You found our list of unique virtual spirit week ideas.
Spirit week is a week-long event that promotes company pride and employee engagement through fun activities. Virtual spirit week ideas are ways to celebrate the occasion with remote teams. For example, theme days, virtual talent shows, and costume contests.
These events are the online equivalent of spirit day or spirit week, and are examples of virtual employee engagement activities and virtual team celebrations, and often take place on virtual event platforms. These events help boost company pride.
This article includes:
- spirit week ideas for work from home
- Christmas spirit week ideas for work
- summer spirit week ideas
- spring spirit week ideas
- spirit week dress up ideas
Here we go!
List of virtual spirit week ideas
From theme days to care packages to costume contests, here is a list of fun ways to celebrate spirit weeks in remote offices.
1. Online Office Games (Top Choice)
During Online Office Games, players will go head-to-head in a series of virtual office Olympics challenges! These exciting games are designed to foster camaraderie and teamwork skills.
Here are the features of Online Office Games:
- a captivating 90-minute session led by a skilled host
- an interactive communication training game called “Can You Hear Me Now?”
- games including crafting slogans and trivia challenges
- multiple-choice questions, number games, and lightning scavenger hunts
Moreover, the trivia section can be personalized to fit your team’s preferences. For an added bonus, you can treat your team to cocktail kits! Be sure to check out Online Office Games for the opportunity to relax and bond!
Learn more about Online Office Games.
2. Murder in Ancient Egypt (Team Favorite)
In Murder in Ancient Egypt, your team will become detectives and unravel an ancient puzzle! This immersive experience will challenge players’ communication and critical-thinking abilities.
Key highlights of this adventure include:
- a 90-minute session guided by an experienced host
- an in-depth narrative that sends players back in time
- fast-paced math problems, code-breaking, riddles, and scavenger hunts
- cryptic clues and puzzles to decipher
Your team will love uncovering the secrets of this ancient mystery. To boost your staff members’ deductive reasoning skills, dive into the world of Murder in Ancient Egypt!
Learn more about Murder in Ancient Egypt.
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3. Superhero Academy (Popular)
Superhero Academy is an exciting real-life comic-book adventure that will unlock players’ heroic potential! During this experience, teams must work together to conquer challenges.
Key features of Superhero Academy include:
- a 90-minute session led by an experienced host
- detailed stories that help players turn into superheroes
- games and activities to challenge problem-solving skills
- exercises that test teams’ agility, speed, and coordination
In addition, we will bring all the required materials to your preferred venue. If you are looking to learn to overcome obstacles with your team, then explore Superhero Academy!
Learn more about Superhero Academy.
4. Theme days
Declaring theme days is one of the easiest spirit week ideas for work from home. Simply gear each day’s activities around a particular topic. For instance, on sports day, staff can wear jerseys, square off in competitive games, and participate in an online pep rally. On beach day, participants post virtual backgrounds of tropical locations and sip mock mai tais.
We made an example virtual spirit week agenda:
Creating a visually appealing spirit week announcement can help your crew be more excited and attentive towards the event.
5. Social media challenges
You can supplement your on-the-clock remote spirit week activities with fun social media challenges. Simply post a different game or prompt on the company social channels every day, and instruct employees to respond using a special hashtag.
Here are some ideas:
- Post a picture from your first year at the company vs now
- Dress like a colleague
- Make a work memes
- Take a screenshot in the unlikeliest Zoom meeting spot
- Film a 30-second work from home snack cooking lesson
- Tag a coworker who is most likely to….
- Fill in the spirit week survey
Here is an example of a graphic you could use for your games. Feel free to customize it with your company’s logos.
When you incorporate social media into your online spirit week scheduling, you make it easier for colleagues to find and friend each other. Plus, the posts are a great way to advertise your company’s culture to a wider audience.
6. Online costume contest
Dress-up days are one of the main events during spirit days at schools and offices. Remote teams can dress up for remote meetings, even if their outfits won’t be on display all day. The benefit of virtual dress up days is that employees can don elaborate costumes without worrying about travel, comfort, or attracting strange stares in Starbucks.
Hosting online costume contests is one of the best spirit week dress up ideas for work. Simply designate a theme for each day or meeting, then choose the best dressed for each category.
Example themes:
- Superheroes
- Villains
- Historical figures
- Decades
- Celebrities
- Holidays
- Dollar store couture
- Twins
- Movie moments
- Puns
- Sports
Teammates can vote using the poll feature in your video meeting platform, and you can send the winner a prize. Plus, you can capture a screenshot of the whole crew dressed up.
Or, you could start a gallery on social media or a cloud-based photo album, and invite teammates to vote on their favorite uploads throughout the week.
Learn more about virtual costume contests.
7. Virtual talent show
Virtual talent shows double as entertainment and team bonding. Remote teammates can enjoy a show while learning more about coworkers’ special skills and abilities. To host a virtual talent show, invite teammates to sign up for slots. Each act should be around five minutes. Participants can either perform alone, or collaborate with colleagues on a group act.
