New Year’s Eve is a time to celebrate with family and friends, but sometimes, not everyone can attend an event in person. A workaround? Celebrate a memorable evening by hosting a virtual New Year’s Eve event!
Socializing is no longer a challenge during a virtual party, even though guests can’t wander around greeting old friends and making new ones. Hosting an exciting virtual event can be a huge success with a bit of creativity and stellar promotion.
Here are 30 virtual New Year’s Eve party ideas to ensure your event is the highlight of the season.
Virtual New Year’s Eve Party Ideas
How do you celebrate New Year’s online?
A successful virtual New Year’s Eve event focuses on the attendee experience. Are your customers a loud and raucous group looking for a high-intensity celebration? Or are they more low-key, looking to learn something new while connecting with fellow revelers at midnight?
One thing’s for sure: our research shows that these days, virtual eventgoers seek escapism and a sense of community at New Year’s, no matter where they’re living.
Another thing to decide when planning a virtual New Year’s Eve party is its duration. Do you want it to end before midnight or keep the party going later? Will the event be child-friendly or an adult-only evening?
Lastly, something you want well thought out before the event is technology. Have your audio and visual components ready and tested before the event begins. With that out, keep reading to find fun New Year’s ideas for your event.
1. Throw a big virtual New Year’s Eve party!
It’s not New Year’s without a flashy party. Luckily, a virtual livestream extravaganza can be exciting with the right components. Consider investing in high-quality graphics and sound, a rad itinerary, and musical talent.
It might sound daunting, but you don’t need a ton of experience for this. One retired music teacher created an entire virtual venue with Zoom and Eventbrite, and we’ve got tons of tips on making your live stream as seamless as possible on the blog. Not sure which platform to use? We’ve done that research for you, too.
The most successful high-energy live streams are as interactive as possible. Event creators can take their nightclub-style events online and enjoy massive success using fun themes, carefully curated DJs, and multiple in-event communication channels, from video sharing to live chat.
Originally envisioned as an in-person coworking collective, SocietyX transformed into an online platform, curating diverse live experiences on Eventbrite, including workshops, classes, meetups, and more. This allows members to showcase their skills, fostering a vibrant community of shared knowledge and creativity on a larger scale.
For your virtual New Year’s party, you could ask guests to follow a fancy dress code, elevate the atmosphere with a live DJ (or three), and include separate themed (virtual) rooms for participants to check out and interact in.
You might even include the cost of a bottle of bubbly or other participatory items in the ticket price and ship them one out a week beforehand. When all those aspects come together, you get a big virtual party that can stand on its own or work alongside a venue-oriented event.
2. Make it a dinner party
Thanks to modern technology, your guests can share a meal online. Encourage everyone to use the same recipe or opt for a similar meal. For added variety, provide a set of main ingredients for attendees to create their dish of choice within those parameters.
Alternatively, streamline the process by arranging meal deliveries. Eating the same meal helps everyone feel connected and allows attendees to share the experience.
3. Dance the night away
An online dance party is a classic-meets-modern way to ring in the New Year. Create a playlist before the event to ensure everything goes smoothly. You can encourage people to invite close friends over for a more intimate house party alongside others around the world.
Let your attendees put in their requests. It makes them feel more involved, making your guests more likely to participate. The music can stream from your computer, or guests can choose their own. Eventbrite has many handy tools to ensure your live streaming is a success.
Want to learn more? Check out how Eventbrite helped Toronto-based creator Online Dance Parties explode in popularity.
4. Keep it short and sweet
Instead of trying to organize an all-night virtual New Year’s Eve party, consider hosting a shorter event. You can get everyone together virtually for happy hour or host the event from 11 pm to after midnight.
Eventbrite creator Self Space invites attendees to a therapist-led virtual gathering on New Year’s Eve — an intimate moment of connection for those seeking reflection and camaraderie in a small, exclusive setting. It’s a brief yet meaningful event to pause, reflect, and connect before ushering in the new year.
5. Hold a workshop
Event planners wondering how to celebrate New Year’s online may consider hosting a virtual workshop. Some fun event ideas include teaching attendees a new skill or perfecting an old one as part of their New Year’s resolutions.
6. Teach a cooking class
Hosting a cooking class brings everyone together, even at a virtual event or conferences. Once the dish is ready, everyone can enjoy the meal. Include the recipes and shopping list with the invitations. You can also have the ingredients delivered as part of a ticket add-on and enhance the event experience for the attendees.
