You’re not going to believe this, but Christmas is less than a year away. That means it’s time to start thinking about your Christmas party plans for 2021!
Hosting a Christmas party is always fun, but this year, following the pandemic, it’s more important than ever to make your event special and enjoyable. We’re all trying to make the most of being able to see one another again, and looking forward to a rip-roaring festive season with those that mean the most to us in the world.
If you’re looking for tips on throwing the best Christmas party anyone’s ever had, you’ve come to the right place. Here are 13 fun ideas for making your 2021 Christmas party one to remember.
1) Go All Out with Food and Drink
After such a tough year, everyone deserves to stuff themselves with as much delicious food and drink as they possibly can. Make sure the spread is as generous as you can afford, and outside catering is welcome too!
You could even organise a potluck Christmas party, where everyone attending brings a dish to share with everyone else. Make sure there’s plenty of each thing though, and make sure they bring enough for everyone! Create a spreadsheet to keep track of who’s bringing what, so that you don’t end up with too much of one food and not enough of another.
2) Get Creative with Decorations
If you’re on a tight budget this year, you’ll be pleased (and relieved) to know that Christmas decorations don’t need to cost the Earth. Chances are, you probably already have a Christmas tree, baubles, some fairy lights and perhaps some tinsel to drape strategically around the room.
But if you want to get into the Christmas spirit, why not make your own decorations? It’s much more special than buying them, it will save you money, and your party guests will appreciate the effort you’ve gone to.
3) Pick a Christmas Party Theme
“Christmas” is, in a way, a theme on its own. But why not go the extra mile and pick a particular theme to build on, for a truly personalised festive party experience?
There are so many options here. For example:
1) Christmas at Hogwarts
2) Santa’s Grotto
3) Winter Wonderland
4) The Grinch
5) Ugly Christmas Jumpers
The list goes on and on. You might be hesitant to go overboard with your theme, but really – if you can’t be a little bit ‘extra’ at Christmas time, then when can you?
4) Make It a Costume Party
Asking guests to dress up in festive outfits works particularly well if you’re hosting an ugly Christmas jumper party, but it’s fun no matter what! Include a note on your party invitations specifying the dress code. We’d recommend stocking up on spare reindeer antler headbands, Santa hats and fake beards just in case some guests don’t get the memo.
You could even offer a prize for the best dressed party guest (such as a chocolate Santa). This is a great way to add some theatre and excitement into the proceedings, and it gives people something to look forward to.
5) Use Personalised Christmas Cards as Party Invitations
Christmas cards are traditionally sent out to friends and family before the festive season, and everyone loves receiving them – so why not turn them into party invitations?
Make sure you notify everyone that they’re invited to your Christmas party by sending a personalised card just for them. Include all relevant details including date, time, location and dress code. And of course – have fun with your festive design!
At Christmas Connections, we stock a huge range of Christmas card templates, with designs ranging from traditional and religious to cartoonish and fun. Have a browse and you’re bound to find a card that you love. All of our designs can be personalised with your own wording, and we also make a charitable donation for every card you buy!
6) Organise a Secret Santa or White Elephant Gift Exchange
If you want to introduce an element of excitement and anticipation into your party, try organising a Secret Santa or White Elephant gift exchange.
For a Secret Santa, each person is randomly assigned the name of another guest in advance of the party, and they have to buy a gift for that person (within a predetermined budget). Nobody will know who their Secret Santa is until the day of the party, when they’re handed their secret gift.
With a White Elephant, each guest brings along a wrapped gift, but the recipient isn’t chosen until the party. The host labels each gift with a number and then everyone draws a number from the hat, determining which present is theirs!
7) Plan a Christmas Treasure Hunt
Why not add an element of fun to the party by organising a Christmas treasure hunt? This is a great way to get everyone mingling and chatting – you could encourage competition, or encourage everyone to work together as a team in order to win.
Leave clues leading from one decorated room to the next, until eventually the treasure is found. Make it something that all your guests can share, such as a giant hamper of sweets, or pick a prize for the first person to find it!
8) Have a Photo Booth
If you’re throwing a party in 2021, then there’s no excuse not to have your own photo booth! It will add excitement and fun to your festive soiree.
To set up a photo booth, simply place a 4ft x 6ft white backdrop in an accessible area of the room, and set up your camera. You can use different paper backgrounds that you can switch out during the photoshoot – you might even consider getting creative by adding some fake snow to the background too! And don’t forget the props, such as Santa hats, reindeer antlers, candy canes, festive wigs and more.
Having a photo booth will result in some amazing pictures of the party that you and your guests can treasure forever.
9) Host a Christmas Trivia Quiz
To keep your guests entertained, organise a fun Christmas trivia quiz that everyone can take part in! For example, do your guests know that Santa Claus’ original name was Sinterklaas (and he’s still called this in the Netherlands)? Or that Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer must actually be female, because she’s always depicted with antlers, and only female reindeer have antlers during the winter months?
For extra fun, you could even include some festive questions about your party guests – such as “what did Aunt Mabel give Uncle Fred for Christmas last year” or “which guest here today once got drunk at a Christmas work party and fell over in front of her boss?” Don’t forget to have prizes on offer for the winners!
10) Plan a Trip Out Together
The easiest way to get everyone mingling at your 2021 Christmas celebration is by planning an after-party trip out! You could even go out before the party, if you’d rather host an evening ‘do.
Whether it’s to the cinema, bowling or just for drinks, you’ll find that getting people out of the house and into somewhere new will instantly build rapport between guests. It will also create some great memories for you all to look back on!
11) Have a Silent Disco
A silent disco is the perfect activity for your party if you want to host the party at home, but you’re limited in the amount of noise you can make – for example, if you live in a block of flats or have paper-thin walls and you’re worried about upsetting your neighbours.
For this festive event, all you need are some wireless Bluetooth headphones for everybody, and a laptop with some great Christmas tunes on it! Alternatively, ask everyone to bring their own headphones and play their own music, so that everyone’s separate music tastes can be catered to.
12) Host a Game Night
Games are always popular at parties, especially if you want people to mingle with each other. You could host a Christmas game night, with lots of festive party games that will encourage people to get involved.
You could play charades, where guests are split into two teams and have to act out certain phrases for the other team members using only their hands! Or you could play traditional party games such as Scrabble, Monopoly, or Jenga. There’s really no limit here except your imagination.
13) Get Crafty
Christmas is traditionally a time of crafting and making things with your own two hands. To encourage people to bond and create friendships in the new year, make your party craft themed!
You could get guests to make their own Christmas decorations together, such as Christmas cards, salt dough tree decorations, or stars to decorate the walls with. If you’re more of a foodie, why not have each guest make or decorate their own gingerbread men, or Christmas-themed pizzas?
The best way to make a Christmas party fun is by taking the time to plan it. No matter what ideas you choose from this guide, we hope you have success in making sure it’s one nobody forgets anytime soon.
When you’re ready to order your personalised Christmas cards – whether you’re using them as invites, or just to hand out to all of your guests at the party – head over to Christmas Connections and browse our fabulous, fully customisable designs.
