‘Tis the season to be jolly!
Unless, of course, you’re hosting the party. Then, things can get quite stressful, especially if you’re not prepared for the responsibility.
Christmas is meant to be a celebration where everyone shares gifts, enjoys culinary delights, and makes merry in all the ways. These fun Christmas party ideas are sure to take your event to the next level.
Table of contents
1. Choose A Venue
Temperatures are dropping faster than a New York minute, which means Christmas is in the air.
Everyone thinks it’s best to organize a Christmas party indoors in the season of merriment, where it’s warm, toasty, and cozy. But you should consider casting your net a little wider to include local parks, resorts, zoos, and sanctuaries for a more fun and unique experience.
Of course, because these are public spaces, you’ll need to check with your local council well in advance to schedule your event. You will likely be asked to obtain a noise permit, health permit, building permit, alcohol license, event permit, premises license, and so on.
2. Select A Theme
When it comes to Christmas party planning, the theme is the glue that binds all other details together. It allows you to:
- Generate buzz and excitement around your event
- Unify everything, from food and drinks to decor and invitations
- Help guests figure out what to wear
Many people believe Christmas is a theme in and of itself, but for your party to be a true hit, try these genius tried-and-true ideas to spread the holiday cheer:
- A White Christmas: Use white in everything from the table settings to decorations and most of the food for a truly magical touch.
- Christmas Movie Marathon: Elf, A Christmas Story, 8-Bit Christmas, The Polar Express—there’s a lot of fun to be had!
- Ugly Sweater Party: Ask guests to bust out their hilariously hideous sweaters, with the incentive for the most nonsensical design to take an award home.
- Fill Santa’s Sleigh: You can ask your guests to bring a gift to donate to those in need, channeling the spirit of Christmas to help change lives for good. This one’s our favorite.
3. Play The Right Carols
Uplifting and celebratory Christmas carols are a great way to get the party started and to keep up the energy throughout the evening.
Tracks like “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” and “O Come All Ye Faithful” are classics for a reason—they will quickly get everyone into the holiday rhythm. Pop versions of classic carols will work, too. We recommend getting a DJ on board to get everyone dancing.
4. Decorate the Venue
Christmas decor is very fun to work with—there are so many options that you can tweak depending on your chosen theme. Aside from the standard garlands and twinkling lights, add a bit of texture with pine cones, some coziness with warm blankets and pillows if your party is outdoors, and a warm atmosphere with winter-scented candles.
You can tweak your decor based on what you have on hand or what is easy to track down. Make sure to enlist the help of a cleaning crew after the event so you can leave the venue just as tidy as you found it!
5. Think About Food
There are so many types of Christmas-related food and drinks to enjoy. You can go for the classic gingerbread, mashed sweet potatoes, turkey with cranberry sauce, baked ham, and pecan pie.
Consider these unique treats for a party to remember:
- Christmas cupcakes smell and look great and taste even better!
- Cranberry brie bites are a festive dish with classic flavors.
- Herb-rubbed grilled pork tenderloin to stay true to tradition.
- Jalapeno poppers that can be roasted on a charcoal grill.
- Mini meatballs are exceptional snacks to munch on before dinner rolls around.
- Pimento cheese is a superb accompaniment with sandwiches and crackers.
- White hot chocolate kept warm in a nice crockpot.
Or, how about making your Christmas celebration a potluck party?
Ask guests to bring food that is easy to carry and store, assigning categories so you have a little of everything—not just bags of chips and cans of soda!
6. Consider Security
Think about safety and security as you plan Christmas party events in a public space. It will ensure a smooth experience for attendees and no trouble with your venue.
Some best practices include:
- Assign security personnel, at least one for every 100 guests. Advise them to spot unusual or disruptive behavior to ensure you’ll have no trouble.
- Put up temporary fencing to avoid interruptions from uninvited folks.
- Keep communication lines open with walkie-talkies.
- Map out exits so guests can leave ASAP in case of emergencies.
7. Send Out Invitations
Engage your guests and pique their curiosity with well-crafted invitations to your Christmas party. Make sure to include location, date, time, dress code, schedule, and a map to the venue.
Matching with the party theme is easy, with templates for Christmas party invitations available at PosterMyWall. Try these eight festive fonts to highlight the holiday spirit for designs that truly shine. You can also add QR codes, audio clips, human-like AI-generated voiceovers, AI-generated subtitles, stock images or videos, intro animations and stickers to make your invitation interactive and engaging. If you like a stock video or image but want to remove the background, use the AI Background Remover. And if you can’t find stock images that fit your vision, you can utilize AI Images to generate them from text prompts.
Here’s a five-point checklist for churning out an eye-catching flyer. It’s perfect if you want to advertise your event or create a fun poster for it.
To collect and track RSVPs and send email reminders to guests, consider creating an event landing page on PosterMyWall. Creating event landing pages easy; you can simply open your flyer designs in the design editor, click ‘Publish’ and then select ‘Create event landing page’ from the options in the drop-down menu. Then you just have to add your event details (name, date, time, and location) and description, and specify the guest information (e.g., email and phone number) that you want to collect. Your event landing page will be ready in minutes, and then you can share it on your social media, send it as an email, or embed it on your website.
8. Keep Boredom At Bay with Games
Christmas parties can get awkward as they stretch on for hours. Entertaining a big crowd of people can be quite challenging, even if you have festive decor, food, and music.
Get everyone in a jolly good mood with some popular Christmas party games:
- Candy Cane Hunt
- Christmas Saran Wrap Game
- Grinch Grow Your Heart Card Game
- Holiday Never Have I Ever
- Reindeer Antler Ring Toss
- Snowman Building Contest
You can also play the Ugly Sweater Decorating Contest, with the winner taking home a batch of ugly sweater-themed cookies or cupcakes!
9. Create Memories That Last with a Photo Booth
We live in a very connected world, where every detail of one’s life is easily shared online. Christmas is no exception to this case; search the hashtag on Instagram, Twitter (now X), Facebook, or any social media platform, and you’ll see for yourself!
Give your guests content to upload with fun photo booths!
You can even jazz them up with Christmas quotes for inspiring social media posts.
They provide instant gratification for attendees: a tangible souvenir memorializing the event. You can also offer animated gifs and 360-degree videos and take things digital for good effect!
If you’re promoting your business, the photo paired with a hashtag will serve as user-generated content (UGC), which brings a 29% higher conversion rate.
In Conclusion:
Generate hype around your event and maximize your turnout with these Christmas party ideas. Make sure you bank on Christmas party invite templates from PosterMyWall for a cost-effective way of getting the message across in a fun manner.