7. Cocktail mixing lessons
Teach your attendees to up their party game with fancy cocktail moves. Make sure to include mocktails, too — provide a few recipes easily adaptable to non-alcoholic versions.
To keep the interest and participation high, take requests from guests and share instructions for making their favorite beverages. Add the recipes to the invitations or provide the ingredients as a ticket add-on.
Try Eventbrite add-ons to sell merch or related products with the ticket to increase your event revenue without the hassle of managing multiple purchasing sites.
8. Hold a craft class
Do you have a skill to share? A crafting class is a fun virtual New Year’s Eve event idea, whether it’s a sculpture, painting, or jewelry-making session. You can offer workshop packs for a small fee, including all the necessary materials.
Depending on the length of the event, you may want to host a follow-up program or hold a contest on Instagram where everyone can show off their creations. You can learn more fun ways to make your event more engaging here.
9. Demonstrate floral art
Bring an expert and hold a class for creating flowering arrangements or succulent terrariums. You can also show how to pot an indoor plant correctly. Your attendees can watch and learn or participate if you supply them with a list of supplies.
Highlighting the symbolism of flowers adds a meaningful touch to the activity, linking it to the spirit of New Year’s Eve. White roses, for example, represent new beginnings or a fresh start, making them a suitable choice for January.
10. Host an online choir
Bring your attendees together for an online sing-along. Give participants the lyrics and musical key before the event to give them some practice time, culminating in a rousing rendition of Auld Lang Syne to mark the occasion.
Relax and restore
Who doesn’t need a reset for the New Year? Let your attendees jumpstart their resolutions with a restorative yoga class, sound bath, or group meditation. But a wellness-themed New Year’s Eve event doesn’t have to be subdued — it can be as wild as you like.
11. Hold a class
Holding a class on stress reduction, fitness, or even a yoga class allows attendees to relax, unwind, and think about their goals for the new year. The class can be as sedate or as exciting as you want. For example, you or your attendees can give tarot card readings.
12. Meditation and mindfulness
New Year’s Eve resolutions often focus on slowing down and taking in the world around us. Holding meditation and mindfulness classes can help your attendees start the new year feeling relaxed and refreshed.
13. Host a sound bath
A sound bath uses traditional percussion and wind instruments to create soothing waves of echoing sound. It can help ease stress and fatigue while restoring a sense of well-being. Plan the tools to use before the event to ensure everything goes smoothly. You can also stream music from your computer instead.
Food and drink event ideas for NYE
A virtual tasting class can be a perfect, laid-back, yet engaging New Year’s event, whether hosted as an earlier celebration for potential party hosts or a full-blown snack jamboree at midnight. After all, what’s better than a champagne tasting to welcome in the new year?
Send out a list of items to purchase in advance, or better yet, include the evening’s libations with the ticket price and ship them to attendees’ doors in festive-themed packaging. (Pro-tip: Add-on kits like this are proven to increase ticket sales!)
14. Wine flight experiences
Event creators can put together a wine flight experience for attendees. You can focus on whites, reds, or a combination. To ensure attendees have the same wines, include beverage delivery as part of the ticket package. It’s a great way to toast the New Year at midnight.
15. Cheese (or chocolate) and wine pairings
You can make cheese, chocolate, and wine pairing as the focus of your virtual New Year’s Eve event or as an add-on to the ticket price. Don’t forget to send attendees a list of the pairings or include delivery as part of the event.
16. Whiskey or gin tasting
A whiskey or gin-tasting event is similar to wine tasting. Curate a spirits collection that builds on the tasting experience. Both whiskey and gin have rich histories, so you may want to include a keynote speaker knowledgeable about the history of liquors.
Virtual games for New Year’s Eve
Virtual game nights can be as high-stakes or low-key as desired. Consider hosting a trivia night or scavenger hunt, perfectly tailored to the big night with themed questions and equally festive rewards.
For a unique idea, look at Live Canon’s treasure hunt through 500 years of literature. It’s an excellent way to discover new poets and revisit old favorites as all participants try to solve the puzzle.
For something more extravagant, plan a murder mystery party with costume ideas, themed props in the mail, and even an at-home appetizer menu.
Don’t forget to share the details and instructions about the game with the ticket so your attendees are ready to play and have fun at your virtual New Year’s Eve party.
