include this theme in your happy hour planning and bring the laughs.
Improv’ night
Want to organize something original? If your teammates are into it, organize improv’ nights and let anyone on the team take the lead!
It may be quite a challenge, as we know that people might feel uncomfortable coming up on the “virtual stage” if they have never done it before. But it can also reveal some hidden talents.
You could simply start the show by asking one person to tell a joke or share a funny story that happened to them. Then, let the people be spontaneous and it will flow. A drink or two might also help! 😉
Hire a real comedian
Now, if you feel your team is dubitative, you could also watch a stand-up comedian’s stream together, or hire a real comedian!
It might sound crazy, but it can actually be a lot of fun to have a private performance for your team, directly interacting with the group.
4. Back to School Virtual Happy Hour Theme
This virtual happy hour theme is great for virtual office bonding and reminiscing.
Guess who is in the picture?
Get those yearbook pictures out and guess which co-worker is in the picture.
Take a look at all pictures one by one that your workmates previously sent to the host, and try to recognize your workmates.
Is this person Karen? Was she really wearing glasses and brackets back in the day?
Share the memories
After comparing your high school pictures and noticing which physical traits have changed since then – like that big nose! – you can talk about your own school time.
This is a fun way to get to know your colleagues better while remembering some nice memories.
How were your school dances? What course did you prefer? What was the most memorable moment? You get the idea. It’s time to straighten your ties and bond even more with this theme!
Teach us something
Another activity that you can organize in the Back to School theme is to ask everyone to teach something to the team. Of course, it needs to stay light and enjoyable – it’s still happy hour time after all!
Nathaly is a 3 times marathoner? Invite her to share her knowledge about running. David knows how to cook the perfect Guacamole? Ask him to give a small class. Jeff is an amazing guitarist? Tell him to show some debutant notes.
You will see how talking with passion can be contagious!
5. Parisian Virtual Happy Hour
With Woyago, take your team for a trip to Paris for your virtual event!
French Cheese and Wine tasting
Got some foodies in your team? Know that Virtual Happy hour can also be gluttonous.
If you haven’t tried it yet, we definitely recommend a cheese and wine tasting night for your next happy hour. Not only will you be mixing virtual and real life, but you’ll also get to try different types of delicious French cheese and wine.
A Parisian foodie can actually co-host your virtual happy hour and animate it with explanations on production, flavors and traditions.
Virtual tour of Paris
If your team usually enjoys travelling, you can opt for our virtual visit of Paris.
Follow our guide in a live-tour of Paris and see the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe or the Seine, as he rides through the beautiful streets of the City of Lights.
Listen to the anecdotes and stories you would never imagine of this incredible city and don’t hesitate to ask him the questions you want!
This is a great way to introduce one of the most famous places in the world while enjoying the comfort of your sofa.
Learn how to cook with a Parisian chef
Another great option to bring your team to Paris is to learn how to cook French cuisine – with a Parisian chef, s’il-vous-plaît.
For this theme, Woyago will send the food needed to cook, connect your group in a virtual cooking class with a French chef, and then, the magic happens. Look on as he performs and shares his culinary secrets while preparing tasty dishes together with the guests!
When the class ends, take the time to share this meal together and talk about the best part of the experience.
6. Book Theme Night
The book club fans will be happy with this theme! Choose one common and universal book series for your Happy Hour and immerse your team in a whole new world. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
Harry Potter Night
Classic but never old, Harry Potter night is the perfect theme to get everyone participating.
Activities are diverse. You can take this time to discuss the different books and your favorite parts, but you can also organize some activities related to the books.
Follow the recipe of the butter beer and make your own Harry Potter cocktail with your colleagues; take a quiz on the characters and the magic objects or organize a virtual tour of Hogwarts.
Lord of the Rings virtual
If the virtual world takes you to a magical journey, Lord of The Rings can definitely do it.
For this theme, we recommend taking your team on an adventure in Rivendell by cooking all together the classic Lord of the Rings snacks – the Lembas Breads. You can also organize a Lord of the rings trivia for your team or have a watch party!
