5 virtual activities to try this festive season

It’s no secret that Christmas will be a little different this year. However, even though we may not be able to spend quality time with our loved ones in person, there’s no reason why you can’t celebrate the festive season virtually.

Here at Chums, we’ve launched The Gingerbread House Project - a creative, unique and virtual experience for families and friends to make memories by creating their own gingerbread house masterpieces, bringing loved ones together at a time when we need to be apart. But what other virtual activities could you organise for you and your loved ones this yuletide season? Keep reading for five fantastically festive ideas. 

1. Plan a film night

Cuddling up on the sofa to watch Christmas films is a yuletide tradition for a lot of families. But, even though you may not be able to view all of the Home Alone movies back-to-back in person, there’s no reason why you can’t enjoy your cinema experience virtually this year.

The good news is, there are plenty of apps that will let you stream your favourite festive flicks via your smartphone, tablet or even through your TV, meaning you and your loved ones can tune in at the same time - just don’t forget the popcorn. 

2. Get crafty

From handmade Christmas cards to tree decorations, there are so many fun and festive crafts you can get stuck into at this time of year. If you normally like to get crafty with your loved ones around the holiday season, why not schedule a virtual arts and crafts session instead?

You should be able to find a whole host of cool Christmas crafts online. You could search Pinterest for festive-themed crochet patterns or check out videos on YouTube to learn how to make colourful origami Christmas trees. Simply make sure everyone has the right supplies and it’s time to get crafty. 

3. Host your own charades challenge

Christmas is the perfect time to play fun, silly games with the ones you love - such as the classic word-guessing game, charades. While you may not be able to play this game face-to-face this year, you could always host your own charades challenge via video chat instead.

You could come up with your own movie, song and book titles, but to help make your family game night run smoothly, you may want to use an online charades generator to provide you with the words to act out for the other players to guess. There’s no doubt your sides will be aching from laughter in no time.

4. Organise the ultimate quiz

If you haven’t taken part in an online quiz at some point during 2020, you’ve been missing a trick. This year, hosting virtual quizzes has become the hot trend, and it could be the perfect activity to help bring you and your loved ones together this Christmas time. To get your quiz up and running, you may want to appoint someone as quiz master, and look online for inspiration for the questions. You could even give your quiz a theme, and what better theme than Christmas itself? Why not include a music round in the quiz and blast snippets of well-known festive tunes for the other players to guess? Don’t forget to wear your ugliest Christmas jumper too!

5. Arrange a Secret Santa exchange

If you usually exchange Secret Santa gifts with your friends or family, why not organise a special unwrapping event online? To maintain the mystery, you could dedicate one person to collect all the gifts and deliver them to the recipients ahead of your online unwrapping extravaganza and then watch in anticipation as each person opens their present.

To make your Secret Santa exchange more interesting, you could decide a theme in advance, such as buying a gift starting with the first letter of the recipient's name. You never know what funny, silly or downright odd gifts people will choose!

Do you have any festive virtual plans this year? Share your ideas with us using the hashtag #TogetherThisChristmas.