10 Virtual Retirement Party Ideas for an Epic Online Send-Off

After years of hard work, one of your favorite team members is about to retire. It’s time to wish them a happy retirement and send them off with some final happy memories of their work family. 

There’s just one problem: Your team is virtual. This is great when you want to roll out of bed and join a Zoom meeting without changing out of your pajama bottoms. But when it comes to throwing an office party, not so much. 

After hosting your share of BYOB virtual happy hours, you may have realized that virtual parties often lack that certain je ne sais quoi. And since a retirement party is a momentous occasion, you want to do something extra special — you want to make this virtual party feel like a real party, right down to the cheese platter and cupcakes. Don’t worry, we’ve got you! 

We’ll walk you through the party planning process and share our 10 favorite virtual retirement party ideas to celebrate a retiring coworker. 

How to Plan a Virtual Retirement Party 

Hosting a virtual event like a virtual retirement party is similar to planning any other type of event — choose your date and time, make a guest list, send online invites, pick out a menu, and so on — with two major exceptions. 

Exception number one: Instead of choosing a live venue, you’ll choose a virtual event platform. You can go simple with a video call app like Zoom, or you can invest in enterprise-level event software like Hopin or Hubilo, which are ideal for large corporate teams and companies that plan to host regular internal or external events. 

Exception number two: To enjoy all the elements of a party (food, drinks, and physical gifts) to your guests and guest of honor, you’ll need to do a little more logistical planning. 

If guests are supplying their own food and drink, offer to reimburse them up to a certain amount. Or send everyone a gift card to DoorDash, Grubhub, or another delivery service so they can order in. There are also platforms that will send all the supplies, depending on the event you choose. We’ll get into those options below. 

Also, don’t forget to send a retirement gift to thank your team member for their years of hard work. Poll your retiring colleague‘s work BFFs for gift ideas, and send something to the guest of honor‘s house. Or make the logistics a little bit easier by attaching a virtual gift card to a heartfelt digital retirement card, congratulations card, or thank you card. 

10 Virtual Retirement Party Ideas 

Now that you’ve got the logistics out of the way, you can get down to planning the retirement celebration that’s just right for your guest of honor. We’ve rounded up our favorite party ideas, but you should let the retiree’s interest point you toward the best choice. 

Here are 10 virtual retirement ideas for an epic send-off, plus the perfect digital invitations to match your theme. The text on all of these invites is customizable, so you can easily transform a birthday party invitation into a retirement party invitation. 

1. Send a Party Box 

Design: Colin Cowie

On-theme invite: Rainbow Sprinkles Invitation

Send all the food, drinks, and supplies for the party in a party box. Someone from your team can put the boxes together and ship them to guests, or you can work with a company like Confetë Party or Foxtail Catering & Events, which offer curated party boxes. 

2. Go on a Virtual Trip 

Design: Shari Margolin Design

On-theme invite: Fly Away Invitation

If your guest of honor is planning to travel in their retirement, then a virtual trip is the perfect way to ease them into their new life. Pick a destination from your retiree’s bucket list and plan a virtual tour. 

3. Place Your Bets at an Online Poker Night 

Design: Patrice Horvath Design

On-theme invite: Ace of Hearts Invitation

Choose an online poker app to host your party, and start placing bets on how much fun everyone is going to have. You can even turn the event into a charity poker tournament with the proceeds going to your guest of honor‘s favorite nonprofit. 

4. Enjoy an Online Wine Tasting 

Design: Signature Greenvelope

On-theme invite: Red Rings Invitation

Send a curated box of wine, or send a list and let each guest pick up their own bottles locally. Then, host a virtual wine tasting led by a professional sommelier who can explain regions, varietals, and tasting notes. This experience is not your average virtual happy hour! 

5. Join a Virtual Escape Room

Design: Jessie Steury

On-theme invite: Escape Room Invitation

Your coworker may soon be escaping the workforce, but first, they’ll have to escape from this virtual team-building activity. Invite your whole team for one last bonding session before your colleague retires. With this event, you’ll try to solve puzzles in a virtual escape room before the countdown clock runs out. Line the countdown up with your coworker’s last minute at the company for added fun. 

6. Play Party Games

Design: TM Stationery

On-theme invite: Game Night Invitation

There are a lot of fun games you can play at a virtual party. Some of our favorite virtual retirement party games include Never Have I Ever (make it work-themed and everyone can reminisce about their first jobs), Name That Tune, trivia, and bingo. You can keep your games general or make them retirement-themed with trivia questions, retirement bingo cards, or a custom playlist. 

7. Mix Things up with Mixology 

Design: Anna K Design

On-theme invite: Subtle Starry Cheers Invitation

For a fun way to mix up your virtual happy hour, sign your team up for a class with a professional mixologist. You can learn to make classic or bespoke cocktails that are sure to help your colleague get happy in their retirement. 

8. Create a Video Montage 

Design: Signature Greenvelope

On-theme invite: Polaroid Celebration Invitation

Celebrate your guest of honor (and make them blush a little) with a video montage of their life so far. Reach out to the retiree’s family members, loved ones, and all their nearest and dearest to ask for photos. Then create a slideshow commemorating their many achievements. 

9. Get Artsy with a Painting Party 

Design: Nikki Levine

On-theme invite: Paint & Pour Invitation

Much like in-person paint and sips, online paint and sips are available all over the country. Companies like Online Paint & Sip and Paint and Sip Live will ship canvases and art supplies to your party guests so they can paint along at home. This is a meaningful way to celebrate a retiree with an interest in art. 

10. Belt It Out at a Virtual Karaoke Night

Design: Raven Erebus

On-theme invite: Virtual Karaoke Night Invitation

If your guest of honor knows their way around a rock ballad, let them put their pipes to work with a virtual karaoke night. All of their coworkers can join in with songs dedicated to the soon-to-be retiree. 

Start Planning Your Virtual Retirement Party

Send your retiring coworker off in style by choosing a unique virtual retirement party idea that matches their interests. Not sure what those interests are? Someone at your company knows, so ask the coworkers they’re closest to. 

At Greenvelope, we make virtual party planning easier. Start customizing digital retirement invitations to match your party theme, and use our RSVP tracking and survey features to simplify your to-do list. You can also send a retirement card to wish your favorite former team member congratulations or to say thank you for all their hard work.