One of the best parts of the holidays is reconnecting and gathering with family and friends. Unfortunately, the pandemic makes it much more difficult to have a typical Christmas celebration or holiday party, but we can use Zoom to make up for the unfortunate circumstances. There are plenty of games and activities that work well virtually and are guaranteed to bring some extra fun and excitement to your Zoom gatherings.
Board Games
Codenames- If you’ve ever played the real version of Codenames, then I’m sure you’ll be excited to try it out online. This game requires some thinking and always leads to a good competition. Learn the rules and start a game on the Codenames website.
Scattergories- This is a classic game that’s easy to learn if you’ve never played. Simply put, each player has a list of the same categories, and there is a designated letter. Someone sets a timer and all of the players try to write a word that fits each category and starts with the chosen letter. The Swellgarfo list generator makes it easy to play online, and if you don’t know all of the rules here is a good resource.
Cards Against Humanity- There is an online version of Cards Against Humanity that allows you to create and join private games. Use the website for All Bad Cards to play. Make sure you have the right crowd for this game since it might be a bit uncomfortable playing with older relatives!
Holiday Activities
Christmas movie watch party– A lot of streaming services, including Netflix, Hulu, and Disney Plus, have a watch party feature. If you have a favorite Christmas movie that you usually watch with your family or your friends, it is easy to view together virtually. Family Zooms can sometimes get awkward with people talking over each other or not talking at all, and nothing solves that problem better than watching a Christmas movie!
Gingerbread house decorating over zoom- No matter how old someone gets, decorating gingerbread houses is a fun activity and a great way to get into the holiday spirit. It has always been one of my favorite things to do with friends. You can get creative and potentially get competitive if you want to have a contest for whose house looks the best. You and your family or friends can buy your own supplies and have a Zoom party to decorate together!
Holiday cocktail happy hour- Similar to gingerbread houses, you and your friends or family can make holiday drinks together even when you’re not in the same place. This is also fun because it provides an activity for everyone to do together, and then you can all relax and enjoy whatever you make! Check out one of our older articles for some holiday drink ideas to help you get through your Zooms and the rest of the holiday season!
Drinking Games
Most Likely To- You can play this game by using an online list or coming up with different questions yourself, but the idea is that there is a “most likely to” announced and then everyone announces which player they think is most likely to do the thing. Whoever has the most votes takes a sip of their drink. This game definitely works best for a group that knows each other well. It’s not the most exciting drinking game, but it is perfect for Zoom!
Never Have I Ever- This game can be a hit or a miss, but it usually provides for some good laughs. Similar to Most Likely To, it is easy to play over Zoom since it doesn’t require any supplies other than your drink. You can adjust the rules however you and your group like, but typically each player takes turns saying something they haven’t done and then players who have done the thing take a sip of their drink. This game is guaranteed to get the conversation flowing!
Picolo- If you want to make things a bit easier for yourself and your group, download the Picolo drinking game app. It’s free and generates questions and instructions for you. All you have to do is enter each player’s name into the app and then follow what your screen says. There are a lot of funny cards in the game, so it will definitely spice up your Zoom call!
Nothing compares to spending real quality time with the ones we love, and it’s really unfortunate that we have missed out on this for so much of 2020. It is especially tough during the holiday season, but if we all continue to follow public health protocols then hopefully we will be able to gather in person with our relatives and friends soon. For now, make the most of your Zoom calls with some of these activities!