61 Virtual Happy Hour Ideas
With much of the world going online for work and entertainment these days, virtual happy hour ideas have exploded. They’re a fun and creative way to bridge the distance that can make it challenging for people to stay connected. They’re also a great opportunity for work teams to meet up for activities that aren’t work-oriented.
Should you go with virtual happy hour games or an online mixology class? Or maybe more personalized virtual happy hour activities to help your teammates get to know one another? If you’re scratching your head about which games and activities to include in your virtual happy hour, we’ve got you covered with a list of our favorites!
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- Virtual Happy Hour Activities
- Virtual Happy Hour Games
- Virtual Happy Hour Ideas for Workgroups
- Virtual Happy Hour Themes
Virtual Happy Hour Activities
1. Online Cooking Classes
Pair your virtual happy hour cocktails with a gourmet meal when you sign up for online cooking classes. Top-rated chefs from around the world will teach you how to create enticing and artistic recipes that will surely enhance your virtual happy hour experience. Get inspired with our list of the best Zoom cooking classes in 2022!
2. Online Mixology Classes
Step behind the bar and learn how the magic happens with an immersive online mixology class. Master mixologists from every major city are ready to teach you the tricks of the trade. Learn to create classic drinks, craft cocktails, novel concoctions and more.
3. Virtual Wine Tastings
Spend an evening learning the finer points of wine appreciation with fully interactive virtual wine tastings. Talented sommeliers will teach you and your crew all you need to know. From vintage to varietals, from bouquet to food pairings, it’s a session well spent that brings out the “happy” in your happy hour!
4. Escape Room
Solving riddles and puzzles online can be just as exhilarating as it is in real life! You can find a whole host of clever virtual escape rooms that capture the spirit of the physical versions. This one is a great way to encourage team interaction.
5. Art Lessons
Get your creative hands dirty with a new project. Cue up a course in scrapbooking, acrylic painting, papercraft and more and sip while you create. Everyone ends up with a nifty keepsake from their virtual happy hour fun! Try online painting classes, online drawing classes, online photography classes or even virtual flower arranging classes and pair with your favorite cocktail.
6. Virtual Scavenger Hunt
That junk drawer just became a treasure chest for your virtual scavenger hunt! Create a list of odds and ends that all team members are sure to have lying around the house. Then, send them on a scavenger hunt through their own homes to collect the items. Whoever returns with the most in the shortest amount of time wins.
7. Acting Classes
If you've ever been interested in trying improv or dreamed of being center stage, interactive online acting classes offer the perfect opportunity for you to be in the spotlight from the comfort of home. Loosen up those nerves with a cocktail for this entertaining virtual happy hour idea.
8. Amateur Art Show
Pick a fun twist that levels the playing field — everyone draws with their left hand, everyone paints blindfolded, etc. Have the artists upload images of their finished works anonymously to a central site and let participants try to guess who created which piece.
9. Mix and Match
Each crew member shares the recipe for their favorite beverage. Gather the recipes into a single collection and send it out for everyone to create in their own home bars. Then, have the group conduct a tasting and review each drink.
10. Murder Mystery
Bring the classic board game Clue to life in digital by booking a virtual murder mystery. Team members are assigned character roles and virtual happy hour fun ensues! Since these usually take place as part of a dinner theater, suggest a simple themed dinner for your teammates to enjoy as the mystery unfolds.
11. Online Auction
A combination of eBay, a garage sale and a white elephant gift exchange, in online auctions, everyone chooses an inexpensive or previously owned item to be bid on. The owner of the item convinces the others that this item is worth the bid! Donate the proceeds to a charity of your group’s choosing.
12. Lip Sync Contest
Gather a playlist of well-known songs that span genres and decades. Have your crew choose their favorites and perform their best vocal-less renditions one at a time. If there’s a duet or two on the list, even better!
13. Virtual Concerts
Consider hiring an indie musician to perform a short concert for your virtual happy hour. Your team members will get a memorable performance and you’ll be supporting an artist who would surely appreciate the gig.