7. TV Show Virtual Happy Hour Theme
Stranger Things Event
For this happy hour, you can organize a virtual walk through the small town of Hawkins – which was actually filmed in small towns surrounding Atlanta. Some preparation will be needed to organize this tour and find the correct spots that are located in Stockbridge, Jackson, Douglassville and more.
Learn how to make Eleven’s famous Eggos with your team and share this sweet snack with your colleagues.
For this theme, you can also ask everyone to dress up like their favorite characters and make some photos for the memory!
Game of Thrones virtual happy hour
Another TV Show virtual happy hour theme that will get everyone talking is Game of Thrones.
For this, one fun idea is to try to build as a group, the family tree of the different characters of the show. You can also create a Murder Mystery Party with a Game of Throne theme, inspired by the atmosphere of the seven kingdoms.
Don’t hesitate to ask your remote team to dress as the characters of the Iron Throne for the video call!
Friends-Theme Party
Another virtual happy hour theme that could be fun is a friends-theme party.
Get everyone to do and share a nice cappuccino during the Happy Hour – like they would have in Center Perk coffee shop, while you play some activities inspired by this universal show.
You can play a “He said, She said” game where you quote specific lines of the show and guests have to remember which character said it, or you can organize a virtual quiz on the characters and details from the show.
No apartment switch as a prize – but surely a lot of fun! 😉
8. Cocktail Night
Mixology Class
Get your virtual team involved with a mixology class, where you can have a cocktail master teach the basics to make 3 different cocktails.
For every participant, have a box delivered at their home which includes recipes, ingredients and small snacks. The cocktail master will take the lead of the call and teach the group how to prepare the chosen drinks, what’s the correct shaking move and how to serve it.
At the end of the virtual Happy Hour, the group will be able to enjoy their cocktails all together. With all social distancing restrictions those days, this activity comes perfectly to create some bonding time via zoom.
Fancy Cocktail Party
This virtual happy hour theme is inspired by real life cocktail parties. The idea here is to make your happy hour an opportunity for everyone in the team to enjoy a fancy night and dress up nicely – once in our remote year is no excess, believe us!
Have them send half a bottle of wine or champagne and, if you want to, host an awards ceremony to spice up things.
No cocktail party is complete without some good snacks! Maybe have them send some tapas like baguette with olive oil and salt or some fancy hors d’oeuvres – because let’s face it – Happy Hour is not the same without some delicious indulgence.
9. Seasonal Happy Hour Themes
Halloween
Who doesn’t love trick-or-treating on Halloween? For this virtual happy hour theme, you can ask the zoom attendees to display all kinds of neon pumpkins and ghosts as the background image.
A great idea is to organize a pumpkin carving activity with your colleagues. To get a full Halloween vibe, you can also set up a Horror movie watching party with pop-corn and why not – one or two surprise screams…
Thanksgiving dinner
Another virtual happy hour theme that you can organize around the fall season is a Thanksgiving virtual happy hour.
You can do different activities from how to cook your favorite thanksgiving recipe to inviting your teammates to give thanks for this work year they just had as a team.
With current social distancing rules, you could also have them delivered a Thanksgiving dinner and drinks that they can share together through the zoom call. Nothing gets more generous and authentic than this!
Christmas Secret Santa Claus
If you want to have a virtual Happy Hour with your colleagues during the Christmas season, a great way to do so is by organizing a Secret Santa event.
First, draw names among all participants and see which person you are going to act Secret Santa for. Everyone should come up with a gift that fits well with their colleague’s personality and keep their pick secret until the end.
Then, ask all Secret Santas to send their gift on time so all receivers can unwrap it the day of the zoom call.
During the virtual happy hour, organize the gift exchange one by one – with a cup of hot wine and Christmas carols as background music of course!
Virtual happy hours can be an amazing replacement for your office happy hour and you can set up original themes depending on the season. Remember that they are a great way to keep in touch with colleagues if work from home is a necessity.
Here at Woyago, we want people to have a remote year as fruitful, enjoyable and productive as possible. We promote team building and tailored-made activities for remote teams all year long so people can stay up to date with each other and have a connection that goes beyond the social distancing rules.
And if you’re looking for innovative ideas for your events, make sure to check out our virtual team building activities or our blog where we give you loads of tips!
Happy virtualizing! 🙂
