The holiday season is upon us, and this year it is unlike any other we have ever experienced. The COVID-19 pandemic has completely altered the way we live our lives, drastically altering the way we experience the holidays. The CDC and other experts have advised not to travel to friends and family this year, leaving holiday events in a precarious situation. Thankfully, there are always virtual events, something that can connect family members from across the country. As a result, you can connect with your family through virtual means, regardless of whether they just closed on one of the Pittsburgh houses for sale or live in Seattle real estate. Unfortunately, coming up with a good virtual holiday party idea can be quite the hassle. So what should you look towards for inspiration? Here are some great virtual party ideas that you can use this holiday season.

Gift Exchange

One of the most important parts of the holiday season is the gift exchange. We all have memories of waking up early on Christmas morning, seeing what kinds of presents we received. While adult gift exchanges aren’t quite as magical, they do hold a lot of significance. Unfortunately, the pandemic makes gift exchanges quite different this year, but they still can be pulled off. Simply mail your gifts out ahead of time or order them to the recipient’s location. 

You can then open your gifts while on a video call with all your loved ones, giving you a chance to see their reactions live. While it may not be the same as opening gifts together in person, it still allows you to have a semblance of normalcy in these trying times. 

Cookie Decorating

An extremely cute way to celebrate the holidays this year is with virtual cookie decorating. Making Christmas cookies has been a long-standing tradition during the holiday season. While making and decorating cookies in a virtual environment is certainly a change of pace, you can still pull the tradition off. Have each household bake their own batch of cookies, decorating them how they see fit. You can even have a friendly competition if you want and see who can come up with the best -decorated cookies. Virtual cookie decorating is a great way to hold on to a classic holiday tradition and can allow you to connect with your family members, even with a great amount of distance. 

Paint and Sip

One of the more adult options for a holiday virtual event is a paint and sip. Paint and sips are extremely simple to pull off, but they always seem to be a blast. All you need to do is have a painting to emulate and casually sip while everyone paints. A paint and sip is a great way for everyone to catch up and communicate, and you don’t even need to be artistic to pull it off. Just like with decorating cookies, you could even turn this into a friendly competition to see who can create the best painting. If you want a unique and fun way to connect with your loved ones this holiday season, then this could be a very solid option.

Party Games

Another great way to celebrate the holidays virtually this season is with party games. We all have family games that we love to play with our loved ones around the holiday season, and although they might not translate to a virtual environment, there are some alternatives. You could set up a game of virtual Jeopardy or even Family Feud. In addition, classic family games like charades are still an option as well. Playing games and making memories with loved ones is an important part of the holiday tradition, so why not try to pull it off in a virtual environment.