Instead of taking the stage, performers share their acts during a video call. Virtual talent shows work best when there is a predetermined act order and an emcee to manage the flow. Be sure to grab plenty of screen shots throughout the afternoon or evening.
If the show is a competition, then at the end of the performance have the audience vote for a winner via poll, or send a panel of judges into a breakout room to deliberate. If your crew would rather perform just for fun, then end the show by giving participants a well-deserved round of virtual applause.
Read about more virtual talent show ideas.
8. Remote holiday party
Throwing a virtual holiday party is one of the best Christmas spirit week ideas for work. First, choose a date and send a video meeting link to your colleagues. Then, plan festive activities to enjoy together during the call. For example, hold a Zoom ugly sweater contest, host a virtual Secret Santa or white elephant gift exchange, and sing Christmas carols.
The best online holiday parties encourage interaction. Breakout rooms enable guests to have more intimate conversations, so that no attendee feels like an observer. Remote team games like holiday Bingo, trivia, and scavenger hunts get guests moving and invoke the holiday spirit.
December is the most obvious time to throw a virtual holiday party. However, you could include a holiday theme in your virtual spirit week during any time of the year. Plus, you could throw virtual parties for any holiday.
Learn more about online Xmas parties.
9. Virtual tea party
Virtual tea parties are calm yet quirky online events to hold with remote teams. These activities also make great spring spirit week ideas for work.
First, either mail employees tea and fancy snacks, or ask attendees to bring their own refreshments and reimburse them for the expense. Petit fours, miniature cupcakes, and macarons are the best tea party desserts, and finger sandwiches are another staple.
For the main event, meet up on a video call to sip tea, chat, and play games. To set the mood, encourage participants to put up virtual backgrounds of Victorian parlors or lush gardens. Guests can dress up too.
Explore more virtual tea party ideas.
10. Spirit week care packages
Sending care packages to your remote teams builds buzz for the event and lets your employees know you care about them. Not to mention, care packages add a tactile element to your all-online spirit week.
The week before your work at home spirit week, mail boxes full of goodies to team members.
What to include:
- Healthy snacks
- Company swag
- Games
- Noisemakers
- Desk accessories
- Fun stationery
- Gift cards
- Dress-up accessories, like sunglasses, boas, and novelty headbands
- Virtual photo booth props
One of the best ideas for spirit care packages is to pack supplementary materials for the week’s activities. For instance, if you host a murder mystery, then include character cards in the boxes. Or, if you hold virtual escape rooms or similar games, then include puzzles. You could even include dessert decorating packs, tasting assortments, or craft kits. Real world elements make virtual exercises more engaging and interactive.
11. Online escape room
Online escape rooms are online versions of thematic puzzle-solving games. Remote teammates work together to crack clues and conquer brain teasers before time runs out. Some of these challenges involve participants play-acting and using props during Zoom calls, while simpler versions consist of a series of riddles on Google Forms. All online escape rooms inspire teamwork and critical thinking in a fun and exciting way.
Check out our list of online escape rooms.
12. Slack game tournament
Spirit weeks often involve games. Slack game tournaments are great ideas for virtual spirit weeks. Remote teams often work on staggered schedules, meaning that the whole crew may not be available at game time. However, Slack games offer more flexibility, as teammates can play on their own schedules.
First, create a Slack channel for the games. Next, install game apps like rock paper scissors, tic tac toe, and trivia. Then, encourage teammates to square off. Team members can challenge each other voluntarily. Or, you can use an app like Donut to match up opponents, and pairs can play games instead of scheduling a video chat.
Challengers can play the games directly in the channel, or via direct message. Either way, ask participants to record results by posting them to the channel in a “@WIN/@LOSS” format. At the end of the week, count up the wins, and have the victors face off against each other for the championship.
For more tournament ideas, check out our list of Slack games.
13. Online retreat
Online retreats are company gatherings that take place online. These events typically occur through a series of video meetings, group chats, and collaborative online activities. By planning an online retreat for spirit week, you block out employees’ time and free staff to enjoy the festivities. The intensive schedule prevents routine responsibilities from interrupting the fun, and permits employees to focus on recharging and team bonding.
Check out more more about online retreat ideas.
14. School days
Most employees love to learn, and taking a virtual class together is a terrific spirit week idea. First, give teammates a few options for online courses and ask them to vote for their favorite. Subjects should be fun and non-work related. For example, book-binding, instrument-building, ravioli-making, or makeup lessons with a drag queen.
Once the votes are in, book the top ranking classes. Then, send invites to the team. When the class arrives, learn together, and be sure to snap plenty of screenshots.
For inspiration, check out our lists of online cooking classes and online art classes.
