16 Creative Ways Companies Are Celebrating the Holidays—Remotely!

SoundCloud is partying (virtually!)

"Things may be different this year but one thing is still true: SoundClouders love to celebrate. 2020 has been a wild ride, so we will certainly be taking the opportunity to come together, reflect on the year gone by and, most importantly, have some fun together. We are planning a virtual party like no other, spanning all four offices and three time zones. All entertainment is being provided by our talented SoundClouder DJs and musicians, and there are even rumours of a guest performance by our CEO (!). As well as a party, each SoundClouder will be receiving a very special gift delivered to their doorstep and, in the spirit of giving, have the opportunity to nominate and vote on five charities who will each receive holiday donations from SoundCloud."

Bounteous is rewarding their team with a bonus program

"Bounteous has shown great measures in caring for our team members in a year of heightened uncertainty. A number-one priority for the agency during the pandemic is to not have any furloughs or lay-offs, and we've worked hard to keep that promise by managing budgets, workload, and offering optional time off if needed to deal with work/life challenges. We're proud of our 26% growth year-to-date, within-the-walls promotions, and a meaningful bonus program providing each team member a stake in the company in an unprecedented economy.

The purpose of our bonus program is to reward the extraordinary and the difference makers. Career Coaches are asked to assess each team member's contribution, keeping in mind financial impact (growing the company), outstanding effort (executing job responsibilities), and remarkable contribution (above and beyond project work). Our bonus program is essentially a contract between our Board and Bounteous based on earnings, and are distributed in a matter that fully allocates our bonus pool to team members in accordance with their career level and bonus category. It's our way of giving back and reinvesting in our team for all of their dedication throughout the year."

Learn more about Bounteous.

Vouch is bringing traditions online with a virtual White Elephant

"We are keeping the holiday spirit alive this year at Vouch. We are continuing to give back to our local communities by contributing to two local turkey drives, celebrating by holding a whiskey tasting happy hour, and ending the year with a virtual White Elephant event."

Hopin is sharing local celebrations and celebrating the vacations they want

"At Hopin, we love celebrating throughout the year! At the end of October we had a virtual costume contest as well as a pumpkin carving contest. Friday, December 4th, we had our End of Year Celebration where the theme was Your Dream Vacation. We dressed for the vacation we want, not the lockdown we have. We also used the Hopin Platform to have Expo booths where anyone can build a booth to teach us about a personal, regional or national holiday tradition and include a fun YouTube video or Google Slides deck to show us what it's all about. We love celebrating with everyone!"

Learn more about Hopin.

Hopin's virtual Halloween costume contest earlier this year

Autodesk is giving time & resources to their community and their employees

"To celebrate the holiday season, Autodesk will host its annual Global Month of Giving to support the causes and organizations our employees care most about. Last December, employees gave $1.3M (including matching funds) to nearly 1,500 non-profits around the world. While most of us are still working remote, the Autodesk Young Professionals Network plans to ring in the New Year with a holiday bash featuring a keynote from the group's executive sponsor, virtual games & trivia, and a live lip sync challenge. And in acknowledgment of our employees' continued dedication and resilience during these extraordinary times, Autodesk granted three additional one-time company holidays on December 21-23 in addition to the existing annual week of rest. Supporting our employees' mental health is a top priority, so we hope they take this additional time off to relax, recharge, and reflect in whatever way works best for them."

Folsom labs is centering wellness holidays and making time for fun

"At Folsom Labs, we're putting wellness and mental health in the forefront of our minds this holiday season. This year, we've set up midday yoga and meditation classes to help employees recharge during the workday and wellness challenges to keep people moving and energized outside of work! We've also added wellness holidays to our company calendar as an extra push to help employees relax and recharge during these challenging times. We recognize that many of us are not going to see family and friends this season, so making time for fun and connection in the Folsom Labs community is especially important this year!"

Learn more about Folsom Labs

Netskope is participating in a Holiday Wish Drive

"Here at Netskope, we are continuing our annual tradition of participating in the Holiday Wish Drive with Family Giving Tree! This charitable organization is committed to serving children, adults, and seniors in the Bay Area who live in poverty. This year, our Holiday Wish Drive is being conducted virtually, allowing us to donate gifts contact-free. We have thus far donated 100+ gifts and over $5,000 to this wonderful organization and aim to keep on giving. Our team at Netskope is committed to helping those in our community, and ensuring as many people as possible get to experience a happy holiday!"

Learn more about Netskope

Commvault brought a pie drive-through to life

"At Commvault, employee experience is important to us and one of our most treasured experiences in our Thanksgiving pies for all HQ employees. Handing out 900-odd pies the Tuesday before Thanksgiving has been a tradition at HQ from the start of time. With 2020 being 2020, we wanted to provide some normalcy for our employees and keep our tradition alive but modify the employee experience to make sure everyone was safe. This year we offered a drive-through Thanksgiving pie pick-up and employees enjoyed apple, pecan, or pumpkin pie for the holidays."