14. Virtual Book Club
If your virtual happy hour mates are avid readers, why not have a virtual book club? Choose a title for everyone to read and enjoy an online discussion with drinks and beverages that match the theme, culture or era of the story.
15. Cheers
Choose a list of phrases commonly heard during online meetings (“your camera isn’t on,” “I think I froze,” etc.). Everyone takes a drink whenever the phrases are said during the happy hour. And the beverages don’t have to be alcoholic to count!
16. Oddity Talent Show
A virtual happy hour is a perfect place for your friends and workmates to haul out their odd talents! Whether it’s a party trick, a weird dance or a TikTok dance, invite everyone to take the stage and show off a little. This one is easier after the first round of drinks!
17. Movie Night
Streaming services like Netflix now have watching party features that let groups watch together remotely. Make sure everyone has snacks, take a vote on the title and fire up a flick. You can even pick something silly or second-rate on purpose to encourage fun commentary from the peanut gallery!
18. Virtual Olympics
Create a simple list of easy physical activities like jumping jacks, sit-ups and push-ups for your group to complete in timed heats. Offer gold, silver and bronze medals for whoever completes the most of each event. Everyone toasts their virtual happy hour victories at the end!
19. Fantasy Sports League
For the sporty groups, try organizing a fantasy sports league happy hour event online. You can hold drafts and catch up on stats every week. It's a great opportunity to plan a series of virtual happy hours!
Virtual Happy Hour Games
20. Virtual Game Night
Gather one and all for a few rounds of friendly, socially distanced competition with live virtual game nights! With a variety of games to choose from and entertaining hosts on deck to conduct the fun, all you and your team need to do is tune in and play.
21. Dance Party
Grab a list of popular dances from Wikipedia and see how many your team can do. Create a point system that ranks each dance by era, so older and rarer moves get more points. You’ll have the whole crew on their feet before this virtual happy hour is over! If you and your crew need to work on your moves, try online dance classes for your virtual happy hour!
22. Never Have I Ever
Group members take turns calling out things they’ve never done — never have I ever skied, for example, or never have I ever been to Europe. Anyone who has done those things takes a drink or earns a point. Whoever has the most points at the end of this virtual happy hour is the champ!
23. Onscreen I Spy
Take a look around the home and office spaces of your remote workmates or socially distant friends, gaze at an item and drop clues for others to guess. It’s a great opportunity for everyone to place weird, fun and notable objects in plain view!
24. Two Truths and a Lie
The idea is simple: everyone thinks of two things that are true about themselves and one thing that isn’t. The other teammates try to discern fact from fiction. This one is a great way to learn little-known facts about others.
25. Charades
This beloved party game translates easily to virtual happy hour fun. Handy game word generators online can provide words, phrases and titles to choose from. Select one team member at a time to guess the answer to prevent a Zoom-based audio pile-up!
26. Taboo
Play a digital version of the family favorite for your virtual happy hour! Break into two teams and take turns prompting teammates to call out a chosen word without using the descriptors shown on the card. Online sites like Lingolex provide the digital cards you’ll need for gameplay. Buzzer not included!
27. Scattergories
This board game classic of naming as many items as you can that all start with the same letter makes a fast-paced virtual happy hour idea! You can find list generators online to screen-share with your group, with a timer included.
28. Jackbox
Jackbox is the unofficial leader of online party game experiences. There are tons of fun titles to choose from for virtual happy hour group play, with most geared toward all-aged audiences. One player must own a Jackbox product to link up to eight players into a session using their phones or tablets.
29. Pictionary
Break up your group into teams of two or three and let them try their hand at this perennial favorite. No need to gather the game cards to decide what to draw; an online game word generator will provide a list of topics.
30. The Thing in My Head
A chosen member announces “the thing in my head” before describing one detail at a time — fits in my hand, costs a million dollars, is made of glass, etc. The rest of the team takes turns guessing based on the clues. Bonus points for the guesser who can repeat the clues correctly in order!
