Holidays on Vani: 7 ways to bring your hybrid team together

Ho Ho Holiday season is here.

Calendars are filling up with year-end wrap-ups, inboxes are slowing down, and teams everywhere are switching into festive mode. But for hybrid teams, the holiday spirit doesn't always translate naturally through screens and time zones.

This is where shared moments matter. A little creativity, a little play, and a space where everyone can come together visually can turn December into a time of real connection. With Vani, teams can celebrate, have fun, and reflect together on one shared canvas no matter where they're working from.

What works best for hybrid teams during the holidays

Hybrid teams experience the holidays differently. Not everyone joins at the same time: Some people drop in between meetings, and others contribute later, when the day slows down.

A little preparation goes a long way in making holiday activities feel effortless. That’s why holiday activities work best when they stay open and flexible. A single shared space that evolves over time makes participation feel natural, not scheduled. Vani’s async canvas ensures no one feels left out.

Create one space for the season. Keep it open. Let it evolve as the days go by.

1. Holidays around the world

December doesn't mean the same celebration everywhere. For some teams it's Christmas, and for others it's Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or a winter festival. Turn your canvas into a global holiday celebration where your teammates can share how they mark the season in their part of the world.

Teams can divide the canvas into multiple Zones for different countries or regions. Each teammate adds content at their own pace—like a photo of a festive meal, a note about a family tradition, or a video explaining why this season matters in their region.

Over time, the canvas becomes a living map of cultures, stories, and traditions.

Vani features you can use:
Zones to divide the canvas by location
Visuals for food, decorations, and traditions
Sticky notes for short stories and fun facts
Video Catchups for personal explanations
Emojis and stickers for warmth and personality

2. Deck the Christmas tree

Holidays are all about making the place warm, cozy, and a little magical. In this activity, teams can decorate a single shared digital Christmas tree together.

Each of your teammates designs one ornament and drags it onto the tree. It could be a doodle, emoji, photo, or shape that represents their holiday mood. The best thing about this activity is its simplicity. The tree stays fixed, and the decorations are entirely personal.

Over time, the tree fills up with color, personality, and inside jokes. It becomes less about design and more about seeing everyone’s small contributions come together.

Vani features you can use:
Freehand drawing to sketch ornaments
Shapes, icons, emojis, and stickers for decoration
Drag-and-drop interactions
An infinite canvas so everyone has space

3. Elf-on-the-canvas hunt

A little mischief on holidays adds more fun. This activity is a playful visual scavenger hunt where tiny elf icons or stickers are hidden across your canvas and your team hunts for them throughout the day. Because the canvas stays open, people can join in whenever they have a spare moment.Add a timer during a live moment if you want to turn it into a quick game.

Someone finds an elf and leaves a comment. Another reacts with an emoji.It's light hearted, effortless, and surprisingly engaging, especially for hybrid teams that don't always get to play together.

Vani features you can use:
Stickers and icons for hidden elves
Comments or reactions to mark finds
Timer or stopwatch widgets to add excitement during live play

4. Holiday playlist board

Music has a way of making teams feel closer, even when they're apart. On a shared festive music board, your teammates can add songs that match different holiday moods: cozy, party, classics, or throwbacks. Each song comes with a short note explaining why it matters to them.

By the end of the week, the canvas holds a playlist that sounds like the team: diverse, nostalgic, and a little chaotic. It's a quiet way to bring personality into the workday without asking anyone to perform or present.

Vani features you can use:
Zones for organizing moods
Links and embeds for playlists
Images for album covers
Sticky notes and doodles for personal touches

5. Year-in-review wall

This is a reflective, visual space where the team looks back on the year together. Instead of formal work-related review, you can create a visual wall with sections for wins, things they've learned, favorite moments, and what they're proud of. Let your teammates choose how they want to talk about it. This could be something as simple as an emoji or a short message on a sticky note.

This activity replaces performance with perspective and helps teams close the year feeling seen and appreciated.

Vani features you can use:
Zones for structured reflection
Notes, images, emojis, and sketches
Video Catchups for spoken reflections
Layout locking so contributions stay organized

6. Holiday bingo board

This one's a simple game that runs quietly in the background where teammates mark off relatable holiday moments as they happen. Create a bingo grid with moments like out-of-office mode, festive snacks, year-end emails, or holiday calls.

Teammates mark squares as the moments happen over several days. It's low effort, familiar, and perfect for hybrid teams.

Vani features you can use:
Grids and shapes to design the board
Icons, emojis, or stamps to mark squares
Dice widgets to unlock random bonus prompts
Async collaboration

7. Winter quiz wall

Turn your canvas into a festive game zone. Create a quiz wall with multiple mini-games like trivia, emoji song puzzles, guess the doodle, movie clues, and guess-the-teammate. Create separate Zones for each quiz category and let teams rotate through them. It works just as well async as it does live, and it gives everyone a reason to interact without long meetings.

Vani features you can use:
Zones for clear structure
Text, images, and emojis for clues
Polls widgets for voting and scoring
Timer widgets for quiz rounds
Reactions and comments for instant feedback

Mix and match what works for your team

You don't need to run all seven activities. Many teams pick two or three and spread them across the holiday season.

For example:
Week 1: Holidays around the world
Week 2: Elf-on-the-canvas hunt
Week 3: Year-in-review wall

Small, thoughtful moments often create the strongest connections.

Ending the year together, even when apart

Holidays are not about doing more; they're about pausing long enough to notice the people behind the work.

For hybrid teams, that pause needs a shared space—a place where creativity, reflection, laughter, and conversation can exist without pressure. Vani gives teams that space, visually and naturally.

Create a canvas. Bring your team in. Celebrate the season together.

Sometimes, that's all it takes to make the end of the year feel truly shared.

Happy holidays from all of us at Team Vani!