15. Workout Wednesday
Online workouts serve the dual purpose of adding exercise and peer-to-peer interaction into remote workers’ sedentary, solitary workdays. You could either give employees the option of attending short 10-15 minute workouts throughout the day, or hold one or two longer sessions. To host these virtual workouts, have participants join a Zoom call. Then, have one attendee lead the class, or screen share a video routine. It is a good idea to vary the class types and levels so that more team members can participate. For instance, plan a short gentle stretch, a high-intensity cardio routine, and a themed yoga class at different time slots throughout the day.
For more ideas, check out our roundup of team building workouts.
16. Home tours
Home tours are a fun way for remote teammates to invite each other into personal spaces. You could either ask team members to pre-record videos, give the tour live during a Zoom meeting, or upload photos to a shared album. Teammates could also give a short slideshow presentation of their home cities. The tours could happen on a single day, or throughout the week. You could even give teammates a prompt per day, like “show us your fridge,” or “share your favorite spot in the house.” This activity helps remote teammates learn more about each other, and may reveal shared interests and common ground.
17. Outdoor days
Outdoor days are one of the best summer spirit week ideas for work. Simply schedule a Zoom meeting and ask attendees to join from an outdoor spot such as backyards, parks, or beaches. The Internet might be intermittent in these spots, so you can also give teammates the option of joining via phone audio instead of mobile video app. During the call, participants can chat and play fun games, or co-work while enjoying the fresh air and sunshine.
18. Zoom spirit week backgrounds
Typical spirit weeks involve decorating contests. The best way to decorate virtual offices is by using virtual meeting backgrounds. Teammates can select a different background for each meeting or theme day, and can even swap backgrounds multiple times per call. Spirit week attendees can either make their own backgrounds using Canva or Photoshop, or can download one from online. You could even hold contests to name and reward the best virtual backgrounds for each meeting.
Here are instructions on changing virtual backgrounds in Zoom, GoogleMeet, and Microsoft Teams.
19. World travels
There are many fun online activities that suit an international or travel-themed spirit week or spirit day.
Here are a few examples:
- Create a collaborative world map showing which countries team members have lived in or traveled to
- Ask participants to compile “top 5 travel bucket lists” of the destinations they would most like to visit, and pair up teammates with similar interests for a video chat
- Play international trivia
- Learn and practice a language together
- Video chat with “screen pals” in different countries
- Compile a photo slideshow of the team’s collective travels
You can also use GeoGessr to play a destination-guessing game or take virtual tours of museums, zoos, and parks together.
These activities broaden employees’ global and cultural horizons while also delighting the teams’ travel lovers.
20. Online award shows
Recognizing employees is a great way to boost morale and build excitement during spirit week. To host an online award show, first create award categories. Beyond bestowing traditional awards like “extraordinary performance,” “team player,” or “rookie of the year,” you can also create fun award categories.
Here are a few ideas:
- Most likely to forget to mute/unmute the mic
- Best use of virtual backgrounds
- Best use of GIF
- Who I’d like to swap houses with
- Tech wizard
- Lightning fingers, aka fastest Slack replies
- Online social butterfly
- Meme master
- Most likely to binge cat videos during the workday
When showtime arrives, gather on a Zoom call. To set the mood, you can encourage attendees to dress up and don fancy virtual backgrounds. Throughout the evening or afternoon, read awards off one by one, and give each winner 30 seconds to give a victory speech. Once the awards end, you can email digital certificates and e-gift cards to recipients or mail trophies and paper awards to their houses.
Virtual Spirit Week Theme Ideas
Here is a list of themes to use for online spirit weeks.
- Pajama Day
- Pet Day
- Safari Day
- Company Spirit Day
- Sports Day
- Decades Day
- Under-the-sea Day
- Space Day
- Superhero Day
- Villain Day
- Opposites Day
- Holiday Day
- Beach Day
- Spy Day
- Secret Silly Pants Day
- College Day
- Twin Day
- Dessert Day
- Charity Day
- Video Game Day
- Movie Day
- Rockstar Day
- Pirates vs Ninjas Day
- Unlikely Outfit Day
- Alternate Dimension Day
- Roaring 20’s Day
- Globetrotting Day
- Where I’d Rather Be Day
- Snow Day
- Musical Day
- Sitcom Day
- Fitness Day
- Renaissance Day
- Egypt Day
- Blacklight Day
- Rainbow Day
- Wacky Hair Day
- Alter Ego Day
- Work-somewhere-new Day
- Black Tie Day
- Tie Die Day
- Unicorn Day
Conclusion
Virtual spirit weeks bolster team resolve and brightens telecommuters’ moods. Gathering via video call and online communication platforms gives groups a chance to relax, re-energize, and reconnect with teammates. Distance does not have to put a damper on the fun. The essence of spirit week is enthusiasm, not physical proximity.
For more ways to excite remote teams, check out our list of free virtual team building activities for work, this list of virtual offsite ideas, and this one with Zoom meeting ideas.
Next, check our our list of ideas to celebrate Pride at work, online fun Friday ideas, and intern orientation activities.
We also have a list of the best remote team outing ideas.