17. Virtual video games
Hosting a virtual video game night can bring attendees together across different platforms. Ensure attendees have the equipment to play along and pick games that work cross-platform.
18. Host a trivia night
Trivia night is a weekly staple at bars and clubs. Since it’s an excellent icebreaker, it’s also a hit during virtual New Year’s Eve parties. Attendees can work as teams or participate individually, but make sure you allow for a few breaks to let everyone have a good laugh and socialize.
19. Virtual scavenger hunt
Hosting a virtual scavenger hunt is a great way to involve everyone, build excitement, and explore the neighborhood. Since the attendees can be virtually from anywhere, you will need to get creative with the list.
Make sure the items attendees need to find are suitable for their demographics and geographical location. Include a mix of easy and more challenging items, offering participants bonus points for discovering unique items.
20. Hold a murder mystery night
Murder mystery nights are always popular events. Several companies specialize in online events and offer helpful kits to event creators. Encourage attendees to dress in character, and don’t forget to send the packets before the event date. To keep everyone in the holiday mood, set the deadline to solve the mystery at or slightly before midnight.
21. Virtual escape room
A virtual escape room is similar to an in-person game. Participants solve a series of puzzles to escape from the locked room. You can increase the excitement level by starting the game around 11 pm and giving everyone until midnight to solve all the puzzles.
22. Online bingo
Online bingo games are easy to generate using various tools. You can also go the old-fashioned way and send bingo cards and daubers to your attendees. As the host, don’t forget to dress in a creative costume.
23. Minute-to-win-it games
Minute-to-win-it games are a great way to keep energy levels high at your virtual New Year’s Eve party. Get participants to make costumes, draw pictures, or build something, and judge the final results. Remind everyone to keep cameras on so you can verify the winner.
24. Guess the resolution
Break the ice and get the conversation rolling by having attendees guess each other’s New Year’s resolutions. Have your guests write their resolutions down before the guessing starts. At the end of the game, everyone displays their resolutions and pledges to keep them. Participants guessing correctly can win a door prize.
25. Never Have I Ever…this year
With the focus on saying goodbye to the current year, have guests share something they did not do over the past 12 months. This activity helps break the ice, and participants can learn more about each other. Here are hundreds of questions you could include in your game — remember to set guidelines to prevent the game from becoming inappropriate.
Present something
Putting on a presentation can bring your group closer and keep them engaged throughout your virtual New Year’s Eve event. You can share information about the topics your attendees care about or bring in entertainers to keep them engaged.
Look to the Shots Fired Tour as an example, which promises an exhilarating virtual experience with mind-blowing performances from the hottest artists, featuring heart-pounding beats and jaw-dropping visuals.
You should also consider your timeframe and whether you want something attendees can replay after your party.
26. Make a slideshow
A virtual slideshow is a great way to engage with your New Year’s Eve attendees. The slideshow can be on a topic you’re passionate about or a collection of images supplied by your attendees.
27. Share “Best of…” lists
Your best-of list can bring attendees together by allowing them to reminisce about the previous year. Event coordinators can curate the list or ask attendees to share their lists with other participants.
28. Hire a performer
You can find a performer for almost any type of event. A professional performer creates a festive vibe for your virtual New Year’s Eve party and helps keep everyone engaged. You can hire comedians, musicians, and magicians — these are some of the performers who almost always keep everyone entertained.
Ring in the New Year
Chances are, the highlight of your virtual New Year’s Eve event is when the clock strikes midnight. Learn how to host a livestream event and enter the New Year with your attendees.
You may want to schedule family-friendly activities earlier in the evening before switching to more mature themes.
29. Set a virtual countdown clock
Keep your attendees focused on your event by displaying a virtual countdown clock, which ensures event participants don’t miss the countdown to the New Year. You can display multiple countdown clocks if your partygoers are in different time zones.
30. Stream the ball drop
For many, a New Year’s Eve tradition is watching the ball drop in Times Square. Streaming the ball drop will get everyone excited for the new year. You can also live stream ball drops from around the world — it’s a sure way to build anticipation and keep energy levels up.
Celebrate in style
However you celebrate New Year’s Eve at your virtual event, Eventbrite has the tools and technology you need to create a hit soiree. Whether it’s scouring our existing community for help finding a sponsor, setting up your event ticketing, promoting your event on social, or looking at your event analytics, Eventbrite has you covered.
Discover everything you need to know about hosting, creating, and promoting a virtual New Year’s Eve event here.
