Looking to plan your next virtual social event but fresh out of ideas? Don’t worry. We’ve got you covered.
We’ve crafted a list of 11 virtual social event ideas you can use to bring family, friends, or coworkers together. From furry friends and wine tasting to scavenger hunts and awards, trust us when we say that there’s something for everyone on this list.
Take a look at our must-try list of virtual social events and don’t forget to save your favorite idea for later.
1. Virtual Happy Hour
“If there’s no alcohol involved, then I’m not coming.”
You’ve probably heard this one before (or maybe even said it yourself a few times). Either way, a virtual happy hour is a great way to bring people together in a fun, yet low-commitment kind of way.
You can ask everyone to bring their drink of choice or you can include one or two speciality drinks for the virtual event.
If you do choose to create an event cocktail, make sure you send out the recipe ahead of time. Better yet, consider sending everyone craft-your-own-cocktail kits that include everything needed to create (and enjoy) the drink of the night.
If this virtual happy hour is a team-building virtual event, we recommend sending all attendees a gift card to purchase drinks for the night.
2. Virtual Conference
Interested in throwing a virtual social event – but want education involved, too? Consider hosting a virtual work conference.
Get vendors, industry experts, and other companies involved and put together a one day or multi-day virtual conference. Go all out with themes, giveaways, and breakout discussions and host a virtual social event that’s truly memorable.
And remember – a virtual conference doesn’t have to be limited to a work environment. These virtual events are great for hobbies and special interests, too.
3. Virtual Fur Babies
While this virtual event is definitely geared towards certain groups of friends or work environments, it can be a really fun and engaging way to learn more about each other.
Encourage everyone to showcase their pets and consider involving an animal-themed craft. You can have your attendees create art with their animal, bake a treat, or decorate a new collar.
4. Game Night
A virtual game night is probably one of the easiest virtual social events to pull off – and also one of the most entertaining.
Before the event day rolls around, send out a poll to all of the attendees and ask them to choose a game. Charades, bingo, trivia, and pictionary are all interactive games that translate well virtually.
To step up the stakes, give out digital gift cards to the winners and consider making virtual game night a monthly or quarterly event. You can even start leaderboards and award the overall top scorers with an extra special prize every quarter (like extra vacation days).
5. Guess Who
If the overall idea of the event is to get to know each other more, then this virtual social event is perfect.
Ask people to send the host three to five different clues that represent their past and/or present, and use these clues to play a game of Guess Who. Although this game won’t work that well with family members or long term friends, it’s perfect as a team-building activity.
You might be surprised what you’ll find out about others and what crazy topics will come up during the event.
6. Lunch With Friends
A virtual social event doesn’t have to be difficult to plan or overly complicated to pull off. A simple virtual lunch with friends or the team will work, too!
Consider sticking to a theme and sending out digital gift cards for attendees. For example, you can send out UberEats gift cards and ask everyone to order from a local Italian restaurant. Everyone can schedule their meals to arrive at the same time, and then attendees can spend the lunch eating and discussing whatever comes to mind.
While you can structure or theme the discussion, this isn’t an absolute necessity. However, if you do know that your teammates struggle to converse with each other naturally, then some structure won’t hurt. Come up with a list of topics or questions to ask during the virtual gathering.
7. Speed Dating (Or, Speed Networking)
We’ve talked about speed networking before as a great virtual networking event for companies, but speed dating is another great option for friends. However, this doesn’t have to be limited to romantic relationships.
If you’re friends or acquaintances with a lot of people who don’t know each other, invite them all and set up one-on-one, 10-minute conversations with each of them. This is a great way to meet new people and for your friends to become friends with each other.
This can also be used to introduce business professionals to one another or to introduce people who enjoy the same activities or hobbies.
8. Virtual Award Night
Whether you want this to be for friends or coworkers, a virtual award night will make everyone feel good and feel noticed.
Encourage everyone to dress up, grab a drink, and hang out late. Use this opportunity to acknowledge an employee of the month or give out specialty awards – like Most Positive, Best Dressed, and Most Punctual.
And while you’re at it, feel free to add other elements to the virtual event to make the evening extra special. You can throw in some online games, storytelling, or a cocktail hour.
9. Online Wine Tasting
This one works best with a professional, so reach out to some local wineries or wine bars. Usually, they have someone available that can host a virtual wine tasting event for your team or friends. This sommelier can also help you curate, organize, and deliver a simple tasting ahead of time and really simplify the whole virtual event planning process for you.
10. Craft Night
Whip out the paint supplies and get those baking pans ready. Craft night is a fun and engaging way to take your friends or team on a virtual date.
Even though this virtual social event will take a little more planning than the other ones, it’s well worth it in the end.
You’ll need a host who understands what the project requires, and you’ll also need to send out craft night kits before the event. This event works best if you switch up the craft and the host every time.
11. Hire A Pro
Bringing in an expert (like a sommelier with the virtual wine tasting event) can add a lot of value to a virtual event. But this can go above and beyond wine tasting.
From industry experts to tarot card readers to yoga instructors, there are a million and one different routes you can take with this virtual social event (both personally and professionally). Have fun, get creative, and plan something special for your attendees.
Check Out These Virtual Event Resources From ICV
- What to look for an event platform production partner
- 6 must-haves for your next virtual event
- What is an event platform and why do you need one?