31. Mouthing the Words
Each team member takes a turn muting their microphone and speaking a common phrase for the others to guess. Decide on a theme prior to playing, something simple like fairy tale characters, nursery rhyme verses or items found in the kitchen.
32. Story-Go-Round
Begin a simple story: “Once, there was a man in a green hat,” for example. Let other members add the next lines one at a time, taking turns until a full tale has been told. This is a great collaborative virtual happy hour game to loosen up the crowd!
33. Admiration Circle
For a sweet-natured change of pace, challenge everyone on the team to choose a person they admire. Have them write a sentence or two explaining why they admire that person. If they’re not comfortable reading it aloud, choose an emcee to read them instead.
34. Wikipedia Scavenger Hunt
Prepare by selecting several Wikipedia topics and create a list of facts and phrases found among their webpages for your crew to search for. Simple rules like “no global searches allowed” will make this virtual happy hour game fair and square.
35. Show and Tell
Get to know your crew even better by having them show their pets, their cars, their hobbies or their favorite rooms. They’re bound to see aspects of each other’s lives that will surprise and delight.
Virtual Happy Hour Ideas for Workgroups
36. Online Trivia
In online trivia games led by entertaining hosts, your cohort will show off their knowledge in fun categories. Pick a theme to get questions about your favorite TV show or movie series, pop culture trivia or trivia for foodies and show your skills in this interactive virtual happy hour idea.
37. Icebreakers
Icebreakers make for a perfect virtual happy hour get-to-know-you activity! Prepare a list of lighthearted yet revealing questions for your team to answer aloud. Allow time for follow-up questions and discussion among the group.
38. Would You Rather
Create a series of choices for your teammates to decide on. For example, would you rather vacation in France or Italy? Would you rather eat sushi or chocolate cake? Ask them one at a time for the group to answer round robin-style.
39. Virtual Food Day
Just like a regular office potluck, create a sign-up sheet and have each team member choose their favorite dish to bring. Unlike the traditional potlucks, have each member draw another coworker’s name at random to send their recipe to. The team creates one another’s recipes to try and shares a review during the virtual happy hour.
40. Company Trivia
Gather facts about the organizations, office happenings, executives and other departments. Create simple questions and conduct a good old bar trivia game. Break up your crew to work together in smaller groups for an extra shot of teambuilding.
41. Baby Shower or Sprinkle
A fun virtual happy hour idea to keep in mind is a baby shower or sprinkle for parents-to-be on the team. Many baby shower games translate easily to online versions. Have coworkers choose gifts from an online registry to be sent to the happy household for opening during the party.
42. Baby Picture Guessing Game
This virtual happy hour idea ramps up the cuteness. Everyone uploads a baby or school picture to a central folder. The group takes turns guessing which picture belongs to which teammate. Adorable fun for everyone!
43. Holiday Parties
The obvious holiday party ideas are usually the most popular for virtual happy hours! Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and Fourth of July are all easy ideas to pull the team together. Remember to plan party dates around team members’ time off so everyone can celebrate.
44. This or That
Choose a pair of items, only one of which has to go: chocolate or vanilla, for example. Take a vote from the team, and put the winner up against a new item: vanilla or strawberry? Keep the flow and switch things up by changing the topic (Strawberry or pickle? Pickles or olives?) adding larger and more ridiculous things (California or New York? Cars or motorcycles?).
Virtual Happy Hour Themes
45. Speakeasy
Create a list of 20s-era drinks and snacks for your crew to prepare for the occasion. Invite them to dress up as a dapper or a flapper and send out a fun password that lets them into a secret Zoom location online and let the party begin!
46. Sci-Fi and Outer Space
For the space-loving crew, use this fun viral happy hour idea for making creative themed recipes. Film discussions and easy homemade costumes such as robots and aliens are a must!