ActZero is hosting fun gingerbread and winter sweater contests

"Given that our team spans two countries and crosses a closed border, we planned a fully virtual event for our holiday party. While all together on Google Meet, we'll be tapping into the competitive nature of much of our staff and will be holding both a timed Gingerbread House Decorating Contest and a Winter Sweater Contest! Outside of the competitions, we're doing a group unboxing of the holiday gift that was sent out to our team, and every employee is getting a food/drink/decorations stipend to ensure while we can't bring them to a holiday party, they can bring the party to their own homes!"

Elastic is celebrating a distributed holiday season

"As a distributed company with Elasticians all over the world, we've always celebrated the holidays a bit different. This year we'll hold our first ever Decemberfest, a virtual celebration of the holidays. Decemberfest will be a mix of entertaining sessions and opportunities to give back to the community that our Elasticians can bond over. Fun activities will include a gingerbread house contest, a virtual game show, an online cooking workshop, a virtual escape room, and a live magic show, among others. We will also host volunteering sessions when Elasticians can come together to give to causes, charities, and relief efforts across the globe. As part of Decemberfest, we will also highlight holidays from the globe, which is why we're asking Elasticians to share local traditions and their experiences through short videos and photos. Most of the sessions are family friendly, so we're encouraging the whole extended Elastician family to join!"

​Mindbody is hosting virtual wellness classes and sending care packages

"The holidays may look a little different this year, but Mindbody is still celebrating the season by reminding employees (and customers) to make extra time for their wellness. In-person events are being replaced with a variety of virtual and socially-distanced festivities including an employee-taught Holiday HIIT class, company-wide secret holiday gift exchange, and an extra-special care package, sent to all employees, with items ranging from UberEats gift cards to at-home workout equipment, because food and fitness are both good for the soul."

Learn more about Mindbody

​State Listings is breaking bread virtually

"We usually host a lunch for our team near the end of the year where we take some time to celebrate everything we've accomplished this year. While we won't be able to go to our usual favorite spot, we're sending our employees gift cards so they can order from their favorite local restaurants for a virtual lunch."

​Clarus is celebrating the good (and sharing pet photos!)

"We're thrilled and thankful to say that we will be closed during the week of the December 21st and December 28th. We're excited to recharge and be prepared to take on 2021.

Our creative team is putting together a video, recognizing all the good that has happened to employees this year, in effort to spread holiday cheer. We're also exchanging festive photos of ourselves, pets, families and decorations. Who doesn't like a dog in a Santa hat, am I right?

Another end of the year tradition for us is to acknowledge greatness by giving out a few awards. Usually, these awards are presented at our Holiday Outing. This year, they'll be presented in our virtual Town Hall.

Giving back to our community is a pillar of our Clarus Culture through our Clarus Cares initiative. This year, we're participating in a Virtual Salvation Army Angel Tree in effort to give to those less fortunate."

MongoDB is expanding its charitable giving and supporting ERG events

"Even if we all can't come together this year, MongoDB has found ways to celebrate the holidays.

In the spirit of giving, MongoDB expanded its fundraising drives to have a wider reach, supporting Save the Children and The Boys & Girls Club of America. Also, each of MongoDB's North American offices will offer monetary donations to local charities, and the entire company continues to fundraise and match donations to organizations that fight for racial justice via the MongoDB for Justice Fund.

To build community and fun, MongoDB's affinity groups will host different virtual holiday events. For example, The Underrepresented People of Color (TUPOC) community will send a custom gift to all members and will host a Secret Santa gift exchange alongside their regular meeting and virtual happy hours.

Additionally, MongoDB will host interactive employee engagement and entertainment events for colleagues around the globe to celebrate an exciting year of growth."

PayPal is hosting a 29-hour party

"Over the past year, our homes have merged into the one-stop-shop for work, school, dining, and play. With the holiday season on the horizon, PayPal had to think about pivoting their plans and bringing the company holiday party home, too — so the whole family can join!

This year, instead of having 60+ holiday parties across PayPal's sites globally, the company is bringing its communities and families together for employees to see how their colleagues all around the world celebrate. PayPal will host a 29-hour virtual global holiday party that can be accessed by any employee around the world at any time of the day, virtually. From magic shows, origami folding and cooking workshops, to dance floors, live performances and Drag Queen Bingo, employees and their families can tune in when they want and where they want to celebrate."

Gainsight is hosting a Pajama Jam for the whole fam

"Gainsight is having a Virtual Holiday Pajama Jam on Dec 9 for our entire family. We will be celebrating with Karaoke, hot cocoa and lots of fun. It's an interactive celebration for our entire company."

Learn more aboutGainsight