How to Host an Online Christmas Party (feat. Ecamm)

Virtual Events Case Study: Ecamm Christmas Extravaganza

As the cold weather sets in, everyone is getting ready for celebrations, gifts, and get-togethers. It's time to welcome the holiday season. But beyond the holidays themselves, there’s something special about these dreary months that makes visiting family, friends, and friends-to-be so much more magical. And thanks to the ever-growing development of the digital world, we’re finding new and innovative ways to be together around the holidays.

Whether we live miles or thousands of miles away, technology is ever advancing in new ways that allow us to connect and celebrate together (even if we haven’t found a way to virtually smell the cookies in the oven yet).

And if you’ve ever attempted to plan an in-person family dinner or get-together, you know the struggle of coordinating schedules, choosing a location, and figuring out who’s bringing what (an all-pie potluck, anyone?).

Now imagine your family lived all across the world and you’d have to send out hundreds of invitations to invite all of them. Well, that’s just what Ecamm did!

For their 2021 “Christmas Extravaganza”, Ecamm Live wanted to invite their entire “Ecamm Fam” for a time of music, celebration, and fun. Except, instead of trying to figure out flights and booking venues, they chose to create a warm and inviting atmosphere by using Altar Live as their virtual conference space.

Perhaps you're wondering how to host a Christmas party online. Or you've been looking for free virtual holiday party ideas for work. Or maybe you're on the hunt for free virtual holiday party ideas for large groups at your company. Regardless, as you’re looking ready for your own holiday celebrations, let’s take a peek into the Ecamm Town Hall and see how they pulled it off.

💡 What is Altar Live?

‍Altar Live is a livestream destination designed to give online communities a space to not only watch the stream but to interact and engage with each other. Take virtual events beyond just watching a livestream service. To learn more, check out www.altarlive.com.

EcammLive shows us how to host a virtual Christmas Party

Ecamm x Altar Live - Christmas Extravaganza

Well before the event date, the ever-energetic Doc Rock created a promo video that served both as an invite and a tutorial for joining the event. The video outlined the event from joining to using the Lobby’s Meet-and-Greet rooms. In addition to the video, Ecamm also created a Facebook event that linked straight to their community’s landing page on Altar, making the invite accessible and easy to respond to.

On the day of the event, guests logged on and gathered in rows to watch the event. The festivities began with lively performances from the Ecamm Fam. David Hunte (and family), ElaneDempsy & Karl Werner, and M3 (Melvin M. Miller) all gave beautiful musical performances of Christmas classics. Home Sick Mac and Ken’ Mo’ took the stage with hilarious parodies, and Valerie Pinkston added a fantastic twist to the old classic “Silent Night”.

But it wasn’t just a time for music. Pastor Felicia Alston read a cozy Christmas story by the fire. Comedic duo Margra Gomez and Sammy K mixed up a classic Peanuts scene, and Tommy Ellison put the “magic” in the holidays with his card performance.

All throughout the event, MC Doc Rock added his own personal flair as he announced upcoming acts and interacted with the audience on Altar Live. Between performances, he called into the “Northeast Pole” and chatted with Katie Fawkes and co-founder Ken Aspeslagh about everything from the right way to wear a mic to light-up sweaters. In addition, to live streaming, the hosts were also logged into the Altar Live platform and provided instructions and tips in real time. Plus, to give the stream that Ecamm Fam feel, Doc called out familiar faces he saw sitting in the rows.

After the performances, Doc announced that the party would be moving to the Lobby for a more casual hangout session. In the virtual Lobby, tables were set up for the guests to mingle amongst themselves and creators. In addition to the tables, attendees joined several rooms that were open to meet with Ecamm’s founders and various creators for some casual holiday conversation & fun (and of course, a great chance to show off your cool background). Even while they were at their various rooms and tables, the general chat provided a way to communicate with everyone at the event.

After a lively time socializing in the Lobby, everyone moved back to the Auditorium to for one final event. The party wrapped up with a trivia game and the long-anticipated giveaway. As the guests raced for trivia answers, hosts Fuljens Henry and Ana Gil read out their favorite guesses with Doc and engaged in a lively debate over grammar and Christmas lore. After much laughter and friendly competition, Doc ended the event with warm wishes and Holiday music.

💡 Who is Ecamm?

Ecamm is a live-streaming studio software company. EcammLive provides high-quality software for creating professional streams designed for use with a wide range of tools from smartphones to DSLR cameras. They also provide educational content about creating in a digital space on their YouTube channel. To learn more about Ecamm, check out www.ecamm.com.

How Altar Live makes Virtual Events Easy

Sound like the sort of event you’d like to host for your church, organization, or “Fam”? Here’s how Altar Live made it possible (and can make your virtual event possible too).

Watch, Chat, and Interact - The Auditorium

Altar Live’s Event Auditorium is a space where attendees can watch the livestream while also engaging with other members of your community. Once logged in, guests can interact via chat or take a seat in watch-party rows that allow them to not only see and hear up to 3 other people seated with them but watch the live stream at the same time - perfect for sharing laughter and heartfelt moments. Attendees can also interact via polls and announcements posted by Hosts and greeters or scheduled ahead of time.‍

💡Did you know? Altar Live allows you to create a landing page featuring all your upcoming events. It’s even customizable - from the colors to links. Check out www.altarlive.com to learn more (and start your 30-day free trial)!

Warm Welcome - Hosts and Greeters

Altar has a couple of special permission roles, Hosts and Greeters, that allow you to create a warm welcome for your guests. With these roles, you can create custom automated messages that are sent to everyone who joins the event. Hosts and Greeters can also receive and send messages to and from users who haven’t logged in, creating a safe way for everyone to be involved.

In addition to event moderation, Hosts and Greeters can also publish virtual polls and announcements.

Polls are an easy way to break the ice with fun questions (think “Who’s your favorite reindeer?” or “What’s your favorite holiday dish?”), or even decide what to do next (“Which would you prefer - arts and crafts or cookie decorating?”).

Announcements are great for keeping everyone on the same page and adding extra interactive content. With Altar’s easy-to-create buttons, you can smoothly direct attendees to your webpage, donation signup, or any other link.‍

Mix & Mingle - The Lobby

Altar’s Event Lobby is the perfect place for pre-, post-, or mid-event socializing. In the Lobby, users can join virtual tables with just a click or a tap. At each table, attendees can see and hear up to three other users, without interrupting the conversations at other tables. To move from table to table, all a user has to do is click or tap an open seat at the table they’d like to join and they’re in!

The Lobby can also contain multiple rooms that are each set up with their own title and space. Within these rooms, users can add virtual backgrounds, send reaction emojis, and share video/audio - perfect for sharing that heartwarming video you found on YouTube with everyone. To switch rooms, all an attendee has to do is return to the Lobby and select a new room.

💡 Did you know? You don’t have to just read about all of Altar’s Live’s cool features - Altar offers a free 30-day trial, no credit card required!

We hope this little peek into how Ecamm hosted an amazing virtual Christmas party gives you the inspiration you need to host your own virtual events that are not only exciting but engaging.

How will you celebrate the holidays?

Looking to host virtual online events or build a digital community but don’t know where to start? We’d love to chat! Book a time with us and we’ll show you how Altar can increase event engagement in your online community.

📞 Book a call with our online church engagement consultant who can help you increase engagement over 50%