47. Pajama Party
Invite everyone to wear their best sleepwear and create sleepover snacks like popcorn, cupcakes and other treats. Conduct games such as Virtual Telephone and 20 Questions to keep up the slumber party vibe.
48. Favorite Film
Have your crew members dress up as characters from their favorite films without letting the others know their chosen character. Let the team guess who’s who while quoting well-known lines from the movie. And of course, take a group vote on a film for shared watching!
49. 50s
Throw a digital sock hop! Let your teammates choose from Greaser, Jock, Preppy or Poodle Skirt and dress the part. Spin some 50s tunes to get the mood hoppin’ and a-boppin’. Throw in a team viewing of Grease and you’ll be the coolest, Daddy-O!
50. Fantasy
A cosplay Ren Fest makes a great virtual happy hour idea! Plan a Lord of the Rings viewing while enjoying The Hobbit-themed sips and noshes, or a Labyrinth-inspired online get-together. If your team is into role-playing game, set up an online RPG session for all to enjoy.
51. Disco
Dig up the best 70s disco tunes and encourage your entourage to wear gold chains, leisure suits and feathered hair. Gather questions about disco movies, music and trends and host a game-show style virtual happy hour. Don’t forget to include dance breaks for the Hustle and the Bump!
52. Grunge
Your team can break out their best flannel and relive the best of the 90s with a playlist of grunge classics from Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and more. Play a few rounds of “Remember When” and quiz everyone about where they were during decade milestones.
53. Country
Set up an online honkytonk with a digital jukebox filled with country classics from different eras. Encourage your posse to create some downhome sweets and treats to enjoy as you scoot your boots in a virtual line dance.
54. Hairband-Themed
Time to tease up the hair and shred the concert shirts for this virtual happy hour theme! Suggest your teammates dress up in heavy metal fashion and play the most hard-rocking hits of the genre. Or better yet, choose a hard rock concert or biopic to rock out to online.
55. Masquerade
Each team member creates a mask that represents an animal, historical figure or fictional character they most relate to. You can provide a printable form for them to decorate or challenge them to come up with their own. Everyone wears their mask and explains their connection to the design.
56. Luau
Add a whole lot of color to your virtual happy hour by having everyone wear their best Hawaiian shirt or hula skirt! Send out a list of simple tiki drinks and easy-to-make luau snacks for everyone to enjoy. Then, crank up the ukulele music and let the aloha flow.
57. 80s
It's a virtual happy hour wonderland! Let your team choose their favorite musician or singer, character from a cool teen movie or celebrity and dress in similar fashion. Set up a digital boombox filled with the best 80s tunes around and discuss your favorite trends from the era.
58. Hosted House Party
Designate a DJ to put together a banging playlist and facts about each song and artist. Then, pump up the volume as your crew guesses which song is next based on your trivia descriptions. Bonus points for the best onscreen dance club lighting!
59. Gala
Throw a black-tie happy hour! Everyone dresses up in their finest and enjoys a socially distanced evening of appetizers and beverages. Or challenge everyone to research and recreate the crazy styles of the Met Gala. Offer a prize for the most creative outfit!
60. Horror
Everyone can let out their inner monster with a tribute to the best of the scary stuff. Play Name the Flick by offering vague descriptions of horror movies and having your crew guess the titles. And of course, costumes are encouraged…the more terrifying, the better!
61. Hippie
Revisit the Summer of Love virtual happy hour style with tie dye, leather fringe and mirrored glasses! Spin some psychedelic songs and play themed games that offer points for anyone who has a lava lamp, macrame or other 60s-oriented memorabilia around the house to share onscreen.
Once you get into the swing of things, it’s easy to conjure up ideas for virtual happy hour events. You don’t have to use just a single idea, either. Different virtual happy hour games and virtual happy hour activities can be combined to create a more extensive event. The more your crew participates, the happier your virtual happy hour will be!
For even more fun ideas, check out other experiences happening on Classpop!
